Flamenco-inspired guitarist Jesse Cook has released his new album, past the breakwater, through Coach House Music, distributed by Believe. The 10-track record follows two singles already circulating, “forever” and “you were looking north,” and lands alongside the Forever Live Tour, an extensive run of North American dates that carries Jesse and his band well into 2027, with a marquee stop at Casino Rama in Orillia this November.
Known for his singular fusion of flamenco, jazz, classical and world music, Jesse leans further into his jazz roots on this project than ever before.
“As a music lover, there’s a category of music I have always listened to on rainy days, or late nights with friends,” he said. “Albums like Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and Round Midnight, Getz/Gilberto (Stan Getz and Joao Gilberto), Keith Jarrett’s Koln Concert, albums you can put on and live in, quiet albums, albums that breathe.”
Jesse set out to build something from that same tradition, an album meant to be lived in rather than simply heard.
That instinct shaped the recordings themselves, he said.
“I wanted to leave more space in these recordings,” Jesse explained. “So, some of these songs are just Spanish guitar and double bass. I wanted to be able to hear every note, every articulation.”
The result strips his arrangements down to their essentials, giving each phrase room to resonate and each pause its own presence.
To find that kind of quiet, Jesse recorded much of past the breakwater in a cabin on a small, remote island in the lake country of the Canadian Shield, accessible only by boat.
“The stillness there is protected by rows of ancient shoals,” he said. “Like prehistoric sentinels, a breakwater against the storms that lay beyond. Sometimes I need to get away from everything, so I can just get lost in the music.”
The island retreat gives the album both its title and its unhurried, breathing quality.
A global artist in every sense, Jesse redefines what Spanish guitar music can sound like to audiences far beyond its traditional borders. Born in Paris and raised in Toronto, he has spent the last three decades building a devoted following for his rumba flamenco sound, routinely selling out performance halls from London to Los Angeles and Milan to Montreal. His catalogue has now surpassed a billion streams and views across platforms, with combined lifetime streams and views standing at 1.164 billion as of March 2026. He is among the most streamed instrumental guitarists in the world.
Jesse composed, arranged, produced, recorded and mixed past the breakwater entirely himself, with mastering by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound. He is joined throughout by longtime collaborators Marito Marques on drums and percussion, Will Lamoureux on strings and violin, and Ross MacIntyre on double bass, with cellist Jill Sauerteig featured on “forever.”
The Forever Live Tour is underway now with an extensive run through Quebec this fall before heading into the northeastern United States and Ontario in November, then the American Southwest and West Coast in January and February, with additional dates in Florida and Georgia to follow in the spring. Jesse will keep the tour going further into 2027 with additional dates across Canada and Europe.
Forever Live Tour dates:
- Sept. 30 – space Théâtre Muni-Spec, Mont-Laurier, QC
- Oct. 1 – Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne, Terrebonne, QC
- Oct. 2 – Théâtre du Casino Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, QC
- Oct. 3 – Centre des Arts Juliette-Lassonde, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
- Nov. 5 – City Winery Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
- Nov. 6 – Groton Hill Music Center, Groton, MA
- Nov. 7 – HOPE Center for the Arts, Springfield, MA
- Nov. 8 – Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA
- Nov. 10 – The Kate, Old Saybrook, CT
- Nov. 11 – Infinity Hall, Norfolk, CT
- Nov. 12 – Narrows, Fall River, MA
- Nov. 13 – Alder Hall at NY Society for Ethical Culture, New York, NY
- Nov. 14 – Victoria Theatre at NJPAC, Newark, NJ
- Nov. 15 – Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA
- Nov. 17 -, Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD
- Nov. 18 – Attucks Theatre, Norfolk, VA
- Nov. 19 – Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
- Nov. 20 – Hart Theatre at The Egg, Albany, NY
- Nov. 21 – The Temple at Tellus 360, Lancaster, PA
- Nov. 22 – Beston Hall, Pittsford (Rochester), NY
- Nov. 27 – Casino Rama, Orillia, ON
- Jan. 14 – Tower Theatre, Bend, OR
- Jan. 15 – Newmark Theatre, Portland, OR
- Jan. 16 – The Shedd, Jaqua Concert Hall, Eugene, OR
- Jan. 17 – Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
- Jan. 19 – McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert, CA
- Jan. 20 – Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA
- Jan. 21 – Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
- Jan. 22 – Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
- Jan. 23 – Saban Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
- Jan. 25 and 26 – Smith Center, Las Vegas, NV
- Jan. 27 – Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine, CA
- Jan. 28 – Magnolia, San Diego, CA
- Jan. 29 – Mesa Arts Center, Ikeda Theater, Mesa, AZ
- Jan. 30 – Fox Tucson Theatre, Tucson, AZ
- Jan. 31 – KiMo Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
- Feb. 1 – The Lensic, Santa Fe, NM
- Feb. 3 – Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
