Multi-platinum/gold selling and award-winning artist Jesse Cook wants to “Say Something” this year with the release of his new single — available now.
“It’s not often a song stops you in your tracks and demands your attention,” the internationally acclaimed guitarist, composer and producer shares, “but A Great Big World’s ‘Say Something’ did that for me.
“The first time I heard it, I think I cried,” Cook continues. “The lyrics were so raw and deeply personal… We’ve all been there, having to walk away from someone you love; its emotional honesty is what makes it so universal.”
Fans of both will recognize the song’s timeless arresting and enveloping effect artfully woven within Cook’s own brand of musical magic.
“I’ve never thought of myself as a singer,” he confesses. “Back when I was a guitar student, I used to practice 10 hours a day but, as for my singing, I never did any kind of training.
“I felt I wasn’t qualified.”
That was until one day, Cook realized that most of his favourite singers were also without formal training in that realm. “It comes down to three chords and the truth,” he says. “So I gave myself permission to try…”
Now… Just imagine the loss to the Canadian — if not global — music landscape if he hadn’t!
Jesse Cook holds ten gold and platinum studio albums with combined sales exceeding two million copies, five concert DVDs and live discs, five PBS specials, multiple awards including a JUNO win, 11 nominations, three Canadian Smooth Jazz Awards, a Gemini Award, and an Acoustic Guitar Magazine Player’s Choice Silver Award — plus thousands of concerts around the world over and above millions of views and streams across platforms.
This past year he celebrated the 25th anniversary of his breakthrough album, Tempest.
No stranger to the touring scene, Cook was initially set to mark the occasion with a 25-date cross-country concert special when the country shut down for COVID-19. The unforeseen delay inspired the Toronto-based artist to pivot; he rescheduled the dates for Fall 2021 and released a new version of “Tempest”— “Tempest 25”— the creation of which also served as an experiment of sorts along the way.
“The recording started as a simple idea,” he explains. “I’d use this pandemic time to record a new version of ‘Tempest’ and see if it would sound different.
“Have I changed as a musician, or as a producer?”
In the continued spirit of creative re-craftsmanship, Cook also re-released his 1997 hit “Wednesday Night at Etric’s” before this, his spin on A Great Big World’s 2013 sensation.
“As a composer, I’ve always felt honoured when other musicians would cover my music,” Cook considers. “The greatest compliment a musician can make to another artist is to perform their work.
“I hope it is in that light that A Great Big World will receive my humble interpretation.”
