Untitled Document
BILLY COBHAM BAND
USA, Europe
Billy Cobham – dr
Jean-Marie Ecay – g
Christophe Cravero – key/violin
Junior Gill – steel pan
Hadrien Feraud – b
One of the best drummers in the world, Billy Cobham is perhaps the crowning glory of this year's European jazz. A musician who is guaranteed to make an impression on the audiences of even the largest jazz festivals, Billy Cobham’s name has long been inscribed in the history of jazz and this autumn he is undoubtedly the most prominent guest of the festival.
Some people may say that inviting Cobham, usually presented as an American musician, sounds a wrong note for a festival dominated, this year, by European jazz. Yet, real fans of Billy Cobham would know that to pigeon hole this drummer and composer to a single country is impossible. Born in Panama, raised in New York, Cobham has lived in Switzerland for nearly 30 years. On his latest album he cooperates with fellow musicians from Nigeria, and the group that is arriving in Vilnius consists of musicians from England, France, and Brazil. If the authorities allowed, Cobham's passport would state “citizen of the world”.
When Cobham was three, he and his parents moved from Panama to New York. He earned his first royalties as early as the age of eight—for a concert with his pianist father’s group. After graduating from music school in New York, even the army did not prevent the youngster from developing his talent—for three years he played in the percussion section of the army orchestra. In 1968, he was demobbed, and soon joined the musical life of the States playing with, the pianist, Horace Silver’s group as well as guitarist George Benson and saxophonist Stanley Turrentine.
The crucial moment in Cobham’s life was the move to fusion—a style that mixes elements of jazz and rock. In 1969, he founded the group Dreams, featuring such musicians as brothers Michael and Randy Brecker and guitarist John Abercrombie, who have all left their mark on the history of jazz. A year later, the virtuoso technique of the drummer was noticed by the jazz genius Miles Davis. As a member of Miles Davis’ group, Cobham made a contribution to four albums, including the jazz classic Bitches Brew.
In 1971, Cobham participated in another acclaimed project, the group Mahavishnu Orchestra, established together with the guitarist John McLaughlin and called one of the most influential fusion groups of all times.
The artist, constantly looking for innovations, released his first solo album Spectrum in 1973. Since then, his biography is full of many interesting musical projects.
In the seventies, apart from his solo career, Billy toured with John McLaughlin and Carlos Santana, and performed as a member of the New York Jazz Quartet. The eighties brought membership of a group founded by blues guitarist Hack Bruce; performances with the bass player Stanley Clarke; and collaborations with drummer Tony Williams, and John Scofield, a guitarist well known to audiences of Vilnius Mama Jazz festival., And in 1998, music fans were surprised by the project Jazz Is Dead, where Cobham and his fellow musicians played instrumental versions of the songs of the famous US rock band The Grateful Dead.
A continuous thread in Cobham’s story is his interest in the music of myriad nations. Cobham has collaborated with the prominent British rock singer and ethnic music-lover, Peter Gabriel, has regularly assisted at the WOMAD world music festival, and for the past seven years has been involved with the Brazilian group Asere.
At the beginning of the current decade audiences were presented with Cobham’s project Art Of Jazz—where he performed together with Ron Carter, Kenny Baron, James Williams, Guy Barker, and other well-known musicians in groups of various hues.
In each of 30 solo discs recorded by Cobham, the musician offers something new, and persistently surprises listeners with the sources of inspiration for his music. Last year’s Fruit from the Loom dedicated to the memory of his parents, features pieces reminiscent of Latin American rhythms that reflect the musician’s visits to Brazil. A year before, the album Drum n Voice 2, recorded with John Patitucci and other stars, showcased a different, funk sound.
Billy says that he’s looking for a sound close to his nature, because music is a way to reveal something new about himself. This is how he explains the twists in his creative work.
Cobham has earned a position of prominence not only as a musician, but also as a composer and an educator. His master classes are always highly popular, and thousands of young drummers learn from Billy’s books.
The importance of the musician in today’s culture is attested by a documentary produced about Billy in 2007, entitled Sonic Mirror and shown at film and music festivals in Europe, Asia, South America, and Australia.
Prior to his performance at the legendary Ronnie Scott Jazz Club in London this year, the drummer summed up the group we will hear at European jazz and in his Internet blog wrote that he finally put together the individuals he felt could help him make the musical statement he has been seeking for quite some time.
It’s better not to engage in second guessing what we will hear at his show—Billy Cobham’s repertoire contains so many compositions one never knows what nostalgic melody or unexpected surprise the musician has up his sleeve.
One thing is beyond doubt—the concert will be a more precise portrait of this prominent artist than any description published in a music encyclopaedia.
“Music will tell the world who you are. You can’t lie through this medium,” Cobham once said. There are absolutely no grounds to doubt these words.
