BILL COBHAM: The Power Player

Billy Cobham is widely regarded as the premier drummer of jazz-rock fusion’s golden era—and he remains a dynamic and revered player to this day. Whether it’s his astoundingly intense and dense work on Mahavishnu Orchestra tunes like “One Word,” his heavily sampled and widely covered solo track “Stratus,” or his earlier studio output with giants of jazz and R&B including George Benson, Miles Davis, James Brown, and John McLaughlin, Cobham’s innovation, flexibility, and inner drive serve as examples of drumming drama and imagination that players still aspire to today.

 

Cobham was born in Panama in 1944 and moved with his family to New York City when he was three. In his teenage years, he developed his profound snare drum technique as a member of St. Catherine’s Queensmen, a prominent drum and bugle corps. Cobham attended the High School of Music & Art, then served as a percussionist in the U.S. Army band. After leaving the military, he became a first-call session drummer, working with Horace Silver, Stanley Turrentine, and George Benson, among others. Cobham also recorded a number of seminal Miles Davis albums, including Live-Evil, A Tribute to Jack Johnson, and On the Corner. Even on these early recordings, the Cobham trademarks are present: an angular feel that implies an almost cubist rock sensibility within jazz rhythms, incredibly graceful yet powerful snare drum punctuations, and a devilishly determined pulse.

These qualities would be maximized in the innovative Mahavishnu Orchestra, founded by guitarist John McLaughlin and featuring the brilliant ensemble of Cobham, bassist Rick Laird, keyboardist Jan Hammer, and violinist Jerry Goodman. Combining the velocity and complexity of Indian rhythms with the aggression of heavy metal, Mahavishnu performed with nearly unfathomable improvisational skills, setting a new bar for musicians of virtually every genre.

Assailing his clear double bass Fibes drumset with earth-flattening single-stroke tom rolls, aggressive rudimental snare figures, and complex odd-meter rhythms, Cobham brought a heretofore-unknown power to the instrument. Mahavishnu’s 1971 release, The Inner Mounting Flame, established Cobham as a new force in the drumming world. Playing spectacular linear patterns against agitated full-set orchestrations, Cobham stuns, track after track. On the opener, “Meeting of the Spirits,” he astounds with multilayered tom fills and a dancing 3/4 rhythm. But as “Dawn,” the album’s next track, proves, Cobham could also play with great sensitivity and subtlety, performing a mellow rock groove closer to Jim Keltner than to Terry Bozzio. The Inner Mounting Flame also features the turbulent samba-onsteroids metal of “The Noonward Race” and the completely in-your-face “Vital Transformation.”

A series of atmospheric gong peals signals the self-titled opening track of Mahavishnu’s second release, 1973’s Birds of Fire, which is enlivened by Cobham’s floating pulse and Hammer’s ethereal electric piano. Supporting McLaughlin’s howling guitar solo, Cobham creates a unique space somewhere between Indian chant hypnosis and free-jazz exploration. Other Birds of Fire highlights include the tombursting rolls and rumbling bass drum patterns of “Celestial Terrestrial Commuters” and the intense buzz-to-double-stroke roll that introduces “One Word,” one of the greatest tracks in the band’s discography. Fired by blistering ensemble figures and Cobham’s head-demolishing fills, the tune settles into an agitated groove that builds in intensity, rising to additional unison figures, solos, and even greater dynamic shifts. “Open Country Joy” recalls a rustic rural jaunt until Cobham and McLaughlin rip a blazing 16th-note unison figure that leads into intense guitar, violin, and keyboard solos.

Between Nothingness and Eternity, from 1973, documents a live Mahavishnu performance in Manhattan’s Central Park. Free from studio constraints, the album reveals the band’s amazing telepathy—and Cobham’s profound stamina and power—over three long tracks.

Cobham’s solo debut, Spectrum, confirms not only Billy’s great drumming originality but also his distinctive compositional flair. Featuring Jan Hammer, Deep Purple guitarist Tommy Bolin, and bassist Lee Sklar, Spectrum remains one of the most enduring albums of the fusion canon. Cobham’s knotty patterns pop like firecrackers, while sticking flurries erupt with primal ferocity. Alternately, the drummer’s delicate touch enlightens “Spectrum” and “Le Lis,” while “Taurian Matador” and “Quadrant 4” are raging improv vehicles, with Bolin and Hammer trading exhilarating fours as Cobham drives the music to feverish heights.

After Spectrum, Cobham enjoyed growing popularity as a bandleader, and he released two adventurous albums in 1974, Crosswinds and Solar Eclipse. “Live” on Tour in Europe, from 1976, captures the amazing Billy Cobham–George Duke Band, which included bassist Alphonso Johnson and the then-unknown guitarist John Scofield.

While still possessing remarkable drumming abilities, Cobham was drawn to more commercial fare in the late ’70s and ’80s, seemingly determined to shake off the fusion tag. He continued to perform in challenging situations, however, including Jazz Is Dead’s 1998 recording, Blue Light Rain, and his own later solo releases Paradox, The Art of Three, and Drum ’n’ Voice. Cobham’s excellent Palindrome, from 2010, reminded fans why the drummer caused such a fuss in the first place. And The Lost Trident Sessions, an album documenting the original Mahavishnu Orchestra’s final days, was released in 1999, confirming that lineup’s ferocity, group telepathy, and influence on subsequent generations of fusion musicians.

 

“Billy Cobham is an extremely melodic and rhythmic drummer, not just a great timekeeper and technician,” says 2012 MD Pro Panelist Terri Lyne Carrington.

“His ability to make the drumset groove while playing interesting figures makes him one of the most musical drummers of his time. His solid background in more traditional jazz is an important factor in his greatness as well. And his sense of freedom inside uncompromising groove sets him apart. Love him.”