6. Billy Cobham
Stand Out Track: Dream, The Mahavishnu Orchestras 11m 10s epic from The Lost Trident Sessions album. Billy Cobham rose to fame in the late 1960's and early 1970's as drummer for Jazz pioneer Miles Davis and then as co-founder of Jazz Fusion innovators Mahavishnu Orchestra, providing the funk and R&B rhythms combined with insanely complex time signatures for their lengthy group improvisations. It is during his tenure for both these acts that Cobham gained a reputation for being fusion's greatest drummer through his versatility, thunderous power and astounding precision. During a monumental career that currently stands at 45 years and counting, Cobham has consistently bought a distinctive funky edge to musics most challenging genres.