Cory Wong
Wong performing in 2022
Wong performing in 2022
Background information
Bornc. 1985 (age 38–39)
Poughkeepsie, New York, U.S.
OriginMinneapolis, Minnesota, U.S.
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Musician
  • songwriter
  • producer
Instrument(s)Guitar, bass
DiscographyCory Wong discography
Years active2008–present
Labels
  • Vulf
  • Roundwound
Websitecorywongmusic.com

Cory Wong (born c. 1985)[a] is an American guitarist, songwriter, and producer based in Minneapolis. He has released many works as a solo artist and in partnership with others. His background spans several genres including jazz, rock, and funk. He has performed with Vulfpeck, Dave Koz, Stay Human, The Fearless Flyers, Ben Rector, Dr. Mambo's Combo, Chris Thile, Dave Matthews Band, and Dirty Loops. He released several albums in 2020, including Live in Amsterdam, a collaboration with the Metropole Orkest, and Meditations, a new-age album with Jon Batiste. His recent works include two albums released in conjunction with his variety show.

Early life

Born in Poughkeepsie, New York, Wong was raised in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is of mixed Chinese-American descent.[1][2] Growing up, he was exposed to classic rock and jazz music by his father. He took piano lessons at age nine. He was fascinated by the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Primus and decided to play bass and start a band. He took guitar and bass lessons and started a punk rock band. His first instruments were a Fender Jazz Bass, a Gretsch guitar, and a Fender Stratocaster. He acquired a second Stratocaster during his senior year of high school, which remained his primary instrument until the release of his signature Fender Stratocaster in 2021.[3][4][5]

Career

Wong attended the University of Minnesota and the McNally Smith College of Music. At age 20 he decided to pursue music professionally. He credits his music school environment and his mentors for putting him on the right track. In particular he credits Peruvian guitarist Andrés Prado and Prince's drummer Michael Bland for showing him the nuances and cohesion of performing in an ensemble.[3][4][6][7] He names guitarists Dave Williams and Paul Jackson Jr. as early influences.[5]

In late 2000s and early 2010s, Wong focused on jazz music and performed in Minneapolis–Saint Paul jazz clubs. He released two records with jazz ensembles, Even Uneven in 2008 and Quartet/Quintet in 2012.[3][8] He then performed in the Nashville music scene on a regular basis as a session musician and guitarist. He started touring with Ben Rector and worked with a variety of artists including Bryan White, Brandon Heath and Dave Barnes.[9] In 2013, for a six-month period he performed in the Minneapolis-based band Dr. Mambo's Combo with several veterans of the city's R&B-pop-funk music scene including members of Prince's band: Michael Bland and bassist Sonny T. He calls this period his learning curve in performing "vibrant funk soul" music.[3][4]

Cory Wong in 2017 with Vulfpeck
Cory Wong in 2017 with Vulfpeck

In 2013, Wong met members of the Ann Arbor-based band Vulfpeck.[3] He performed a jam with the group which was later rerecorded and released as the track "Cory Wong" on The Beautiful Game.[10][11] In 2016, he started recording and touring with the band. He has recorded on every Vulfpeck album since then and toured with the band. He said of his guitar sound with Vulfpeck: "part of my sound is kind of bringing rhythm guitar to the front". He is also a member of The Fearless Flyers, an instrumental quartet (with Vulfpeck's bass player Joe Dart, Snarky Puppy's guitarist Mark Lettieri, and drummer Nate Smith) and has released four EPs and an album with the group.[4][8][12]

In 2016, Wong released a six-track EP as a lead artist. In 2017, he released his debut solo album, Cory Wong and The Green Screen Band.[8] His second solo album The Optimist was released in 2018 and reached number 19 on the U.S. Jazz Albums chart.[7][13] He released a third album Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul in 2019.[5] The albums feature contributions by Phoebe Katis, Antwaun Stanley, Michael Bland, Sonny T., Ben Rector, Jon Batiste, Louis Cato, Nate Smith and others.[8][14] In 2020, Wong released his fourth solo album, Elevator Music for an Elevated Mood, which he called a continuation of his third album.[15]

