Tony Williams and Billy Cobham starters

[Mr. Pickles]

My jazz library is weak. Any suggestions on where to start with Williams and Cobham. I've heard Williams's Snake Oil is a great album and Cobham's Spectrum is a seminal drum album.

[dougjwray]

You can listen to any of the music Tony Williams recorded when he was in Miles Davis's band ("Miles Smiles" is one album). I also love the album "Emergency" by the Tony Williams Lifetime (The other members were John McLaughlin on guitar and Larry Young on organ.) Here's "Spectrum" from that album. It never fails to kill me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_che4td7Rl4

As for Billy Cobham, here's "Vital Transformation" from "The Inner Mounting Flame" by the Mahavishnu Orchestra, led by the same John McLaughlin.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAU5o246VSA

And "The Noonward Race" from the same album.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSv6SEN3SKo

[Mr. Pickles]

Thanks. I'll check out those vids.

[bottomzone]

Here are some Billy Cobham classics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N_SqtFerjg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbLjObdYWhQ

And Tony Williams:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr3Rj4t79v0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr-5zi4OBQ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sgUTvSVWYQ

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

[dougjwray]

Originally Posted by bottomzone

Here are some Billy Cobham classics:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N_SqtFerjg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bbLjObdYWhQ

And Tony Williams:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sr3Rj4t79v0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dr-5zi4OBQ0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9sgUTvSVWYQ

A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

The second Cobham link is the first song from the album "Spectrum"; the title is "Quadrant 4", and Tommy Bolin plays the great guitar solo. Lee Sklar is on bass. Fantastic stuff.

[markjazzbassist]

cobham - spectrum
cobham and george duke - live in europe (killer alphonso johnson on bass)

tony williams lifetime - emergency
tony willimas lifetime - believe it

[doncorey]

I think for Tony Williams straight ahead stuff you've got to hear Miles Davis' ESP and Neffertiti albums , for my money the most tasteful stuff Billy Cobham did was also with Miles , on the Jack Johnson album !!!

[JimK]

Tony Wiiliams- Lifetime...his first as a leader on Blue Note Records. It is acoustic Jazz w/ Sam Rivers, Ron Carter, Herbie Hancock, Bobby Hutcherson, Richard Davis, Gary peacock, etc. Was considered "out" at the time.

IIRC, Williams first popped up on Jackie McLean's Vertigo (again on Blue Note)...Williams was maybe 16-17 when he recorded this. Unbelievable.

Cobham's Spectrum has long been considered a Fusion staple.
Others from that time frame, Crosswinds & Total Eclipse, are also good.
Funky Thide Of Sings is less Fusion...more about R&B/Funk.

...and, of course, the Mahavishnu Orchestra albums with Cobham would be nice additions to a Jazz Fusion library.

More Williams driving a band like no other-
Miles Davis- Four & More (he puts the pedal-to-the-metal on "So What")
Miles Davis- Live At The Plugged Nickel

[Barkless Dog]

Tony Williams - Believe It
Billy Cobham - Magic, Funky Thide Of Sings

[Mr. Pickles]

I purchased the Tony Williams Liftime - Turn it Over and Mahavishnu Orchestra's Inner Mounting Flame the latter of which is slamming! The Tony WIlliams album had some weird vocal tracks that I didn't dig at all.

Spectrum and Emergency! are in the iTunes pipeline as I write this!