Cory Wong and Dave Koz join forces for new collaborative album, The Golden Hour

Cory Wong and revered jazz saxophonist Dave Koz have teamed up for an all-new collaborative album titled The Golden Hour – an 11-track offering set for a June 11 release that will combine Wong’s funk wizardry with Koz’s silky sax improvisations.

Supported by Wong’s usual 10-piece house band, the pair have ushered in the news with the release of the record’s soulful lead single, Today, as well as an accompanying performance video.

Some clean Cory Wong chordal constructions introduce the track’s tempo with a swagger, with Koz serving up a seriously soulful saxophone solo that trades licks with the rest of the brass section and echoes the rhythmic electric guitar stabs.

“Recording The Golden Hour was the most fun I’ve ever had in the studio,” recalls Koz, who has racked up nine Grammy award nominations over the course of his career. “It was also the most terrifying, but in a good way, because it was all about being vulnerable and having to stand on my own musical instincts, with everyone jamming on the arrangements at the same time.”

“It’s all about exploration,” Koz continued. “Sometimes collaborations are completely transactional but our friendship ensures that this incredible album isn’t just a one-time merger of musical forces. I’m happy to say we’re already writing songs for the next project!”

Of the upcoming offering, Wong added, “Besides The Golden Hour being one of Dave’s favorite songs on the album, the term conjures up an image of a quintessential part of the day, either the afternoon before sunset or just after the sun comes up.

“That moment is about capturing warmth and authenticity when you feel so alive and full of energy, excited about what the future may hold,” he continued. “It’s that intersection between night and day, a transitional moment where momentum shifts from one thing to another.”

For Wong, The Golden Hour will be his second album of 2021 following on from February’s Cory and The Wongnotes, continuing his fine funk form that saw him release a jaw-dropping eight studio albums last year.

The Golden Hour tracklist is as follows:

1. Today
2. Getaway Car
3. Feed The Id
4. The Golden Hour
5. Junkyard Dunebuggy
6. Little Rascals
7. Family Reunion
8. Engine 71
9. Your Side of Town (Art of Key Noise) feat. Phoebe Katis
10. Together Again
11. Gratitude 

The Golden Hour is available to preorder now ahead of its release on June 11.