Wong has performed with Dave Koz, Metropole Orkest, Stay Human (the house band of The Late Show with Stephen Colbert), and with Chris Thile's band on the radio program Live from Here.[16] He has toured in the United States and Europe in support of his solo albums, and with Vulfpeck.[17][18] He released several albums in 2020, including a Grammy nominated new-age album titled Meditations with Jon Batiste.[19]

In 2020 to 2022, in the absence of touring over the course of coronavirus pandemic, Wong released multiple solo and collaborative albums including The Golden Hour with Dave Koz, Turbo with Dirty Loops, and Tailwinds with The Fearless Flyers.[20][21] He started hosting[b] a music podcast for Premier Guitar magazine and he produced a YouTube music-comedy-variety show.[22][23] In 2023, he collaborated with Japanese artist Vaundy on a theme song for the anime television series Spy × Family.[24]

Variety show

In 2021, Wong premiered a YouTube variety show titled "Cory and the Wongnotes". The show featured a full ensemble band, original music, short comedy skits, and interviews on subjects such as gear, genre and rhythm. The band consisted of Wong (guitar), Sonny T. (bass), Kevin Gastonguay (keys), Nêgah Santos (percussion), Petar Janjic (drums), Eddie Barbash (sax), Kenni Holmen (sax, flute), Sam Greenfield (sax, clarinet), Steve Strand (trumpet),[c] Jon Lampley (trumpet), Michael Nelson (trombone, horn arrangement). The show featured collaborators Cody Fry and Antwaun Stanley and culminated in the release of an 11-track album.[23]

The second season of the show premiered in April 2022 and included guests Larry Carlton, Mark Lettieri, Nate Smith, Victor Wooten, Sierra Hull, Béla Fleck, Chromeo, Big Wild, Billy Strings, Lindsay Ell and Joey Dosik. A 15-track album titled Power Station was released in conjunction with the show.[25][26]

Equipment

Wong's primary equipment includes the following, Guitar: Fender Highway One Stratocaster[d] with Seymour Duncan Antiquity pickups, Amplifiers: Fender '65 Super Reverb reissue and Kemper Profiler, Strings: D'Addario NYXL (.010–.046), Accessories: Wampler Ego Compressor, Vertex Steel String Clean Drive, and Strymon Big Sky.[17][18] He uses a variety of other instruments and accessories as well.[17][18] He aims for a clean tone, and often records direct.[27] In 2021, the Fender company released Wong's signature model Stratocaster guitar.[28]

Discography

Main article: Cory Wong discography

Solo

Cory Wong Quartet

The Fearless Flyers

with Jon Batiste

with Dave Koz

with Dirty Loops

Awards and nominations

Cory Wong awards and nominations
Wins 0
Nominations 1
Year Nominated work Award Category Result
2021 Meditations with Jon Batiste Grammy Award Best New Age Album Nominated

Notes

  1. ^ Birth year per Star Tribune 2019.
  2. ^ Premiered in May 2020 and ongoing as of 2024.
  3. ^ Replaced with Jay Webb in season two.
  4. ^ Cory Wong signature model since 2021.

