We need to talk about this bass player. He's left handed, has a lefty bass body, strings upside down. His fingering is indecipherable. I'm truly in awe of his life choices.
If I remember correctly, Michael Nelson arranges all the horns for Cory and has for years. He’s also a great soloist, but he doesn’t take too many solos.
He isn't even practicing in the break.. he is just reading the music and knows what's up, even tho the other brass are doing it full speed at the same time... (Ya he wrote it but still)
I used to lock the switch pickup of my strat with a tooth pick or something. It is a design flaw of the strat, in my opinion. Then I bought a telecaster version that has the switch pickup far from the reach of the guitar pick.
Patiently waiting for the 10 hour "On The One" episode of this whole album, with Cory and Petar quoting Some Kind of Monster lines and cracking each other up whilst pointing out all the instances of musical genius going on everywhere.
Kenni dual wielding saxophones is legendary! Also, this arrangement of "Meditation" is absolutely beautiful, been in love with it since the show on the boat
This is the kind of music that ruins music for you for a while. It's rare to get _this_ level of talent all in one shot. It's going to take some time to fall back into the standard groove after this.
I’m 67 years old, and I believe I’ve just witnessed the finest musicianship I’ve ever seen and heard. I mean c’mon… does it get any tighter than this???
As a fan of Prince and the NPG with the Hornheadz, this one feels very special to me. So cool that they incorporated Michael Nelson´s horn line from ´Billy Jack Bitch´ into "Welcome 2 Minneapolis". Loved the music. Cory is amazing
Have you heard of NEW SOUND UNDERGROUND? Kevin, Cory's new go-to keys player - had a band in MPLS called PB & the Jam - and eventually evolved. If you like this, Snarky Puppy, Lettuce type stuff - You've GOTTA hear NSU from MPLS - GREAT LIVE, too
I would say Prince's ghost is roaming around somewhere on this performance, dancing and nodding it's all good! This is SOOO good and somehow really fitting to what he stood for musically. This is one amazing performance!
The faces Cory makes during "Gumshü" are out of control and I'm here for all of it. I can't wait to see them do that song live. And "Meditation" put me in a trance.
I saw him in Austin during the last night of the first leg of his tour. OMG he brought the house down. This song was freaking EPIC! Such a chill solo when compared to a lot his other live soloes which are just WAILING lead guitar, and awesome. His stage face is only matched by his energy! So privileged to see such a cool, chill artist live. Long live the funk!
A peerless performance. Everyone was so Great. Agree that Cory’s guitar is more in the foreground but the biggest change for me versus the already existing recordings is the horn section and the separation of each instrument. Negah adds so much. Kevin’s B3 is so tight. Petar’s faces make me smile and Sonny T is the Foundation.
And the broken string....come on. Incredible. True talent. My Mom passed away in October and this song has become one of my favorite "remember Mom" songs. To see you put so much emotion into this performance just makes it all the better. Thank you for creating such amazing music that helps people like myself get through some very hard times. Love you all.
These horn parts are so big brain I can't even, everyone is so ridiculously in the pocket I wanna die, the bassist has the blood of Zeus or smth, and Wong plays so clean he makes Mr. Clean look dirty.
As a lover and player of horns, thank you for going all out on the big horn section. So often the winds are optional in a funk group and limited to two or three. Yall are a gift to funk.
If you are interested, the horn arranger here, Michael Nelson, was the horn arranger with Prince during the first half of the 90s. The horn section was called ´The Hornheadz´. Prince included one of Michael´s compositions in his ´Billy Jack Bitch´ song. And this same line is included in ´Welcome 2 Minneapolis´ here. And Prince himself used a huge 10-piece horn section in the end of his career. I recommend his Montreux 2013 concert (it´s on RU-vid).
The percussionist is the real MVP. She doing multiple jobs simultaneously. Lol. When i saw her doing the tambourine and the congas at the same time, it was a dub. There's drummers that dont have that type of limb independence.
Nêgah Santos is an awesome musician, love the feel that she puts in the percussion, and her performance while she smiles and enjoys the song is amazing!
YES!! I have been showing clips of this to my students. I am glad the whole session is now available!! All of these musicians are NEXT LEVEL! Well done, Cory and crew!
I tend to be a bit of a musical purist, and it's kind of obscene just how well this group blends the old with the new. The progressive experimentation _makes sense_ in the context of the music, it's a logical extension of the core theory, which is something often missing from modern horn groups. I think I'm in love.
