Billy Cobham

As we enter the Villanos Jazz club —in Madrid— we got bombarded by the volcanic energy emanating from the center of a frantic sonic radiation that is the drummer of this powerful ensamble. Like an octopus possesing multiple arms, his feet and hands have become one, the feet are an extension of the hands through the magic of the double bass, played with dense and narcotic but precise rhytm that has capture the bodies and souls of the flabergassted audience. With an explosive, fast, demanding and complex interplay of hard bop and rock jazz, with a funky flavored approach. This musical god, resembling the multiple limbed indian avatars (like the Dance of Maya expressing the limitless possibilites of an instant), trained in Eastern influences with the guitar shredder John Maclaughlin, and who has gone electronic with the very Miles Davis, has the capacity to deliver the infinite patterns and combinations of the polyphonic sound in a audacious array of agressive chops. And, suddenly, he starts to burn high in a low flame, preparing for the solo where he will shine like a bird of fire, like the used to do while playing with Mahavishnu. Billy Cobham is, undoubtenly, progressive and modern rythmically and melodically. This superhuman drumming machine has established himself in the glorious hights of the musical heroes, like Max Roach or Tony Williams. He has been sampled by Massive Attack and has collaborated with the likes of Ben Carter and Herbie Hancock with whom he played in his own trio. He can also play in a low volume, go almost into a whisper to let the piano, the guitar and the bass shine on the spectrum of his high performance and masterful tempo. Speed is also fun and Billy knows it, as he knows how to use the open handed technique for stick control and the ability to groove at a new level by being good at multitasking and playing fast, but effortesly, without tension and with the right balancing posture of a bodhisattva, breathig to fuel his inner fire and blow your mind with power balance and control, the kind of things you need to lead a succesful life. 

Before leaving Vilanis, our favorite jazz joint, I had the oppotprtunity to have a picture taken with my hero. I grabbed his arm, in a friendly manner, and I could feel his immensely powerful biceps pulsating with raw energy, despite the fact that he will turn eihgty next May. True story. Recomended album: Spectrum.