The Jesse Cook concert was amazing

The first memory I have of liking Spanish guitar was in elementary school. Our teacher asked us all to bring a favorite record to school. It was probably some sort of cultural appreciation event. (Yeah. A record. What we now call “Vinyl”. I’m dating myself here.)

I doubt I even told my parents I was borrowing it. I probably just headed off to school with our Andrés Segovia record in my hand. I remember being mildly surprised at my teacher’s unexpected approval of my choice. At that point in my life, the likelihood of adult approval vs disapproval was completely mysterious to me.

This being the 1970’s, I could just as easily have brought Jimi Hendrix, Aretha Franklin, Janis Joplin, or Peter, Paul and Mary. But instead, I brought The Unique Art of Andrés Segovia (1969).

After that I moved on to Billy Joel and Gordon Lightfoot (LOL!), and I didn’t think much about Spanish guitar again until my early twenties, when I decided I wanted to learn how to play classic guitar with the goal of learning the Spanish tunes. My lessons only lasted for a couple of weeks until, for completely unrelated reasons, I found myself with a full-time job and a pending divorce. That was the end of my classic guitar lessons.

While my kids were growing up I occasionally played a Julian Bream CD, or a little Segovia. But in general, life was rough, I was young and fighting to survive, and I mostly listened to heavy metal, grunge and later, alternative.

When the kids were grown, I moved to New Mexico. I didn’t initially fully appreciate the culture here. I remember noticing approvingly that there appeared to be a fair amount of racial diversity and that the women drove pick-up trucks and seemed to be in charge.

I soon discovered there was a state-wide obsession with green chili. It took me awhile to even realize that the little tin cans of chilies that I used to buy in the Pacific Northwest were essentially mild (and canned) versions of the locally famous hot and slightly sour spice of the New Mexico Hatch green chili.

It took me longer to understand and develop a taste for the music. I never liked the traditional mariachi, nor did I like the slow crooning of the older Latin music.

But then I discovered that if I listened to the Spanish radio stations, I couldn’t understand the advertisements. And ads are much less annoying when they’re in a language that I can’t understand! Then I realized that I actually prefer Latin popular music over the English versions of American popular music. The Latin vibe adds depth, in my opinion.

Then one day when John and I were playing a YouTube compilation of Spanish guitar, we discovered Jesse Cook. Ironically, he is Canadian (and born in France). But nonetheless, he plays rumba flamenco. Or sometimes his music is called nuevo flamenco. And it’s awesome.

We recently got to go see him in concert at the KiMo theater.

The KiMo Theater is very interesting inside. It was built in 1927 using traditional Native American designs, which have been preserved.

The symbol that looks to us like a swastika actually had a positive connotation in several cultures around the world, including traditional Native American cultures. According to the internet, “To the Hopi it represented the wandering Hopi clans; to the Navajo it represented a whirling log ( tsil no’oli’ ), a sacred image representing a legend that was used in healing rituals.” The symbol is still sometimes woven into local authentic Navajo rugs and other art, but it has not been used very much since its tragic use in Germany in the 1930’s.

So that’s part of what I love about Albuquerque. A Canadian playing Spanish music in a Native American themed theater.

The music was excellent and the crowd was VERY enthusiastic. In fact, it seemed like Jesse wasn’t used to such an adoring crowd, because he seemed rather surprised and abashed.

At one point a guy yelled, “We love you, Jesse!!!” and the whole crowd took it up, and Jesse didn’t even seem to know what to do! Maybe he’s used to playing in cool jazz halls and he’s not used to being treated like a rock star. But his music really fits well in our local culture.

I hope the extremely welcoming reception he got here encourages him to come back again soon. COME BACK TO ALBUQUERQUE, JESSE! WE LOVE YOU BEST!

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