Billy Cobham

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Billy Cobham performing on Réunion in October 2006

Billy Cobham, born May 16, 1944 in Panama, is widely regarded as one of the world's best and most influential drummers, best known for his jazz fusion in the 1970s, with John McLaughlin's Mahavishnu Orchestra, where he pioneered a powerful style of drumming with jazz, rock and funk influences.

He has played and recorded with hundreds of top musicians, including Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Larry Coryell, and Horace Silver; and is famous for his explosive, fast, spectacular playing.

He has been sampled, most famously by Massive Attack in their tune "Safe from Harm", centred on the beat and bassline of Cobham's "Stratus", from his debut album Spectrum, and also by Souls of Mischief in the Hip-Hop classic "93 Til' Infinity", based on the bassline and keyboards of "Heather", from 1974's Crosswinds

Prior to his emergence with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham worked with Horace Silver in 1968, then with Miles Davis, on classic recordings like Live-Evil and A Tribute to Jack Johnson. The preface to his work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra was his work on John McLaughlin's album My Goal's Beyond. Cobham toured extensively from 1971 to 1973 with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, who released two studio albums and one live album. The original studio versions of tunes on the live album were later released as The Lost Trident Sessions in 1999. In May 1973, still with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Cobham recorded his first solo album Spectrum, with musicians including Jan Hammer, from the Mahavishnu Orchestra, and Tommy Bolin, a guitarist who later played with heavy rock band Deep Purple. Just before the Mahavishnu Orchestra's last touring leg, in late 1973, Cobham recorded and toured with Carlos Santana and John McLaughlin, in concerts which featured material from their album Love Devotion Surrender, and Cobham's own material. In 1980 he worked with Jack Bruce, in a band called Jack Bruce & Friends.

A number of solo albums followed (as of July 2005, Cobham has released over 30 recordings under his own name), and Cobham continues as a recording artist and musical educator to this day. In 2006, Billy Cobham released the cd "Drum n voice 2". This was a return to the 1970s jazz funk sound with guests like, Jan Hammer, Buddy Miles John Patitucci, Jeff Berlin, Dominic Miller, Mike Lindup, Airto Moreira, Frank Gambale, Brian Auger, Guy Barker and the band Novecento. The cd is produced and arranged by Pino & Lino Nicolosi for Nicolosi productions - Just Groove. A complete discography can be found at Cobham's own homepage.

Billy Cobham in 1973
Billy Cobham in 1973

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