''Shabazz'' is a live album by drummer

Billy Cobham William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian–American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. He was inducted into the '' Mode ...

. It was recorded in Switzerland and England during July 1974, and was released on LP in 1975 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over the course of its first two decades, starting from the release of its first recor ...

. On the album, Cobham is joined by saxophonist

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as a performer and composer, received an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in ...

, trumpeter

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

, trombonist

Glenn Ferris Glenn Arthur Ferris (born June 27, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist who has also worked in other fields. Outside of jazz he has played for Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and Duran Duran. He studied classical music from 1958 to 196 ...

, guitarist John Abercrombie, keyboardist Milcho Leviev, and bassist Alex Blake. All of the musicians had participated in the recording of Cobham's 1974 studio album ''

Total Eclipse An eclipse is an astronomical event which occurs when an astronomical object or spacecraft is temporarily obscured, by passing into the shadow of another body or by having another body pass between it and the viewer. This alignment of three ...

'', and Abercrombie and the Brecker brothers had previously appeared on '' Crosswinds'' (1974) as well. "Taurian Matador" and "Red Baron" were originally recorded on ''

Spectrum A spectrum (: spectra or spectrums) is a set of related ideas, objects, or properties whose features overlap such that they blend to form a continuum. The word ''spectrum'' was first used scientifically in optics to describe the rainbow of co ...

'' (1973).

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Robert Taylor wrote: "All of the songs are blowing sessions allowing each musician ample time to develop their ideas... This is a good, old-fashioned blowing session that captures one of Cobham's best bands at their peak." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled b ...

'' stated: "''Shabazz'' turned up the dials to 11... The recording is classic '70s 'in concert' fare, cavernous and booming, with the drums mixed well up, but still perfectly listenable." ''Exposé Onlines Jon Davis commented: "This band is in absolute top form... ''Shabazz'' is a great sounding recording for both performance and audio quality, and deserves a place as one of the best live fusion albums of the 70s." The writers at ''

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'' included the album in their "Recommended LPs," stating "Cobham swings throughout." However, they cautioned: "at times it can get to be a bit too much."

Track listing

All compositions by Billy Cobham. # "Shabazz" – 13:48 # "Taurian Matador (Revised)" – 5:28 # "Red Baron (Revised)" – 6:37 # "Tenth Pinn" – 14:00 * "Taurian Matador" was recorded at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Switzerland, on July 4, 1974. Remaining tracks were recorded at the Rainbow Theatre, London, England, on July 13, 1974.

Personnel

– percussion *

– saxophone *

– trumpet *

– trombone * John Abercrombie – guitar * Milcho Leviev – keyboards * Alex Blake – bass

References

{{Reflist 1975 live albums Billy Cobham live albums Atlantic Records live albums