Billy Cobham Booking Agency Profile

Billy Cobham Biography

World renowned jazz drummer and composer Billy Cobham was born in 1944 in Panama. Cobham grew up in New York City and studied at the High School of Music and Art. After graduating in 1962, Billy first played for the U.S. Army Band, and then returned to the New York music scene, performing around the city and introducing New Yorkers to a unique blend jazz fusion, incorporating elements of of funk, jazz, and rock.

In 1971, Billy Cobham began to tour extensively with Miles Davis, and for the next few years he also collaborated with a number of other musicians to perform on their albums as well. In the early 1970’s he also joined the Mahavishnu Orchestra, but all the while keeping his sights on a future as a solo performer. In 1973, Billy Cobham released his debut album, Spectrum, which featured a number of his fellow Mahavishnu colleagues. The album was the start to a string of ground-breaking jazz fusion records released over the following decade, including: Crosswinds (1974), Total Eclipse (1974), and A Funky Thide of Sings (1975.)

In recent years, Billy Cobham has collaborated with performers such as Jack Bruce, the Grateful Dead, and Bobby and the Midnites. He also formed Billy Cobham’s Glass Menagerie, with fellow muisicians Mike Stern, Tim Landers, Gil Goldstein, and Michael Urbaniak. Most recently, Billy Cobham surprised his fans with his first album in over twenty-five years, Tales from the Skeleton Coast, released in 2014.