Rumba flamenco guitarist Jesse Cook returns September 18 with past the breakwater, a 10-track album that finds the acclaimed guitarist moving deeper into the jazz influences that have shaped his musical life. Released through Coach House Music and distributed by Believe, the album arrives just as Cook launches the extensive Forever Live Tour, a North American run that will keep him on the road through 2027.
The album follows the release of two singles, “forever” and “you were looking north,” and represents a notably intimate direction for an artist known for his distinctive fusion of flamenco, jazz, classical and world music. Rather than building around dense arrangements, Cook has chosen to create an album with space, atmosphere and room for every note to breathe.
“As a music lover, there’s a category of music I have always listened to on rainy days, or late nights with friends,” Cook says, pointing to albums such as Miles Davis’ Kind of Blue and ’Round Midnight, Getz/Gilberto by Stan Getz and João Gilberto, and Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert. “Albums you can put on and live in. Quiet albums. Albums that breathe.”
That idea became the guiding principle for past the breakwater. Cook wanted to make music that listeners could inhabit rather than simply consume, allowing the emotional character of the guitar to come forward without being surrounded by unnecessary layers.
“I wanted to leave more space in these recordings,” he explains. “So, some of these songs are just Spanish guitar and double bass. I wanted to be able to hear every note, every articulation.”
The album's title comes directly from the environment in which much of the music was created. Cook recorded the project in a cabin on a small, remote island in the lake country of the Canadian Shield, accessible only by boat. Surrounded by the stillness of the Canadian wilderness, he found the isolation suited the kind of music he was trying to make.
“The stillness there is protected by rows of ancient shoals,” Cook says. “Like prehistoric sentinels, a breakwater against the storms that lay beyond. Sometimes I need to get away from everything, so I can just get lost in the music.”
That sense of retreat and reflection is woven into the character of past the breakwater. The music remains unmistakably Jesse Cook, but the familiar rhythmic energy of his rumba flamenco style is balanced by a more contemplative approach. Spanish guitar, double bass, strings and percussion are allowed to occupy their own spaces, creating an album that emphasizes subtlety as much as virtuosity.
Cook composed, arranged, produced, recorded and mixed the entire album himself, with mastering handled by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound. He is joined by longtime collaborators Marito Marques on drums and percussion, Will Lamoureux on strings and violin, and Ross MacIntyre on double bass. Cellist Jill Sauerteig appears on “forever.”
The result is another chapter in a career that has taken Cook's interpretation of Spanish guitar music to audiences around the world. Born in Paris and raised in Toronto, Cook has spent three decades developing a devoted international following while expanding the possibilities of rumba flamenco through his embrace of jazz, classical and world music.
His reach is reflected in his enormous digital audience. As of March 2026, Cook's combined lifetime streams and views had surpassed 1.164 billion, including 425 million Pandora streams, 175 million views through Instagram user-generated content, 155 million YouTube views and 145 million Spotify streams. His social following includes 661,000 Instagram followers, 307,000 YouTube subscribers and 299,000 monthly Spotify listeners.
past the breakwater continues that global journey while taking Cook somewhere quieter.
The album's 10 tracks are:
- “forever”
- “you were looking north”
- “past the breakwater”
- “life in e minor”
- “easton revisited”
- “the secret shape of things”
- “eleven unnecessary turns”
- “floating on the silence”
- “my beautiful exile”
- “long shadows and small mercies”
The Forever Live Tour begins September 19, just one day after the album's release, with an extensive series of Quebec performances before moving through the northeastern United States and Ontario. The tour then heads west in January and February, with additional dates expected to continue into 2027 across Canada and Europe.
Forever Live Tour Dates
September 2026
- September 19 — Théâtre de Lac-Brome, Lac-Brome, QC
- September 21 — Grand Théâtre de Québec, Quebec City, QC
- September 22 — Théâtre de la Ville, Longueuil, QC
- September 24 — Salle Pauline-Julien, Sainte-Geneviève, QC
- September 25 — Théâtre Lionel-Groulx, Sainte-Thérèse, QC
- September 26 — Théâtre Hector-Charland, L'Assomption, QC
- September 27 — Théâtre Granada, Sherbrooke, QC
- September 30 — Espace Théâtre Muni-Spec, Mont-Laurier, QC
October 2026
- October 1 — Théâtre du Vieux-Terrebonne, Terrebonne, QC
- October 2 — Théâtre du Casino Lac-Leamy, Gatineau, QC
- October 3 — Centre des Arts Juliette-Lassonde, Saint-Hyacinthe, QC
November 2026
- November 5 — City Winery Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
- November 6 — Groton Hill Music Center, Groton, MA
- November 7 — HOPE Center for the Arts, Springfield, MA
- November 8 — Shalin Liu Performance Center, Rockport, MA
- November 10 — The Kate, Old Saybrook, CT
- November 11 — Infinity Hall, Norfolk, CT
- November 12 — Narrows, Fall River, MA
- November 13 — Alder Hall at NY Society for Ethical Culture, New York, NY
- November 14 — Victoria Theatre at NJPAC, Newark, NJ
- November 15 — Sellersville Theatre, Sellersville, PA
- November 17 — Rams Head On Stage, Annapolis, MD
- November 18 — Attucks Theatre, Norfolk, VA
- November 19 — Birchmere, Alexandria, VA
- November 20 — Hart Theatre at The Egg, Albany, NY
- November 21 — The Temple at Tellus 360, Lancaster, PA
- November 22 — Beston Hall, Pittsford (Rochester), NY
- November 27 — Casino Rama, Orillia, ON
January 2027
- January 14 — Tower Theatre, Bend, OR
- January 15 — Newmark Theatre, Portland, OR
- January 16 — The Shedd, Jaqua Concert Hall, Eugene, OR
- January 17 — Palace of Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
- January 19 — McCallum Theatre, Palm Desert, CA
- January 20 — Crest Theatre, Sacramento, CA
- January 21 — Rio Theatre, Santa Cruz, CA
- January 22 — Lobero Theatre, Santa Barbara, CA
- January 23 — Saban Theatre, Los Angeles, CA
- January 25 & 26 — Smith Center, Las Vegas, NV
- January 27 — Irvine Barclay Theatre, Irvine, CA
- January 28 — Magnolia, San Diego, CA
- January 29 — Mesa Arts Center, Ikeda Theater, Mesa, AZ
- January 30 — Fox Tucson Theatre, Tucson, AZ
- January 31 — KiMo Theatre, Albuquerque, NM
February 2027
- February 1 — The Lensic, Santa Fe, NM
- February 3 — Paramount Theatre, Denver, CO
With past the breakwater, Jesse Cook isn't abandoning the vibrant rhythmic language that has defined his career. Instead, he is stripping it back, giving the guitar more room to speak and allowing the quieter side of his musical personality to take center stage. The album's combination of flamenco technique, jazz sensibility and spacious production makes it a natural extension of Cook's evolution—and perhaps his most intimate recording yet.
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