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Billy Cobham
The legendary Billy Cobham, with his matchless, dazzling, ambidextrous skills as a drummer, has applied the same insistent fervor to his long list of monumental achievements. He’s an accomplished composer and record producer.
It is a rarely known fact that he was at the forefront of the electronic music industry and it’s development through Jazz. He was one of the first percussionists, along with Max Roach and Tony
Williams to utilize the Electronic Drum Controller made in 1968 by the Meazzi Drum Company in Milano, Italy while on concert tour with Horace Silver in Europe. He is one of the few Percussionists, specializing in the Jazz drum set to lead his own band. The award winning Cobham has custom designed trend setting acoustic and electronic drum sets and has endorsed products that he created and refined.
He has performed on hundreds of records with his own groups and with some of the music’s most luminary artists, and his trademark - biggest, fastest, explosive drumming - has energized the international stages of concerts, symphonies, big bands, Broadway, festivals, television and video. He has been a teacher of his artistry, giving drum clinics, conducting workshops and symposiums throughout the world. His stylistic influence, which has literally created a category of music, is an outstanding part of the history of modern music.
Since 1980 Billy Cobham has been dividing his time between his home in Zurich and the United States where he lived in New York City and northern California until that time, underscoring his unique internationally influenced origins as a musician. Born 5/16/44 in Panama, surrounded by talented parents and a brother, Wayne (producer, horn player, midi specialist, writer), Billy’s love for drums was kindled by his cousins who played and constructed steel drums and congas in Panama. Some of his earliest memories are of himself playing Timbales.
The Cobhams moved to New York City in 1947, when Billy was 3 years old. He had his stage debut in performance with his father at the age of 8. Cobham developed his seriously voracious appetite for drumming in the highly competitive Drum and Bugle Corps. arena with St. Catherine’s Queensmen, prompting him to attend New York’s famed High School of Music and Art to study music theory and drum technique with seminars by such renowned talents as Thelonious Monk and Stan Getz. Cobham remembers "In those days, Jazz was a bit off-limits to students while classical music was preferred by the education establishment. So, of course students craved to meet jazz artists.
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A look back at 1975 with Miles Davis, John Abercrombie and Billy Cobham
by Len Davis
Some hard-edged music from Miles Davis's Agharta, John Abercrombie and Jan Hammer's Timeless and Lenny White's Venusian Summer. Billy Cobham's Shabazz and the funky sounds from Herbie Hancock's Manchild. The powerful sounds of The Mahavishnu Orchestra's Visions Of The Emerald Beyond, Return To Forever's No Mystery and Stanley Clarke's Journey To Love. Playlist Miles Davis “Prelude 2" from Agharta (CBS) 00:00 John Abercrombie “Lungs" from Timeless (ECM)08:09 Lenny White “Mating Drive" from Venusian Summer (Nemperor) 16:21 Billy Cobham ...
read moreThe Electric Years Box Set
by Mike Jurkovic
In a year that has brought us a true bounty of previously unheard majesty including Evenings at the Village Gate: John Coltrane with Eric Dolphy (Impulse!), and Bill Evans; Treasures: Solo, Trio & Orchestra Recordings from Denmark (1965-1969), (Elemental Music) it is only fitting that Miles Davis get his due. And in a very, very big way. Seared into modern memory, modern art, the music presented on the gloriously massive, eleven LP set Miles Davis: The Electric Years ...
read moreLarry Coryell: Improvisations: Best of the Vanguard Years
by Josef Woodard
There have been many smoother operators in the world of jazz guitar than Larry Coryell, the brainy rough rider who was a natural-born fusioneer, in the best sense. There have been cleaner technicians on the instrument, with a more lucid sense of identity and careers that have followed a logical, rolling landscape. But not many have quite attained Coryell's strange, madly eclectic state of grace: into music he came, he saw and heard things not yet articulated, he conquered on ...
