Sample Source
1970–1985
Billy Cobham is the most sampled jazz fusion drummer. His Atlantic Records recordings from 1973 to 1975 — Spectrum, Crosswinds, Total Eclipse — contain drum performances of extraordinary power and precision, recorded in large studio rooms with a depth and clarity that digital production cannot replicate. The drum break on "Stratus" from Spectrum is one of the 10 most sampled drum recordings ever made, appearing in hundreds of hip hop, electronic, and jazz productions.
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Start Digging →"Stratus" (from Spectrum, 1973) contains the most sampled drum break — a 16-bar section where Cobham plays alone with almost superhuman precision and power. The full Spectrum album is sampled throughout. Crosswinds (1974) has the break from "Crosswinds" that appears in dozens of productions. Total Eclipse (1974) and A Funky Thide of Sings (1975) are also sampled regularly.
Cobham plays at extraordinary tempos with complete rhythmic precision and enormous dynamic range — the drums hit very hard but are never muddy. The Atlantic recordings were made with close-miking techniques that capture the attack of each stroke with photographic clarity. These breaks can be pitched down, layered, or used at original tempo and they work in any context. The room sound on Spectrum is particularly distinctive.
Search Discogs by artist "Billy Cobham" — the Atlantic catalog from 1973–1977 is the primary period. He also appears as a sideman on the Mahavishnu Orchestra recordings (Columbia) and on Miles Davis's Bitches Brew (Columbia). The Atlantic releases have been reissued multiple times; original pressings are most valuable. CrateDrop with genre Jazz and style Fusion will surface records from the same milieu.