World Premiere
International
Billy Cobham & Colin Towns
Meeting of the Spirits
A Celebration of the Mahavishnu Orchestra with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra
The polyglot, genre-bending Mahavishnu Orchestra pioneered jazz/rock fusion and created unique music, years ahead of its time.
With its high-volume, edgy electrified sound, complex rhythms, unconventional time signatures and influences that included Indian, funk, jazz and even classical music, Mahavishnu breached the walls of pop and led the ‘prog rock’ invasion. While the band only existed for a very short time in a couple of different guises, albums like The Inner Mounting Flame have transcended the decades with stars including Sting and Branford Marsalis crediting Mahavishnu as a major influence.
For the Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts, one of the foundation members, Billy Cobham, who is acknowledged as the master of percussion with his dazzling dexterity, has collaborated with rock keyboardist turned TV-theme composer, Colin Towns. Together, they have re-formed a stunning celebration of the Mahavishnu Orchestra alongside a group of worldclass musicians to present this world premiere, scored and arranged by Towns for full symphony orchestra. The Mahavishnu’s spirit and messages of enlightenment are re-interpreted for the 21st Century.
Percussion
Billy Cobham
Guitar
Frank Gambale
Keyboard
Jukkis Uotila
Bass
Phillipe Chayeb
Trumpet
Guy Barker
Saxophone
Ernie Watts
Trombone
Marshall Gilkes
Presented by Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts and Adelaide Symphony Orchestra.
Biography
Billy Cobham
Percussion
Only a few times in history has a musician been singled out as the world-class master of his instrument. Billy Cobham is one of those few artists. For over 30 years, he has received international acclaim as the total consummate percussionist.
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