Billy Cobham Quintet (USA)

Billy Cobham is a jazz and jazz-rock drummer, composer, and bandleader known for his virtuosic technique and polyrhythmic style. As a founding member of the fusion group Mahavishnu Orchestra and composer of the album Spectrum (1973) — considered one of the key works of the jazz fusion genre — he has collaborated with Miles Davis, John McLaughlin, Carlos Santana, George Duke, John Scofield, and Jack Bruce, among others.

Born in Panama and raised in Brooklyn, New York, Cobham served in the US Army Band before playing with the bands of Horace Silver and Stanley Turrentine and recording with George Benson. Since 1974, he has pursued a solo career and released over 30 albums. He has performed in Prague with the projects Trio Paradox (1997), North by Northwest (2000), and Culture Mix (2004).

The current quintet features leading European musicians who contributed to the albums Fruit from The Loom and Palindrome: Gary Husband (keyboards), Bjorn Arko (woodwinds), Rocco Zifarelli (guitars), and Victor Cisternas Soto (bass guitar). This is Billy Cobham's only concert in the Czech Republic.