read moreBilly Cobham's Crosswinds Project at the Gothic Theater
by Geoff Anderson
Billy Cobham's Crosswinds Project Gothic Theater Englewood, COSeptember 24, 2022 “Age ain't nothin' but a number." That's a common mantra chanted by the militantly aging. “Everything wears out." That's a quote from a wise auto mechanic. When those two concepts meet: CRASH! Saturday night, drummer Billy Cobham demonstrated exactly how to skirt any potential wreckage and carry on despite the inevitable deterioration wrought by Father Time. At age 78, Cobham has ...
read moreRob Silverman: Drumology Volume 2
by Jim Worsley
It would appear that Rob Silverman is on to something. With Drumology (Autumn Hill Records, 2020) having made some noise, Silverman powers on to Drumology Volume 2. Brother and keyboardist Michael Silverman returned to the scene along with bassist Larry Kornfeld, and keyboardist Jay Oliver, to join drummer Silverman as the core quartet of musicians. The brothers wrote eight pieces of music that were cultivated from a drummer's perspective. Every song is tailored to take advantage of the particular skill ...
read moreBilly Cobham Quartet and the Gustav Brom Radio Big Band at Symphony of Art in Bratislava
by Peter Hladký
Legendary fusion drummer Billy Cobham and his quartet performed at the multi-genre festival the Symphony of Art in Bratislava together with the Gustav Brom Radio Big Band on September 11, 2021. Cobham's quartet—comprised of Steve Hamilton, Ulf Wakenius, and Fifi Chayeb (bass)—along with the Gustav Brom Radio Big Band dazzled with compositions including “Panama," “A Days Grace," “Sweet Bocas," and “Cancun Market."—all from Broad Horizon, a 2016 recording with the Frankfurt Radio Big Band. The concert concluded with the iconic ...
read moreBilly Cobham, Larry Coryell, John Scofield, Gary Boyle and much more
by Len Davis
On today's program we dial it back to the '70s, with Billy Cobham, Jean-Luc Ponty and a feature on British jazz-rock from Gary Boyle and Isotope. Playlist Billy Cobham “Nickels and Dimes" from Inner Conflicts (Atlantic) 00:00 Larry Coryell “The Last Peavey" from Larry Coryell's Last swing with Ireland (Angel Air) 07:18 Jean-Luc Ponty “Infinite Pursuit" from Fables (Atlantic) 14:35 Gary Boyle “The Dancer" from The Dancer (Gull) 22:01 Isotope “Golden Section from Illusion (Gull) 29:21 George Duke ...
read moreRave Reviews For New Book On The Life And Work Of Jazz Fusion Legend Billy Cobham
Source:
Brian Gruber
Few musicians have transformed a genre like Panama-born, New York-raised Billy Cobham. Six Days at Ronnie Scott’s: Billy Cobham on Jazz Fusion and the Act of Creation is a one-of-a-kind oral history of a legend’s life work. From his early days with Horace Silver and Dreams to the epochal Bitches Brew sessions with Miles Davis to the breakthrough Mahavishnu Orchestra and beyond, here is a first-ever deep dive into six decades of musical innovation. The book’s setting is six days ...
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Sharon Hendrix, Talented Back-up Singer For Billy Cobham, Steps To Center Stage With Her Solo Debut
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
jny: Los Angeles, CA - After years of working just 20 feet from stardom Sharon “Muffy” Hendrix is stepping into the spotlight. Throughout her successful career Sharon has been singing backup on recording sessions and performing on stages across the world with top names including Billy Cobham, George Duke, Freddie Hubbard, Bob Dylan, Elton John, Tom Jones, Grace Slick & Starship, Olivia Newton-John, Dusty Springfield, Natalie Cole, Harry Chapin, Jermaine Stewart, Mac Davis, Michael White, Shirley Bassey and so many ...
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Billy Cobham's Spectrum 40 Spring USA Tour And CD Release, Spectrum 40 Live
Source:
Nancy Balik
JAZZ FUSION VIRTUOSO BILLY COBHAM ANNOUNCES SPRING 2015 TOUR OF SPECTRUM 40 SHOW AND RELEASE OF LIVE CD World-class jazz fusion drummer Billy Cobham announces his Spring 2015 USA Spectrum 40 Tour, in conjunction with the release of the double CD recording, Spectrum 40 Live. Celebrating the 40th anniversary of Cobham’s breakthrough album, Spectrum—widely regarded as one of the genre’s most influential works— the upcoming performance series and CD set feature Cobham’s explosive, complex style of play supported by the ...
