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 in 2000 for his album Free Fall. 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."