References

  1. ^ "Jazz Music Archives: Cory Wong". jazzmusicarchives.com. Archived from the original on January 29, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  2. ^ Cory Wong (March 27, 2020). "Twitter: Cory Wong – March 27, 2020". Twitter. Retrieved November 5, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e Leo Sidran (March 12, 2019). "The Third Story with Leo Sidran, Episode 121: Cory Wong – audio interview". third-story.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Andy Kahn (February 21, 2019). "The JamBase Podcast Episode 31: Guitarist Cory Wong – audio interview". jambase.com. Archived from the original on February 22, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c Josh Gardner (October 3, 2019). "'Everybody wants to be a lead player...' Cory Wong". Guitar. Archived from the original on October 4, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  6. ^ Frank De Blase (January 4, 2019). "Interview: Cory Wong". City Newspaper. Archived from the original on February 2, 2019. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  7. ^ a b "Vulfpeck's Cory Wong Announces 'The Optimist' Featuring Prince's Bass Player Sonny Thompson". Bass Player. June 27, 2018. Archived from the original on June 27, 2018. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  8. ^ a b c d Marcy Donelson. "AllMusic: Cory Wong – biography". AllMusic. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  9. ^ Brandon Shaw (December 28, 2017). Podcast No. 24: Cory Wong (Guitar for Vulfpeck, Ben Rector) (Podcast). startupmusician.co. Event occurs at 5:07, 9:24, 41:32. Archived from the original on August 15, 2019. Retrieved January 6, 2020.
  10. ^ "Cory Wong Is Here to Funk You Up". culturesonar.com. July 23, 2018. Archived from the original on January 5, 2020. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  11. ^ Corey Brown (December 12, 2013). "Vulfpeck Tour Vlog: Joe Dart & the Guys Get Funky". notreble.com. Archived from the original on November 12, 2017. Retrieved January 5, 2020.
  12. ^ Cory Wong of Vulfpeck on His Funky Right Hand Picking Technique, Reverb Interview (Video). Reverb.com. December 26, 2017. Event occurs at 30 seconds. Archived from the original on July 29, 2019. Retrieved January 5, 2020. one of the fun things that I do is part of my sound is kind of bringing rhythm guitar to the front in certain aspects
  13. ^ "Billboard: Jazz Albums chart – September 1, 2018". Billboard. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  14. ^ Scott Bernstein (August 19, 2019). "Cory Wong Shares 'St. Paul' Video Featuring Jon Batiste". jambase.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2019. Retrieved January 4, 2020.
  15. ^ Kel Kawas (January 10, 2020). "Cory Wong Releases New Album, 'Elevator Music for an Elevated Mood'". liveforlivemusic.com. Archived from the original on January 20, 2020. Retrieved January 19, 2020.
  16. ^ Performance:
  17. ^ a b c Paul Kobylensky (November 6, 2018). "Cory Wong: The Sound of Joy". Premier Guitar. Archived from the original on June 15, 2021. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  18. ^ a b c Amit Sharma (February 11, 2019). "Cory Wong's top 5 tips for guitarists". musicradar.com. Archived from the original on April 30, 2019. Retrieved December 30, 2019.
  19. ^ "63rd Grammy Nominations List" (PDF). grammy.com. November 20, 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on November 29, 2020. Retrieved November 29, 2020.
  20. ^ Matt Owen (May 10, 2021). "Cory Wong and Dave Koz join forces for new collaborative album, The Golden Hour". Guitar World. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved May 13, 2021.
  21. ^ "Cory Wong and Dirty Loops Release Collaboration 'Follow The Light'". Bass Magazine. August 19, 2021. Archived from the original on April 13, 2022. Retrieved August 27, 2021.
  22. ^ "Premier Guitar: Wong Notes podcast". premierguitar.com. Archived from the original on March 16, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.
  23. ^ a b Tom Shackleford (January 10, 2021). "Cory Wong Announces 'Cory And The Wongnotes' Variety Show, Album". L4LM. Archived from the original on February 10, 2021. Retrieved February 5, 2021.
  24. ^ Joanna, Cayanan (September 25, 2023). "Spy×Family Anime 2nd Season's Main Trailer Unveils Theme Songs, Artists". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved October 25, 2023.
  25. ^ Matt Owen (April 11, 2022). "Cory Wong recruits Mark Lettieri and flexes his two-hand tapping skills". guitarworld.com. Archived from the original on April 11, 2022. Retrieved April 21, 2022.
  26. ^ "Cory Wong releases new album today, ft. Billy Strings, Chromeo..." gratefulweb.com. April 29, 2022. Archived from the original on April 30, 2022. Retrieved April 30, 2022.
  27. ^ Chris Bird (March 23, 2019). "Cory Wong: 'The key to it all, the starting point..." Total Guitar. Archived from the original on December 31, 2019. Retrieved January 1, 2020.
  28. ^ Matt Owen (July 27, 2021). "Fender officially introduces Cory Wong's first-ever signature Stratocaster". guitarworld.com. Archived from the original on March 18, 2022. Retrieved April 18, 2022.

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