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Billy Cobham To Release Two Live Albums From 1992 Tokyo Concert
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Los Angeles, CA – Much to the excitement of drummers and jazz aficionados worldwide, drum legend Billy Cobham will be releasing two live albums on Cleopatra Records. The first is Mirror's Image on February 17 (CD & VINYL), followed by Reflected Journey on April 28 (CD). The albums are two parts of the same show recorded in Tokyo on February 15, 1992 What an amazing career Billy Cobham has had. From his auspicious start in the late '60s touring and ...
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Drum Legend Billy Cobham Launches Previously Unreleased 1997 Live Album Compass Point
Source:
Glass Onyon PR - William James
Los Angeles, CA – In 1997, legendary jazz/fusion drummer Billy Cobham flew to New Providence in the Bahamas for a series of performances at the world famous Compass Point Hotel. Joined by his stellar jazz quartet including guitarist Carl Orr, keyboardist Gary Husband, and bassist Stefan Rademacher, the group recorded a set of all new compositions and improvisations. However, plagued by a series of troublesome events, the recordings remained on the shelf unheard by the general public – until now! ...
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Billy Cobham Online Drum School Goes Live
Source:
James Taylor
California-based music education technology company ArtistWorks has opened the ArtistWorks Drum Academy today with the launch of online drum schools from two of the world's top drummers: world-renowned fusion and jazz drumming legend Billy Cobham and rock drumming superstar Thomas Lang. Both the Billy Cobham School of Drums and the Thomas Lang School of Drums utilize ArtistWorks' patent-pending video technology, enabling drummers around the world to receive personalized video feedback and take online drum lessons to an unprecedented new level. ...
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Billy Cobham Announces Online Drum School
Source:
James Taylor
California-based music education company ArtistWorks will premiere the ArtistWorks Drum Academy (ADA) with the debut of online schools from three of the world's most accomplished, respected and talented drummers: world-renowned jazz and drumming legend Billy Cobham, drumming superstar/producer Thomas Lang, and latin percussion Icon Luis Conte. Launching on December 8th, both the Billy Cobham Drum School (BCDS) and the Thomas Lang Drum School (TLDS) will utilize ArtistWorks' patent-pending video technology, allowing for two-way video exchange and interactive instruction to elevate ...
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IN + OUT RECORDS Announces Exclusive U.S. National Distribution Through the Allegro Media Group with New Releases from Billy Cobham, Odean Pope and James Blood Ulmer
Source:
Michael Ricci
IN + OUT RECORDS, one of Europe's most enterprising and acclaimed independent jazz labels, with a reputation as a producer of recordings of the highest musical and technical quality established through its twenty plus years of releasing cutting edge music created by both American and European artists. The objective of the label, which was founded by Frank Kleinschmidt in Freiburg, Germany in 1988, is to produce sound and video recordings of innovative contemporary jazz music using state-of-the-art technology. Named after ...
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World Renowned Drummer, Billy Cobham-New Album Release January 2010
Source:
Michael Ricci
“PALINDROME" set to be released January 2010 New York, NY: Billy Cobham's 2nd installment in the “Fruit From The Loom" series is set to be released at the beginning of 2010 through his production company “CREATIVE MULTIMEDIA CONCEPTS." The compositions in “Palindrome" represent Billy's re-engagement with music that he created as far back as thirty years ago: songs like “Moon Germs" (from “Total Eclipse", 1975), “A Days Grace" ("Flight Time", 1981) are presented in updated arrangements along with “Two For ...
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Billy Cobham New Release "Palindrome" in 2010
Source:
All About Jazz
The Legendary Drummer Billy Cobham's new CD Palindrome is set to be released at the beginning of 2010.
About Billy Cobham
The legendary Billy Cobham, with his matchless, dazzling, ambidextrous skills as a drummer, has applied the same insistent fervor to his long list of monumental achievements. Hes an accomplished composer and record producer. It is a rarely known fact that he was at the forefront of the electronic music industry and its development through Jazz. He was one of ...
read more
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