Dance of spring (Jesse Cook)

I came across Jesse Cook a week or so ago in Virgin Mega Store, Doha, Qatar. Not actually him yunnerstand - his music. But it felt like him. Weird.

I'm not sure how this happens and it's reasonably rare (given how many millions of people play music). A musician's personality comes through the sound so distinctly that you feel like they are in the room with you.

Hendrix, Janis, Mick and Keef, Dylan, Lennon - absolutely have this ability.

Macca? Yes. Lowell George, Anouar Brahem, Frank Zappa - sure. You get the idea.

Okay - maybe it's not that rare. I'm not sure.

With Jesse it was an immediate feeling regarding his presence - his guitar style is not only distinctive but he includes layers of subtlety that make me want to compare him to Miles and Trane. He has a peculiar ability and I'm hooked - just as Brahem conjures up sand and shimmering desert heat so Cook manages an exotic sound all of his own. No mean trick that!

He's exciting to listen to.