Another story about Bill’s Crosswinds tour by By Rob Nagy, and another discussion of the new book.
CONCERT PREVIEW: Billy Cobham pays tribute to Crosswinds at the Colonial
In conjunction with the Crosswinds Project Tour, a special free eBook excerpt (first chapter preview) of a forthcoming full-length book about Cobham will be released, written by author Brian Gruber, titled, “Six Days at Ronnie Scott’s: Billy Cobham on Jazz Fusion and the Act of Creation.” This one-of-a-kind book offers a behind-the-scenes look at a grand musical collaboration: British arranger Guy Barker’s orchestration of Billy Cobham’s life’s work for a six-day run with a 17-piece big band at London’s iconic Ronnie Scott’s. In a riveting series of backstage conversations,
“Six Days at Ronnie Scott’s” covers six decades of Cobham’s musical life, from his early days playing with Miles Davis on “Bitches Brew” to the formation of Mahavishnu Orchestra to performances with virtually every jazz great to his still-prolific schedule of touring and recording at age 73. Masters such as Ron Carter, Randy Brecker, Jan Hammer, and Guy Barker, as well as club owners, jazz critics and fans all get in on the action as the transformative early years of jazz fusion are explored, along with what drives Cobham to continue to create. Details of the full print and eBook release will be made public shortly.
“There are flashes of things that happened in my career,” says Cobham. “The things that you go through in life that make you say, ‘Wow I never thought about it like that, until it happens.’ When you put it down on paper it takes on a life of its own. A really great friend named Brian Gruber sat down with me. We used to chuckle about a lot of the funny quirky things that used to happen, over time he said, ‘We should do this.’
Sure enough we did it, the book is here and it’s really interesting.”
“It was fascinating for me to explore what happens with an artist that has that strong impulse to create and Bill’s personal story as to how he has stayed the course all these decades as an innovator and pioneer,” adds the book’s author, Brian Gruber. All the jazz legends that I spoke to said, ‘Billy is one of the greats.’ A very unusual combination of someone who can do it all, not just do one thing great, but from jazz to rock to funk and integrating it all.”
On Koh Phangan? Come to our free weekly writers group meetup at Orion’s gorgeous waterfront Beach Shala. Gather by 7pm, start promptly at 7:15. Each week, we do two writing exercises, then share the results. Sprinkled in are writing tips and of course the opportunity to connect with new and old friends. Come early at 6 for a healthy vegan meal, free coaching on your writing project, an hour of sunset Yoga or some solo writing. We had 15, a perfect size group last week, intimate with a great group of characters. And this week we will get news from Noga Polansky of the next Phangan Slam spoken word event at Green Gallery. And sign up at the Writers of Koh Phangan Facebook group for ongoing news and notices about events.
