Bill Cobham Band Rocks the Blue Note

Here's some photos from last night. We are not allowed to take photos during the show, and you will be asked to leave if you do, so these were taken at the end of the second set. Also I put up a couple from backstage. Enjoy. Peace, TED

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I had written a nice long review and then when I added the photos I tried to preview it, and lost the whole thing. so I'm not gonna write it out again, sorry.

suffice it to say that this is the best band Billy has had in quite some time. They are tighter than a clam's ass. the sound is extremely full and the new arangements of his old standards coupled with his new creations are quite complex.

They played two almost completely different sets, repeating two songs only. I've given the set lists as best I remember them. The second set is missing a song or two, but I didn't write them down. I thought I could remember but , oh well.

The bottom line is that if you have any chance to see this band, then do it . I don't care how far it is to drive. Mr. Fusion came all the way up from Maryland to see these shows with me. And that's over 400 miles.

Billy signed copies of Palindrome after the show and I had a great time hanging with him and his brother Wayne. Thanks Boomer for another evening of great music and great playing ! And continued success with the rest of the tour !


Set One

Mirage

Obliquely Speaking ----- best tune of the night

Two For Juan

A Days Grace

Crosswinds

drum solo

Cancun Market

Red Baron


Set Two

Moon Germs

Obliquely Speaking

Cancun Market

Stratus

Torpedo Flo

Alfa Waves




Peace, TED

That's really too bad, Ted as I was really looking forward to reading your review, especially with
your knowledge and connection with Billy and all. But in all honesty this has happened to me in
the past. What I started doing was whenever I write a long post, I immediately lock it in with the
Ctrl - C option before doing anything else and then post it with the Ctrl - V option when I'm done.

In any case, it sounds like you had a great time! I'll try to document more on the 18th and 19th.

I salute Mr. Fusion... I truly love Billy, but 400 miles?!!! WHOA, NELLIE!!!

Nice pictures Ted! Billy looks like he needs a shave..LOL!
Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to D. Slam's report from the West Coast @ Yoshi's Oakland, CA
Are you going to the Los Angeles shows too??
Yamaha must hold that blue sparkle kit for Billy when he does his U.S. shows,
it is the same kit from 2008.

drumman wrote:Nice pictures Ted! Billy looks like he needs a shave..LOL!
Thanks for sharing.

Looking forward to D. Slam's report from the West Coast @ Yoshi's Oakland, CA
Are you going to the Los Angeles shows too??
Yamaha must hold that blue sparkle kit for Billy when he does his U.S. shows,
it is the same kit from 2008.

I would have, if I didn't have some gigs myself on those dates, drumman.
It's always a pleasure spending time and working with B.C. One of the nicest, easy
going persons you'll ever meet and a real card to be around. I was supposed to work
with him in L.A. on an all drum concert he was to do with Terry Bozzio, but the show cancelled.

As to his blue sparkle kit, I know that on the west coast it's kept at the Yamaha headquarters
in L.A. As to the east coast, I couldn't tell you if that's the same kit or if he uses another sparkle
blue kit that's stationed out there.

I should mention who's in the pictures with me for those who may not know. The gentleman in the Mets cap with Billy and I is Billy's brother Wayne Cobham. The gentleman with me in the other photo is guitarist Jean Marie Ecay.

Billy mentoned onstage how that blue sparkle kit was one he had not seen for awhile but that it was still a great instrument . And that it had to get used to him again. LOL He recalled that he had last played it at the Blue Note when he recorded the CD Heroes there with Donald Harrison and Ron Carter in 2004 and also at the Ron Carter 70th birthday show at Carnegie Hall.

Okay, here's Billy at the same venue with Spectrum Revisited playing a blue sparkle Yami kit, sometime in 2008.
This was the same year he performed at Yoshi's S.F. with same band and did the Billy And Friends jazz acoustic
series the following week at Yoshi's Oakland. This series was my first time teching for him.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xV9YewofR2g&feature=related

Hi Everybody:
sorry for being so inaccurate regarding the use of the Blue Sparkle set, my mind is currently going through a refit . Don't worry, I have the best doctors...... They got their training while building the new second avenue subway line here in NYC as "in-depth interns of the 4th kind"....... OH well. I have used those drums more than I realized and mentioned a couple of days ago and I am also aware that I have been playing a drum with completely different character in the PHX which speaks much faster than the Birch Blue Sparkle. The Birch is still a very good set for recording because of the bass drums unique depth so, I intend to look into this factor a bit more when next I record with them here in the 'states' probably LA in a couple of weeks, if I don't do it with the Luminous set instead, we'll see.
Nice Pix, Ted! They remind me to lose my front end.........and stand up straight.

Cutting out excess fats and sugars will do wonders for your waistline, B.
I'm happy to say that Audrey has lost 3 dress sizes and we've both lost
about 45 lbs. to date. We also exercise regularly, and that definitely
helps.

What a lot of people don't realize though is it's actually easier
to EAT excess weight off than it is to work it off. In other words, eating
the weight off via a good diet and no exercise is much more effective
than exercising rigorously while maintaining a poor diet.

The formula for weight has always been the same, simple method:

Calories in, calories out.

I highly recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/This-Thousands-Simple-Swaps-Pounds/dp/1594868549

Great pictures, Ted.
Thanks for sharing.

Wow! Awesome feedback and good information.

Too bad you can't make the Oakland shows D. Slam, your reports are pretty comprehensive.

Actually Yamaha is between Anaheim and Los Angeles, in Buena Park, CA.
I was just out there about 2 years ago, you can see it from the highway.

drumman,

I will make the Oakland shows. It's the L.A. shows I don't think I'll make.

Yeah, I knew that Yamaha was at least in the L.A. area. Everything sort of
runs together down there.. Lots of suburbs around and intertwined with
the big smoggy city itself.

LOL! You are right D. Slam, those freeways in Southern California are confusing.
I was on a bus going to Universal Hollywood, and I spotted Yamaha from the highway.

That's cool you will make the Oakland show, looking forward to your pictures and feedback.