Billy Cobham
Spectrum

Year of birth: 1944
Birthplace: Panama
Distinguishing Features: Human drum machine.

1972: John McLaughlin's "Mahavishnu Orchestra" loses its percussionist, who, tired of being forced to "simply" chase the double-neck Gibson's acrobatic progressions, decides to switch roles, forms a more than decent band, and starts forcing others to follow him.

1973: "Spectrum" is released, the debut album that fully meets the three goals Cobham set for himself at the outset.
1 - Show the world that Krupa, Rich, Bonham, and anyone considered a great percussionist should watch their backs.
2 – Refresh the sound of Jazz in the ears of large audiences.
3 - Pay the bills, not disappointing old fans while adding new ones.

To do this, the black man with flying forearms offers an assembly of tracks that satisfy the entire audience he intends to propose the work to. The first point is amply satisfied with three pieces plus an interlude, played “solo": “Anxiety,” “Searching For The Right Door,” “Snoopy's Search,” and the first part of “Stratus,” which have caused “Moby Dick” to lose some points in my personal ranking: technically flawless, rhythmically engaging, and with maximum power at those speeds (he may not be Brad Wilk or Vincent P. Abbot, but thanks a lot...).

The second and third points are “fused” in the rest of the album, with “Taurian Matador” where our guy organizes a “brawl” with Tommy Bolin's guitar, “Red Baron” brings the psychedelic sounds of those years (1973, the year of Pink Floyd, Yes, Genesis, Michele Vecchiocampo) with Jan Hammer's keyboards, the second part of “Stratus,” with L. Sklar's bass, “Spectrum” with Joe Farrel's sax (at that time more famous than Billy himself), and finally Quadrant 4, where guitar and percussion act as the “timekeepers” of the sound. Surely the second group of songs, which also see him as a composer, is easier to listen to, but never banal, leaving room for other instruments but never letting go of the walls of sound he has architected, and reaches out to a type of jazz (later named Jazz Fusion), taking a small step towards the rock of those years, which, if he wanted to pay the bills, with the torrent of gems I referred to a few lines before, the talks were non-existent, and surely for the same reason, this product did not particularly break through, while The Dark Side Of The Moon... why even mention it?

Final note, you may not like him, he may disgust you, but if you happen to see his name on a festival billboard (he comes to Italy very often), you can't miss an old man who takes an hour to reach the drums, but once seated, he seems like he had a “Sid Barrett snack.” One of the greatest musicians around, for technique, ideas, talent for improvisation (with all due respect to Nek's drummer).