Home » Jazz Musicians » Cory Cox

Cory Cox

Drummer Cory Cox is a native of Houston, TX. Inspired by his family’s passion for music, he studied privately and worked with the youth choir at his church at age eight. Developing an interest in music history, he enrolled into the arts program at Johnston Middle School and The High School for The Performing and Visual Arts. Working with various ensembles and mentors that introduced him to jazz and world music, he was inspired to pursue a music career that would take him around the world. While Cory was in high school, he was selected to become a member of the Texas Music Educators Association and the Gibson Baldwin Grammy Jazz Ensemble where he performed with the High School Grammy Jazz Choir. Gaining exposure to various music programs around the country lead to Cory receiving a scholarship from Blue Note recording artist Jason Moran to attend college and he was selected as a 2006-08 Brubeck Institute Fellow at the University of the Pacific in Stockton, CA. As a Brubeck Fellow, he received ensemble coaching from mentors Dave Brubeck, Joe Gilman, Fred Hersch, Robert Glasper, Bob Hurst, Christian McBride, Jeff “Tain” Watts, Eric Harland, Freddie Hubbard, Nicholas Payton, Miguel Zenon and Joshua Redman. The Brubeck Institute Jazz Quintet was selected as the 2007 Down Beat Magazine best college ensemble. Cory credits the Brubeck institute as one the most insightful musical experiences. After completing the two-year fellowship program, Cory moved to NYC to finish his undergrad studies at the New School University. Since moving to NY, Cory has performed and toured with the Dave Brubeck Quartet, Reggie Workman, the Ben Flocks Quartet, John Ellis, Joel Frahm, Javier Vercher, Marcus Strickland, Jimmy Owens, John Raymond, the Hironobu Saito Group, Thana Pavelic, Lorenzo Conte and many others throughout the U.S, Europe, Switzerland, Croatia and Japan. Cory currently teaches privately and lead ensemble workshops at Stanford Jazz in California and Litchfield Jazz in Connecticut. He credits Jesus, his family, Keith Sanders, Sebastian Whittaker, Craig Green, Conrad Johnson, Warren Sneed and his peers as his greatest inspiration.

Awards

Texas Music Educators Award -2006 Gibson/Baldwin Grammy Band- 2006 Dave Brubeck Fellowship -2006-08 DownBeat Best College Ensemble -2007

Kristina Koller: Walk on By

Read "Walk on By" reviewed by Konstantin N. Rega

by Konstantin N. Rega
June 15, 2025

How to tackle a project of cover songs? Well, singer Kristina Koller tells us on her fourth release, Walk on By, a tribute to composing legend Burt Bacharach. With the assistance of pianist and Rhodes player Fima Chupakhin, bassist James Robbins, drummer Cory Cox and some vocal backups, the group meshes with ease, offering toothsome tunes. Koller does not go in for the Karen Carpenter type of silkiness. No, she is a little soulful; rough yet mellow in her vocals. ...

Album Review

Caili O'Doherty: Bluer Than Blue

Read "Bluer Than Blue" reviewed by Pierre Giroux

by Pierre Giroux
May 12, 2025

Pianist and arranger Caili O'Doherty has carved out a niche as both an incisive interpreter of the jazz tradition and an innovator unafraid to reshape it. With Bluer Than Blue, she turns her keen musical intellect toward the underappreciated Lil Hardin Armstrong, a trailblazing composer, pianist, and bandleader whose influence has long lingered in the shadows of her more famous husband Louis Armstrong. O'Doherty doesn't merely recreate Hardin's music; she reimagines it for the 21st Century with bold harmonies, time ...

Liner Notes

New Faces: New Sounds

by Dan Bilawsky
February 13, 2023

While established forces typically radiate clout and currency, it's the new faces, beaming with hope and the promise for what's to come, that tend to shine brightest. Posi-Tone Records, not surprisingly, supports that line of thinking. Promoting emerging artists has long been a mission for the label, which prides itself on seeking out and nurturing burgeoning talent, and this aptly named project, launched with one group of individuals on 2018's Straight Forward and carried to tremendous heights with different personnel ...

Album Review

Caili O'Doherty: Quarantine Dream

Read "Quarantine Dream" reviewed by Kyle Simpler

by Kyle Simpler
June 26, 2022

The pandemic affected people in many different ways. For some, it raised new levels of awareness about health and prevention, but for others it also became a means of artistic discovery. This latter point is certainly the case for pianist Caili O'Doherty. In spite of being careful and taking precautions, she ultimately contracted COVID. While dealing with the illness, she found herself in a dreamlike state as she tried to get over it. During her ordeal, she used music as ...

Album Review

New Faces: New Sounds

Read "New Sounds" reviewed by David A. Orthmann

by David A. Orthmann
February 23, 2021

What to listen for in a recording curated by a veteran producer that features a group of young, up-and-coming musicians with skillsets rooted in the bop, hard bop and modal continuum? When the styles are familiar, it's best to start with the material. If the tunes routinely sound like they're made of parts lifted from the classic and near classic jazz repertoire, it sets a negative tone for the rest of the record, sometimes even offsetting the strength of the ...

Album Review

New Faces: New Sounds

Read "New Sounds" reviewed by Kyle Simpler

by Kyle Simpler
January 30, 2021

It's refreshing to see younger artists gaining recognition in jazz circles. The energy and performances of such players often adds a sense of vitality to the music, and Posi-Tone Records has been at the forefront of bringing many of these emerging artists to the mainstream. In 2017, for example, Marc Free, the owner and producer of Posi-Tone, assembled a group of young musicians to showcase on the album New Faces: Straight Forward. This turned out to be a successful venture, ...