Billy Cobham

Billy Cobham
Cobham performing at WOMAD in July 2005
Background information
Birth name	William Emanuel Cobham Jr.
Born	(1944-05-16) May 16, 1944 (age 80) Colón, Panama
Genres	Jazz jazz fusion jazz funk progressive rock
Occupation(s)	Musician songwriter bandleader educator
Instrument(s)	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

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.

He was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1987^[1] and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013.^[2] 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."^[3]

Cobham's influence stretched far beyond jazz; he influenced progressive rock contemporaries like Bill Bruford of King Crimson, and later ones like Danny Carey of Tool. Prince and Jeff Beck both played a version of Cobham's "Stratus" in concert. Phil Collins, who named the Mahavishnu Orchestra's The Inner Mounting Flame as a key influence on his early style, said: "Billy Cobham played some of the finest drumming I've ever heard on that record."