Billy Cobham: Culturemix, The Paris Concert

I have seen Billy Cobham live twice. On the first occasion I sat no further than 3 feet from his trap kit and the second less than 20, so I know close up what to expect from a BC show.

This dvd concert is not a good BC show. It's dreck. Bland, tepidly played and unfocused smooth-jazz with extra chops. Marcos Ubeda is a boring, boring, boring (thats 3) keyboardist and the excessive use of steel drums by percussionist Junior Gill made some of the performances seem more appropriate to be played at a caribbean restaurant buffet than anything else. Per Gade and Stefan Rademacher on guitar and bass respectively, are a little more interesting, but just barely. Per is a deft soloist, but seems to operate almost in a vacuum and can't decide if he wants to be Pat Metheny or not. Rademacher keeps a solid groove with Cobham, but often seems drowned out in the mix. Billy himself plays admirably, and on a few sections even shows some real fire, but is otherwise very restrained. Restraint is not what you go to see at a BC show. You go to see tasty grooves, pummelling funkiness and intricate interplay.

Even the extra material offered little more than soundcheck inanities.

This one gets voted off the entertainment center island post haste.