November 19, 2021. Dallas, TX. Encore 1: Meditation. It began with a slow, hairy, echoing swell on an E major chord and I knew what was coming. I felt the weight of the last 21 months come entirely off my shoulders. I was near the front, off to the side kinda by the merch table. My son was with me and a couple of my friends. And for those 10 minutes or so, I was in another place. I jumped on RU-vid a few minutes ago, this was the first thumbnail that came up. The first thing I looked for was the timestamp for Meditation and wen right back to that place. What a simple, but truthful composition! This tune sings peace with A+ players making it happen. Thank you to all of you!
I wonder if he was inspired a bit by his interview with Santana, I found it interesting how different their philosophies are regarding the role of the guitar in the mix
Finally got the chance to sit down and watch the whole thing today after a week from hell…feeling much more like myself now. The joy in each performance is infectious!!
Hey Cory, bought your Lesson-Pack some weeks ago. It is really awesome! Being an online instructor myself I can say that it is one of the best I ever saw. No BS, to the point and with a clear path and info what to practice. Seriously, every guitarist reading this should buy it. It is worth every penny 10 times over! The Triad stuff is the shit, I have been practicing it differently for over 20 Years but your concept has pushed my forward a ton. Awesome!
This is just great. I always love how the whole band looks like they're having the best time ever. And Meditation remains my favourite piece of music I've heard in ages. It never fails to soothe and delight.
I literally just came across Cory Wong for the first time after watching a "Classical Composer Reacts To" video of Dirty Loop/Cory Wong's "Thriller," followed some links, and here I am, and damn, this is good! And I'm not a serious jazz fan, but I'll listen to this any day of the week.
640K views and I'm directly responsible for 110k of those. This is my go to while doing any sort of work, reports, cleaning or just playing with my kids. This is your best work Cory!!
Cory Wong is probably my favorite guitarist. I really like his technique where he keeps his hand pumping to the beat even when he's not striking the strings.
Sonny T... still on my shortlist of fave players. Such a big influence in my own playing (Duluth/Mpls. boy here!) since Diamonds & Pearls. Love the Warwick to pieces, too.
Cory and the rest of the crew (including EVERYONE) are just AMAZING!!!! Super PERFORMANCE, incredible SONGS AND ARRANGEMENTS, impeccable and uplifting GROOVE, unbelievable ENERGY! Thank you so much for sharing this art with us!!!
So I live in Chanhassen, and now there should be three reasons everyone would want to know about our city: the dinner theater, Paisley Park and its creator, and now Cory Wong!!! Music lovers unite!!!!!!
Every time I watch this my emotions go like this “I’m so inspired”. “I’m going to practice”. “Oh wait I sound nothing like him”. “I give up”. “ I know I’ll watch Cory wing for inspiration. And repeat
I'm not even a musician, I have zero talent at all besides maybe I can keep to a beat. I played violin and sung in choir in school and it was horrid lol. But the whole band makes me want to pick up new instruments and teach myself how to play and no one has ever made me feel that before. Incredible musicians.
when U play like that on Prince’s cloud guitar U should take it on tour around the world (in a day)...better that leaving’ it in the museum. Loved every minute of this session. Cheers. I think that Prince come down from heaven to watch this session from behind the mixing desk and even turned some knobs ;)
@Cory Wong I cannot thank you enough - as there are no words for it - that you wrote the song Meditation. and this incredible performance that you managed to capture all the vibe and feelings. Your co-musicians looks in their eyes and facial expression during the outro is invaluable. Thank you
As amazing as the whole band is I keep coming back to just how tasteful is Kevin Gastonguay's key work. Never in the way or others, always with the perfect fill to complement or set up a solo.
It is insanely crisp with everyone in the same room. Can’t believe how tight this band is too, especially with all the big solo breaks. This is getting me super pumped for the Toronto show coming up!
as a drummer i must mention the fat but tighhhhtt toms and bass! That audio engineer deserves a noble price and a grammy and an blowjob from god himself.
Everytime i watch this i get so inspired and all anxiety goes away very hard to find music that does this to me nowadays thank you so much guys you are so amazing. Sending you love and blessings.
just saw cory in boise, id. seriously probably the most epic show i've seen. just a kickass band all around. shoutout to kenny who is a serious sax wizard. i would pay double to see them again, if i had to.. thanks for your hardass work guys
Amazing, thank you guys for this F R E E session! I was reminded of this session when I heard one of your songs being used as transition for news in public broadcasting radio. Somehow German public broadcasting has your and Vulf's songs on their radar - lovely!
I wanted to play it in the background while doing something of utmost importance... NO WAY. There's so much going on, so much goodness - I needed the whole brain to digest it.
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