World Music: Jesse Cook as World Music?

At the beginning of his article, Feld brings up some very interesting ideas regarding the ways in which globalization is affecting music, specifically the category known as 'World Music'. He claims that music's deep connection to social identities has been distinctively intensified by globalization and that this intensification is due to the ways cultural separation and social exchange are mutually accelerated by transnational flows of technology, media, and popular culture. The result, Feld suggests, is that due to globalization, musical identities and styles are more visibly in constant states of change and flux, and that there is more fission and fusion in music than ever before (Feld, 145). This makes sense because it seems obvious that as all types of music begin to be spread around the world, far away from their original starting point, that music would in turn influence other musicians who would borrow or copy that music and so their own music becomes altered as a result.

This phenomenon is particularly apparent I feel when we discuss globalization in terms of diasporic communities. People from one area of the world will travel to another and bring along with them many of their unique cultural attributes, including their musical traditions. Toronto is probably one of the best examples of this considering its vast array of ethnic groups who are allowed to continue practicing whichever traditions they so choose without discrimination. This has led to a plethora of cultural mixing and interaction and represents Feld's idea that there is more fission and fusion in music than ever before.

An example I would like to use is the Canadian musician Jesse Cook. Cook was born in Paris to Canadian parents and began playing music at a very young age. As a youth, he spent his summer's in the South of France and coincidentally he lived right next door to Nicolas Reyes, lead singer of the flamenco group “Gipsy Kings”. Cook would listen to the flamenco guitar style of the "Gipsy Kings" and would try to imitate the sounds using his toy guitar at the age of three. After moving to Toronto with his mother, Cook attended the best music schools and began to display virtuoso qualities in his guitar playing. Studying Jazz and classical music, Cook honed his skills and eventually moved to Spain to properly learn the art of Rumba Flamenco, which he has now incorporated into his signature guitar playing sound.


Mario Takes a Walk (Gravity, 1996)

Jesse Cook serves as an example of the ways in which internationalization has helped expand traditional forms of music and introduce them to other cultures which had previously almost no experience with them. Think of the international map Cook has constructed through his life. Born in Paris to Canadian parents, listened to Gipsy's play flamenco guitar (originally a Spanish style), moved to Toronto to study classical music and jazz, moves to Spain to continue studying Spanish guitar, and is now an internationally known musician who brings his unique style of music with him as he tours the world. The question I'd like to ask is, could Jesse Cook's music be considered 'World Music'? Feld defines World Music as the study of non-Western music or music belonging to an ethnic minority (Feld, 146). For his last album, Cook actually took his gear with him as he travelled to Spain, parts of the middle east, and even Egypt, where he sought sought out local musicians from those areas to help him record his cd. To me, Jesse Cook seems almost like a cross between Westernized ethnic music, and authentic world music. His unique blend of traditional spanish guitar, with elements of Western jazz and classical music provide a musical experienced unparalleled for lovers of guitar.

Feld, Stephen (2000). ‘A Sweet Lullaby for World Music’. Public Culture, 12 (1): 145-171.


Luna Llena (Gravity, 1996)