Billy Cobham
Crosswinds Project

Friday, October 21, 2022
Doors: 6pm / Show: 8pm
_________________________
General Admission
• $35 Advance / $40 Day of Show
• Seating Available First Come, First Served

VIP Reserved Seating
• $75 Advance / $80 Day of Show
• Includes Guaranteed Seating in Designated Section
• Full Dinner Menu Available
• All Ages
_________________________
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, his family moved to New York City 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 then 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 CBS label 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’ which reprised Grateful Dead music with jazz iterations.