Billy Cobham in Zurich

Billy Cobham is a Panamanian-American drummer and composer, born in Panama City in 1944 and raised in New York. His forceful, highly detailed playing helped shape the jazz-rock sound of Miles Davis’s Bitches Brew and the Mahavishnu Orchestra, while his 1973 solo debut Spectrum produced enduring pieces including “Stratus” and “Red Baron.” In 1973, the Mahavishnu Orchestra recorded Between Nothingness & Eternity at the Schaefer Music Festival in Central Park, with Billy Cobham on drums. Three years later, he and George Duke toured Europe in a band whose performances were documented on Live on Tour in Europe. He returned to his debut album’s repertoire in 2013 for the Spectrum 40 tour.