Take Note: Cory Wong

Cory Wong is a 23-year-old jazz protégé whose regular Tuesday-night gigs at the Artists’ Quarter in St. Paul have the local jazzerati buzzing. His quartet’s self-produced first CD, Even, Uneven, has been picked up by more than 20 jazz stations in the Midwest and is also beginning to get some well-deserved national airplay.

Grew Up: Fridley, Minnesota

Great Beginnings: Growing up I was into rock and punk, like any other kid. My dad got me into jazz. He was always playing John McLaughlin and Jaco Pastorius, then I started listening to Miles Davis, Ornette Coleman, and Coltrane, and I was hooked.

The New CD: Even, Uneven is contemporary progressive jazz, but that label doesn’t mean much these days. It’s very fusion influenced, but we’re also flexible. The most popular song on the CD—the one that gets the most radio play—is called “Idioteque,” and it’s based on a Radiohead song.

Musical Philosophy: I make clear to those who play with me that I want them to express who they are as a person. I want them to express the feelings they have that day—who they are in that moment of self-expression. That’s what keeps the music alive for our band.

iPod Shuffle: Bill Frisell, Pat Metheny, Radiohead, Israel and New Breed, Brad Mehldau, Happy Apple, Dean Magraw, Framework, The Bad Plus.

Check Him Out: The Cory Wong Quartet plays at the Artists’ Quarter every Tuesday night. His CD, Even, Uneven, is available on iTunes and Amazon, and locally at The Electric Fetus.