Rumba Foundation

Jesse's new CD, THE RUMBA FOUNDATION, continues Jesse Cook's journey across time, space and sound. In the 1800s sailors traveled to Spain carrying a hot new rhythm from Cuba: Rumba. Gypsies took this infectious dance rhythm and created their own hybrid: "Rumba Flamenco." 150 years later, Jesse makes it a round trip by bringing Rumba Flamenco back to its roots, but modernized in what might be his strongest work yet. Jesse melds his trademark rumba flamenco style with the music of Cuba, Haiti and Columbia, among others. With all of the dazzling instru- mental pyrotechnics he employs, Jesse's emphasis is always on the melody and the infectious rhythms that make him an airplay favorite. Amidst all of his dazzling, soulful original compositions, Jesse adds as a special highlight a spectacular arrangement of Paul Simon's classic "Cecelia", an adaptation that is as creative and catchy as anything he's ever recorded.