Cory Wong - Live At Montreux Jazz Fest [2LP]

Cory Wong's Live at Montreux Jazz Fest captures the Minneapolis guitarist turning one of Europe's most storied stages into a funk party, now on limited 2LP in a gatefold sleeve.

Montreux has hosted generations of jazz, soul and rock royalty on the shores of Lake Geneva, and Wong arrived there in 2023 as one of the most in-demand players of his generation, fresh from years of touring with Vulfpeck and his own band. The set was released digitally later that year, with Wong producing the recording himself.

The setlist draws from across his instrumental catalogue, and the band sounds hungry from the first note. "Assassin" opens with the crisp, staccato rhythm guitar that has become his calling card, while "Welcome 2 Minneapolis" tips its cap to the Prince-shaped funk of his hometown. "Bluebird" lets the melodies breathe, and "St. Paul" keeps the Twin Cities theme going with an easy, rolling groove that builds and builds.

Across four sides the solos stretch out, the crowd leans in and the pocket stays rock-solid, the kind of live energy that studio records can only hint at.

For fans of instrumental funk and fusion, this is the next best thing to having been in the room that night.