Steve Cole Recruits Cory Wong For 'Maceology'

(MPG) Steve Cole has released "Maceology (feat. Cory Wong)," the second single from his upcoming album Sleight of Hand (out June 5 via Mack Avenue Music Group / Artistry Music).

For the raucous, funky tribute to the great James Brown/P-Funk saxophonist Maceo Parker, Cole called one of the most in-demand funk guitarists in music today, Cory Wong (Vulfpeck, Fearless Flyers) - a longtime acquaintance who had joined Cole's band for one memorable night at Dakota Jazz Club early in Wong's meteoric rise to fame.

"There are those times when you pinch yourself because you say 'wouldn't this track be amazing if Cory Wong was on it?' ...and then you realize that he lives in your town and is down to play guitar on your record!" Cole explains. "Then you add Ricky Peterson and Will Lee to the mix and legitimately start to worry about whether you're actually dreaming."

The exhilarating sound that has made Steve Cole one of the most popular artists on today's contemporary jazz scene was forged in two cities: his native Chicago and his longtime home of Minneapolis. "My whole musical foundation was built in Chicago," Cole says. "It's where I cut my teeth and it will always be my home. But I feel like I've come into my own in Minneapolis, and I've done my best work over the 17 years that I've lived here. I've been so inspired by the artistic community here and by the relationships I've formed with the brilliant musicians in the city. I don't think I would be where I am today if I lived anywhere else."

On the collection of 10 new original songs, Cole revels in the eclectic and beguiling funk and soul of the two cities that the saxophonist has called home. Cole brings together infectious grooves, sensual ballads and a thrilling energy with a captivatingly layered production, a tricky proposition that suggests the illusory misdirection of the title.

Sleight of Hand is a homecoming in another sense, in that it reunites the saxophonist with his longtime producer and co-writer, David Mann. Cole's first call upon relocating to Minneapolis was organist Ricky Peterson, who enjoyed a two-decade collaboration with David Sanborn and worked with Prince as both a producer and a keyboardist at various times throughout the Purple One's legendary career.

Other musicians that breathe life into Sleight of Hand represent Cole's local community as well as the extended network of collaborators that he has met through his travels across the globe. They include guitarist Bernd Schoenhart (Cher, Marc Anthony); trumpeter Trevor Neumann (The Eagles, Jeff Lorber); bassists Mel Brown (Stevie Wonder, The Temptations) and Will Lee (Paul Shaffer, The Brecker Brothers); and drummers Brian Dunne (Hall and Oates, Ariana Grande) and Eric Valentine (Joe Satriani, Erykah Badu).

Sleight of Hand is a joyous and celebratory affair, showcasing the love and reverence that Cole maintains for his two musical homes, their bold spirits and their breathtakingly diverse sounds.

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