Tempest

Be warned -- this is an album that will grow on you very quickly. Jesse Cook is a Canadian flamenco guitarist who took the world fusion route at some point, basing his playing against a wonderful mix and match of percussion, synthesizers and ... Full Descriptionsamplers. It's easy to spot some of the artificial elements, but many more of them have been blurred into the total sound, making it impossible to separate live players from the computer-driven tracks -- excellent work indeed (Cook also produced and engineered the tracks, which makes the result all the more impressive). Tempest is a subtle album, very seductive, getting one's attention without demanding it, through a clever phrase, a particularly soulful vibrato, a nice effect in the rhythm tracks, and so on. Intent listening to this album is a very rewarding experience indeed.