Great Rumba Music but.....
by blakestyger on 2025-03-06National Arts Centre / Centre national des Arts - OttawaRating: 4 out of 5Jesse Cook has a huge following here in Ottawa and last night's concert was a testament to his popularity from a standing ovation audience. A master of rumba/flamenco guitar rhythms, haunting melodies, and soulful notes within the Andalusian progression, the music is moving and inspiring. But....despite this, unfortunately much of the concert with the full band on stage was unevenly balanced, that is, terribly unbalanced, the bass in particular so boomingly loud it completely drowned out the rhythm guitar and often Cook's lead guitar parts on several of the songs. The bass kick drum in particular was mic'd up so loud it was just over the top, despite a super talented drummer who was the backbone of the group. On alternate numbers Cook's band members were given the spotlight to display their talent with their instrument -- violin, bass guitar, rhythm guitar, drum solos, bongos and other percussion instruments -- which allowed the music to be heard separately without the din of bass notes thumping through the concert hall sound system. And Jesse Cook's duets with his protege rhythm guitarist were superb and it provided the set with the sound of those expensive flamenco guitars to resonate evenly through the acoustics of the hall. To top the night off, the well-known melody Fall at Your Feet ballad was played acoustically in the Orchestra just off the right of the stage led by Jesse Cook on guitar and lead vocals, rhythm guitar on harmony vocals, with the rest of the band providing "palmas"- a flamenco handclapping style to accentuate and punctuate the beat. Throughout the concert, Cook communicated often with the audience providing a shortened oral history of flamenco and other brief anecdotal and humorous quips.