Jesse Cook knows a thing or two about frontiers. Over the course of a dozen years and numerous best-selling albums, the virtuoso flamenco guitarist has explored the outer limits of popular music, breaking new ground with each successive recording. In the past, Cook has blended African percussion, Cajun accordion, classical cello and pop vocals with his own rumba flamenco style to create a thrilling, multi-textured global hybrid. And he’s traveled far afield—from London to Cairo—to collaborate with some of the world’s best musicians.

Cook’s adventurous approach to music began at a young age, when trips to Europe to see his father exposed him to a variety of exotic sounds—including the music of the legendary Gipsy Kings, with whom he shared a now famous jam session on a rooftop in the French city of Arles. After releasing his independent debut Tempest in 1995, Cook was signed to Narada Records and has since sold more than one million albums worldwide and won a Juno Award for 2000’s Free Fall album. His tours, from concert halls to appearances at major events like the Montreal Jazz Festival, are typically sold-out affairs. And reviewers routinely praise what one critic called his “uncompromising musicality and ferocious guitar prowess.”