Billy Cobham plays Yoshi's in Oakland.

Billy Cobham, born in Panama, as William Emanuel Cobham Jr. in 1944. He started his illustrious drumming career with trumpeter Mile Davis in the 1960s. He has been known to be a world class jazz fusion drummer, at the very top of his league. He played with Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Cobham was inducted into the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 1987 and the Classic Drummer Hall of Fame in 2013. At 78 years of age, he is on his 2022 tour, and on September 20/21 he played Yoshi's in Oakland. His 2022 tour is called, The Crosswinds Project and his band consisted of Scott Tibbs on keys, Tim Landers on bass, and Mark Whitfield on guitar. All the players onstage were excellent. Yet it was obvious who was the showcased musician this night on the stage. Cobham was front and center, and the adoring audience gave him a standing ovation at one point in the middle and the end of the show. He played for the typical Yoshi's time of a little over one and a quarter hours. And the band was tight. At one point during the show, he said, he's sorry for not standing but he had a hip replacement recently and standing was a tad difficult. Cobham seemed to be in great spirits and happy to be playing in front of an audience once again. It was good to see him play as I hadnt seen him before. And I was amazed when he played with four sticks, two in each hand. Pretty cool show all in all, even for those like me who adore the drums, but not so into the jazz. It was still an awesome show! © Cheryl Alterman Photography 2022