The ‘70s was chockful of groundbreaking jazz-fusion bands issuing landmark albums – Mahavishnu Orchestra, Return to Forever, Weather Report, etc. But certainly one of the first to get the ball rolling – and truly rock hard from a guitar standpoint – was Billy Cobham’s tour de force, “Spectrum” (which turns 50 years old on October 1st).
Making a name for himself in the jazz world after providing drums on classic releases by Miles Davis (“Bitches Brew” and “A Tribute to Jack Johnson”) and Mahavishnu Orchestra (“The Inner Mounting Flame” and “Birds of Fire”), Cobham recorded what would be his solo debut, “Spectrum”, over a mere three days at Electric Lady Studios in New York City – from May 14-16, 1973.
And while there was no denying the greatness of Cobham’s drumming throughout the resulting album, two other musicians played a key role in what made the album so special – keyboardist Jan Hammer (a bandmate of the drummer’s in Mahavishnu) and guitarist Tommy Bolin (who was then largely unknown, but was about to make a name for himself as a member of both the James Gang and Deep Purple, and as a solo artist).
When I interviewed Hammer for the 2008 book, “Touched by Magic: The Tommy Bolin Story”, he recalled being impressed right away by the guitar playing of Bolin.
“Tommy blew our minds when we first heard him on those demos. It was a great, lucky break to run into him at that time. And it was a big break for him, because he really got noticed out of that session. Everybody heard him and went, ‘What’s going on here?’ With ‘Spectrum,’ it was a real breakthrough, and everybody was sharp and on top of things. Everybody was focused. A lot of it was not ever written. So it wasn’t any handicap for him – you hum whatever you have in mind, and it comes together in rehearsal. Even though Billy had written some things down, they were more for the other type of sessions, which Tommy wasn’t on – the more jazzy things with the larger group. But as far as the things with Tommy and the four-piece band, there was a one-off riff, and just go.”
Hammer also recalled how Cobham and Bolin got along...
“Billy is sort of a reserved guy. It’s funny, because you hear him, and he’s this bombastic, great drummer. But personally, he’s very much like a buttoned-down, straight, very square guy. He’s not a very extroverted guy – total opposition to what he plays. He’s not a demonstrative guy, so I couldn’t tell you how friendly or close [Tommy and Billy] were – it was all business. But at the same time, it was smoking music.”
Lastly, the keyboardist – who scored a #1 hit in 1985 with “Miami Vice Theme” – also discussed the tune that best featured the immense chops of Cobham, Bolin, and himself, the album-opening “Quadrant 4”.
“It was just an amazing, lucky combination of the right people at the right time. We were able to do it. I remember it was very effortless. You rolled tape and it happened – I don’t even think there were multiple takes. It was so inspired. On the tune ‘Quadrant 4,’ the opening solo, a lot of people thought that was Tommy. A lot of reviews kept mentioning that beginning, and it was me. Basically, that’s why on my next solo album [1975’s ‘The First Seven Days’], I put a disclaimer – ‘For those concerned, there is no guitar on this album’ [laughs]! It was sort of a jab at the reviewers who got it all wrong. [‘Quadrant 4’] is all in the groove.”
Released on October 1, 1973, “Spectrum” would top the Billboard Jazz Albums, and a year later peak at #26 on the Billboard 200, and would later prove to be influential on such artists as Jeff Beck, and in particular, his two landmark ‘70s albums, “Blow by Blow” and “Wired”.
Sadly, this would be the only album to feature Cobham, Bolin, and Hammer together – as Bolin would tragically die on December 4, 1976, at the age of 25 (from a drug overdose)
