Biography
Guitarist Cory Wong built recognition through lightning-quick improvisational technique, an exuberant stage energy, and an unusually supple right wrist, establishing a wide-ranging musical path from his Minneapolis, Minnesota home base before wider attention arrived via repeated guest appearances on rhythm guitar with Ann Arbor’s R&B/funk ensemble Vulfpeck in the mid-2010s. His approach blends acoustic and electric methods acquired over years of practice, frequently weaving dense percussive picking into rhythm parts. The 2018 follow-up solo album The Optimist, a buoyant collection of jazz-funk, entered the Billboard Jazz Albums chart inside the Top 20. A 2020 joint project with Jon Batiste titled Meditations received a Grammy nomination, after which Wong issued the 2021 collaboration Golden Hour alongside saxophonist Dave Koz. He subsequently gathered an array of guests including Chromeo, Victor Wooten, and Béla Fleck for the ’80s funk- and pop-inflected Power Station.
Born in New York and raised in Minnesota, Wong studied at the McNally Smith College of Music in Saint Paul, then pursued varied work that encompassed jazz-club performances across the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area along with roles as producer, arranger, and touring musician; he also co-established the regional independent imprint Secret Stash Records. The Cory Wong Quartet issued the soul-jazz album Even, Uneven in 2008, and two years later his composition “Upstream” appeared as downloadable content for the game Rock Band 2. In 2012 he delivered the double album Quartet/Quintet, recorded with bassist Billy Peterson, drummer Zach Schmidt, and pianists Dan Musselman and Kevin Gastonguay sharing keyboard duties. The quintet edition retained the same personnel except for Andy Schuster on bass and Gastonguay switching to Fender Rhodes while Musselman handled acoustic piano.
Around that period Wong encountered Vulfpeck members Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Joe Dart, and Woody Goss at a Minneapolis house concert; the connection quickly led to live performances together and then to Wong’s participation in the studio for the band’s 2016 sophomore release The Beautiful Game, which reached number ten on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. That year he also put out the solo EP MSP, Pt. 1. His first proper full-length under his own name arrived in September 2017 as the stylistically wide-ranging Cory Wong and the Green Screen Band, an instrumental-focused fusion of funk, R&B, jazz, and rock that included occasional vocals from Vulfpeck associate Antwaun Stanley. Two months afterward his guitar contributions featured on Vulfpeck’s third album Mr. Finish Line.
Wong’s second solo album originated when organist Ricky Peterson, known for work with George Benson and David Sanborn, contacted him about an upcoming visit to Minneapolis. Eager to record together, Wong quickly prepared material and assembled a rhythm section of bassist Sonny Thompson and drummer Michael Bland, both veterans of Prince’s band. Additional sessions occurred with a second Minneapolis lineup and a third in Nashville involving Ben Rector and his group. Released in August 2018, The Optimist incorporated remote contributions from Stanley, Marti Fischer, and KATIS plus horn arrangements by Hornheads, the section long associated with Prince.
During the same span Wong’s Vulfpeck offshoot the Fearless Flyers issued a self-titled EP on Vulf Records; the quartet—Wong, Dart on bass, guitarist Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy, and drummer Nate Smith, who has worked with Dave Holland and Chris Potter—made its concert debut in September 2018. The following year Wong issued several live documents: Live in Minneapolis, Live on the Lido Deck, and Live in the U.K., along with the studio set Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul. He closed the year by joining his Vulfpeck bandmates for a sold-out headline performance at Madison Square Garden.
In 2020 the guitarist teamed with keyboardist Jon Batiste on Meditations, which earned a Grammy nomination in the Best New Age Album category. He next collaborated with saxophonist Dave Koz on the funk-oriented Golden Hour, which peaked at number five on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart in 2021. The next year Wong resumed solo activity with the buoyant, ’80s funk- and pop-colored Power Station, which included guest spots from Chromeo, Victor Wooten, Béla Fleck, and additional artists.
Born in New York and raised in Minnesota, Wong studied at the McNally Smith College of Music in Saint Paul, then pursued varied work that encompassed jazz-club performances across the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area along with roles as producer, arranger, and touring musician; he also co-established the regional independent imprint Secret Stash Records. The Cory Wong Quartet issued the soul-jazz album Even, Uneven in 2008, and two years later his composition “Upstream” appeared as downloadable content for the game Rock Band 2. In 2012 he delivered the double album Quartet/Quintet, recorded with bassist Billy Peterson, drummer Zach Schmidt, and pianists Dan Musselman and Kevin Gastonguay sharing keyboard duties. The quintet edition retained the same personnel except for Andy Schuster on bass and Gastonguay switching to Fender Rhodes while Musselman handled acoustic piano.
Around that period Wong encountered Vulfpeck members Jack Stratton, Theo Katzman, Joe Dart, and Woody Goss at a Minneapolis house concert; the connection quickly led to live performances together and then to Wong’s participation in the studio for the band’s 2016 sophomore release The Beautiful Game, which reached number ten on the Billboard Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. That year he also put out the solo EP MSP, Pt. 1. His first proper full-length under his own name arrived in September 2017 as the stylistically wide-ranging Cory Wong and the Green Screen Band, an instrumental-focused fusion of funk, R&B, jazz, and rock that included occasional vocals from Vulfpeck associate Antwaun Stanley. Two months afterward his guitar contributions featured on Vulfpeck’s third album Mr. Finish Line.
Wong’s second solo album originated when organist Ricky Peterson, known for work with George Benson and David Sanborn, contacted him about an upcoming visit to Minneapolis. Eager to record together, Wong quickly prepared material and assembled a rhythm section of bassist Sonny Thompson and drummer Michael Bland, both veterans of Prince’s band. Additional sessions occurred with a second Minneapolis lineup and a third in Nashville involving Ben Rector and his group. Released in August 2018, The Optimist incorporated remote contributions from Stanley, Marti Fischer, and KATIS plus horn arrangements by Hornheads, the section long associated with Prince.
During the same span Wong’s Vulfpeck offshoot the Fearless Flyers issued a self-titled EP on Vulf Records; the quartet—Wong, Dart on bass, guitarist Mark Lettieri of Snarky Puppy, and drummer Nate Smith, who has worked with Dave Holland and Chris Potter—made its concert debut in September 2018. The following year Wong issued several live documents: Live in Minneapolis, Live on the Lido Deck, and Live in the U.K., along with the studio set Motivational Music for the Syncopated Soul. He closed the year by joining his Vulfpeck bandmates for a sold-out headline performance at Madison Square Garden.
In 2020 the guitarist teamed with keyboardist Jon Batiste on Meditations, which earned a Grammy nomination in the Best New Age Album category. He next collaborated with saxophonist Dave Koz on the funk-oriented Golden Hour, which peaked at number five on the Contemporary Jazz Albums chart in 2021. The next year Wong resumed solo activity with the buoyant, ’80s funk- and pop-colored Power Station, which included guest spots from Chromeo, Victor Wooten, Béla Fleck, and additional artists.
Albums