Billy Cobham

This is a crazy question, but does anyone know how tall Billy Cobham is? Just curious because I often see him playing drums with 22" kicks and enormous toms (9" to 14" depths) positioned relatively flat, not angled. This would make sense for a really tall player, but Cobham looks kind of short in videos.
 
Saw his band recently at the Regattabar, and he does come to stage front to talk to the audience a few times. Based on that, I would say he's pretty average height. Didn't strike me as particularly short or tall.
 
In some respects, Cobham is very tall because he is standing on the shoulders of giants. However, he sometimes appears to be shorter because others are standing on his shoulders. hehehe.
 
This is a crazy question, but does anyone know how tall Billy Cobham is? Just curious because I often see him playing drums with 22" kicks and enormous toms (9" to 14" depths) positioned relatively flat, not angled. This would make sense for a really tall player, but Cobham looks kind of short in videos.

If you have seen him play you must have noticed his throne height make it seem he's almost standing up. (OK, not really, but that compensates for his height).
 
Fabulous drummer and an immense influence on his peers in the 70s. Say no more!

He was as important as Keith Moon and John Bonham. They would probably agree too!
 
Does anyone know if Cobham is now using and endorsing Tama STAR drums?
 
anybody have a RED BARON transcription that they could post up on the forum. Havent found it on the net.

Unfortunately not even close, but I tried to learn the head by ear and I did write out that cool triplet fill during the head if that's of any interest. It's kind of hard to hear but I think it's roughly right...

It's near the bottom of this link: http://carolinescot8.wix.com/carolinescott#!transcriptions/c347

Caroline
 
My show is and has always been about leadership, love and life.
Leadership from those spirits who have long since left this planet, and the lessons we can learn from them.
love, for the commitment to musical excellence and letting the power off the orchestra feed off each other. The ability to fit inside any musical setting and crack a joke, play a role or drive consciousness to new heights with pulsating rhythms played for hours in front of sweaty college students who left with new found truths about the interconnectivity between the cosmos and humanity.
Life because it springs eternal and the magic still exists because in that cycle those with big hearts share their experiences with those who dare to seek. To buck the norms of our material society in an effort to seek truth from people we would hear playing music in movie theaters, hockey halls, pizza parlors and army barracks.
My guest today grew up in an age before interconnectivity. His art reflects selflessness, camaraderie and freedom of expression which are the same values I want to promote for my two young daughters and future generations of curious human beings.
There has been no segregation in his music or the musicians. Be it Horace Silver, dreaming with the Brecker brothers, atmospheric sounds with Jan Hammer and Jeremy Steig, finding Snoopy with Leland Sklar and Tommy Bolin, developing the dynamic rhythm sections in the studio and out. Rick Laird, Al Johnson, Ray Barretto, Colin Walcott, Bobby Rodriguez. Then there’s the unrelenting tours with George Duke and John Abercrombie, NAMM show jams with Steve Miller, Brazilian Swing with Astrud Gilberto, Grover Washington Jr, Bobby and the Midnights, Freddie Hubbard, John McLaughlin, Milt Jackson and Carlos Santana.
His focus has always remained the same communicate without using his voice and be yourself. Woodshed for hours and leave it all on the stage.
He is about to embark on a tour of the US and Canada to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Spectrum which is an album that still rattles my nervous system going back to the days when I first heard it in Lower Allston, MA.
People Make the World Go Round. Billy Cobham welcome to the JFS.

http://www.jakefeinbergshow.com/2013/09/jfs-123-the-billy-cobham-interview/
 
Anyone check out his live stream at Ronnie Scotts tonight?

Looks like an entirely new international band; I saw him not too long ago during his 'spectrum 40' shows with Gary Husband on keys and that outfit was cooking.

Anyway, it was a good show. Billy's new Tama kit sound great (love the tone of his floor toms and snare especially). I don't know how much longer the set will be offered online but check it out if you get a chance:

At the 1 hour 13 minute mark of the webcast he really opens up with a vintage Billy groove...

http://www.ronniescotts.co.uk/
 
So my wife and I got to experience 90 minutes of pure fusion goodness at the Billy Cobham show at the famous Catalina Bar & Grill on Sunset Blvd. in Hollywood (just a few blocks north from where Pro Drum is) and wanted to post a few pics. I posted a couple of the drumset, very pretty blue Tama Star drums, and Billy played them great. He was joined by Dean Brown on guitar (awesome), Ric Fierabracci on bass (also awesome), and Gary Husband on keyboards (even more awesome since he is also a killer drummer as well - makes me regret not having taken my piano playing seriously when I had the chance! Nonetheless, I think I'll be hitting the Mozart and Bach piano books in the future). My wife even got a pic of me with the Master at the autograph table after the show.

They were selling the CD, Spectrum 40 Live which I had to get because it was this exact same band playing tonight. I even got the whole band to sign my copy. What was really cool is right from note one, this band was on fire. Some things sounded a little stiff in the beginning, but it was totally minor. If you can catch this show, do so. Killer playing all around, and it makes you question what you can do on your instrument, but I found it inspiring. I now want to practice. Billy is pushing 60, but he doesn't sound like he's lost anything!

Editorial note: what I find a little disheartening about our live music scene is that we got to see this awesome jazz legend and band for $30 each. And we were only 8 feet from the edge of the stage. The cheapest Los Angeles area tickets for say, Van Halen, will cost you at least $260 per ticket! Even Weird Al commands prices in the $100+ range. The price discrepancy is surprising, eh? We even saw the Adrian Belew Power Trio in a small venue in Big Bear for $25 a ticket! I get the big name acts commanding big bucks, but if some young gun tells me he can't afford to see true masters of their craft play live one more time.....grrrrr......!!!!
 

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What a great experience. Yet again I live my life vicariously through you.
 
Billy is pushing 60, but he doesn't sound like he's lost anything!

I think he's actually over 70 now, which makes his continued prowess especially impressive. I have caught him live a few times with this outfit and I subscribe to everything you said. They work amazingly well as a unit. The chemistry has really jelled.

I have met Billy a few times after the shows as well and he is always so warm and gracious with photos and autographs. Shaking his hand was pretty amazing; really strong grip and massive paws to boot!
 
What a great experience. Yet again I live my life vicariously through you.

And I'm living vicariously through you when you're living vicariously through Bo. It's not quite as good as living vicariously through Bo, but there's more people so it's funner.
 
And I'm living vicariously through you when you're living vicariously through Bo. It's not quite as good as living vicariously through Bo, but there's more people so it's funner.

And I think he's living vicariously through you, so is this a vicarious loop?
 
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