UAA has signed “Fusion’s Greatest Drummer” Billy Cobham exclusively for North American representation.
William C. Cobham was born on May 16, 1944, in Panama, where he grew fond of percussion from watching his cousin play. At age three he moved to New York City with his family, and at age eight Billy made his percussion performance debut with his father. Growing up, Billy played in the St. Catherine’s Queensmen at the High School of Music and Art. After graduating, Billy served as a percussionist in the U.S. Army National Band. He then played as a drummer in pianist Horace Silver’s band and toured the U.S. with him throughout the late 1960s. He left to partake in Miles Davis’ fusion ensemble, where he can be heard on Davis classics such as ‘Like-Evil’ and ‘A Tribute to Jack Johnson.’ Eventually Cobham parted ways from Davis’ group to work with the Mahavishnu Orchestra, where he was able to further explore his technique and fusion style, which influenced many for years to come.
After deciding to part ways with the Orchestra, Cobham started his own band, Spectrum, and signed with Atlantic Records. Spectrum’s debut album featured a mix of jazz, funk and rock that allowed Cobham to further experiment with percussion. In 1975, Cobham released “A Funky Thide of Sings,” moving into commercial jazz exclusively. In 1977, Cobham left Atlantic and signed to the label CBS, which allowed him to reach the commercial success he had always wanted. Cobham focused on his opportunities as a session drummer and other side opportunities after leaving CBS, such as drumming for the Grateful Dead’s side project Bobby & the Midnites. In 1988, Cobham helped start a group called ‘Jazz is Dead’ that reprised Grateful Dead music with jazz iterations.
In 2001 Cobham was named one of the 25 Most Influential Drummers by Modern Drummer magazine. He paved the way for future drummers by changing the way percussion is set up, the way it is played and enjoyed. In 2001 Cobham released “Drum ‘n Voice 1,” which was his return to the 1970s jazz-funk sound, and in 2006 Cobham released “Drum ‘n Voice 2.” Eventually, Cobham released his follow-up record “Drum ‘n Voice 3” in 2009. In 2011 Cobham started teaching drums online at the Billy Cobham School of Drums, which is an ArtistWorks drum academy. In 2018 Cobham toured across the US with a performance series called “Crosswinds Project,” which was his way of revisiting his second album, Crosswinds. The tour re-comprised his original work from the 1970s, which continued into 2019 as a celebration of Cobham’s 75th birthday.
Cobham continues to tour worldwide.
