Profile via TMDB · Courtesy of TMDB
Billy Cobham
Sign in to saveAlso known as Bill Cobham, William Emanuel Cobham Jr., William Emanuel Cobham
Panamanian jazz drummer and composer (born 1944)
OverviewAI-generated
Billy Cobham, born William Emanuel Cobham Jr. on 16 May 1944 in Colón City, Panama, is a drummer, composer, percussionist, and educator who began his career in 1968. He plays drum kit, percussion, and voice, works in jazz, post-bop, jazz rock, and funk, and is left-handed. Cobham was a member of the Mahavishnu Orchestra and recorded for Atlantic Records, Fania Records, Columbia Records, and CTI Records. He speaks Spanish.
Synthesized by Vinony from 27 facts across 5 sources: Wikidata, MusicBrainz, Last.fm, TMDb, Firecrawl. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.
Film & TV
Colón, Panama
William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. According to AllMusic, Cobham is generally acclaimed as fusion's greatest drummer. He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.…
Known for
- Phil Collins: Drummer First — Self2024
- Billy Cobham: Spectrum 40 - Live at Lotos Jazz Festival — Self - drums2014
- Billy Cobham - Live At Nancy Jazz Pulsation 2011 — Self - drums2011
- John McLaughlin & Billy Cobham: Live at Montreux 2010 — Self - drums2010
- Quincy Jones : 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux — Self2008
- Jazz Legends: Billy Cobham Live At The Palais Des Festivals Hall Cannes 1989 — Self2006
- Billy Cobham's Glass Menagerie: Live in Riazzino, Switzerland — Self2005
- Common Ground Inspiration Drum DVD — Self2005
- Billy Cobham's: New Morning The Paris Concert — Self2005
- World of Rhythm - Live in Lugano — Self2002
via TMDB
Music · MusicBrainz
- Type
- Person
- Gender
- Male
- Country
- Switzerland
- Active from
- 1944
Discography
- Spectrum1973
- Crosswinds1974
- Total Eclipse1974
- A Funky Thide of Sings1975
- Shabazz1975
- Life & Times1976
- Magic1977
- Alivemutherforya1978
- Inner Conflicts1978
- Simplicity Of Expression - Depth Of Thought1978
Member of
via MusicBrainz · CC0
Listeners · Last.fm
- Listeners
- 325,497
- Total plays
- 2,994,801
Tags
On May 16, 1944, in Panama, one of the world’s most influential drummers, best known for his jazz fusion in the 1970s, Mahavishnu Orchestra, where he pioneered a powerful style of drumming with jazz, rock and funk influences, was born, named Billy Cobham. He is the first drummer to unseat Buddy Rich in the Down Beat music polls. Cobham has played and recorded with hundreds of top musicians, including Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Larry Coryell, and Horace Silver; and is famous for his explosiv
Key facts
- Born
- William Emanuel Cobham Jr. , ( 1944-05-16 ) May 16, 1944 (age 82) , Colón, Panama
- Genres
- Jazz jazz fusion jazz funk progressive rock
- Occupations
- Musician songwriter bandleader educator
- Instruments
- Drums, percussion
- Years active
- 1968–present
- Labels
- Atlantic Columbia CTI Elektra GRP
- Formerly of
- Mahavishnu Orchestra New York Jazz Quartet Jazz Is Dead Bobby and the Midnites
- Website
- billycobham .com
via Wikipedia infobox
Wikidata facts
- Instance of
- human
- Given name
- Billy
- Family name
- Cobham
- Gender
- male
- Citizenship
- Panama
- Place of birth
- Colón City
- Occupation
- jazz musician
- Languages spoken
- Spanish
- Genre
- funk
- Instrument
- percussion instrument
- Record label
- CTI Records
- Official website
- www.billycobham.com/html
- Image
- Billy Cobham Kongsberg Jazzfestival 2024 (140927).jpg
Show 7 more facts
- Commons category
- Billy Cobham
- date of birth
- 1944-05-16
- Commons gallery
- Billy Cobham
- name in native language
- William Emanuel Cobham Jr.
- start of work period
- 1968-00-00
- member of
- Mahavishnu Orchestra
- handedness
- left-handedness
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~13 min read
Encyclopedic overview
William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra.
Cobham was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013. AllMusic biographer Steve Huey said: "Generally acclaimed as fusion's greatest drummer, Billy Cobham's explosive technique powered some of the genre's most important early recordings – including groundbreaking efforts by Miles Davis and the Mahavishnu Orchestra – before he became an accomplished bandleader in his own right. At his best, Cobham harnessed his amazing dexterity into thundering, high-octane hybrids of jazz complexity and rock & roll aggression."
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Billy Cobham” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.