''Shabazz'' is a live album by drummer Billy Cobham. It was recorded in Switzerland and England during July 1974, and was released on LP in 1975 by

Atlantic Records Atlantic Recording Corporation (simply known as Atlantic Records) is an American record label founded in October 1947 by Ahmet Ertegun and Herb Abramson. Over its first 20 years of operation, Atlantic earned a reputation as one of the most i ...

. On the album, Cobham is joined by saxophonist Michael Brecker, trumpeter Randy Brecker, trombonist

Glenn Ferris Glenn Arthur Ferris (born June 27, 1950) is an American jazz trombonist who has also worked in other fields. Outside of jazz he has played for Frank Zappa, Stevie Wonder, James Taylor, and Duran Duran. He studied classical music from 1958 to 196 ...

, guitarist John Abercrombie, keyboardist

Milcho Leviev Milcho Leviev ( bg, Милчо Левиев ; December 19, 1937 – October 12, 2019) was a Bulgarian composer, arranger, and jazz pianist. Career Leviev was born in Plovdiv, Bulgaria, and graduated from the Bulgarian State Academy of Music in 1 ...

, and bassist

Alex Blake Alex Blake (born Alejandro Blake Fearon Jr.) is a jazz bass player. Biography Blake was born in Panama and moved to the United States at the age of 7, growing up in Brooklyn, NY. He began his career with Sun Ra in his band Arkestra. He became o ...

. All of the musicians had participated in the recording of Cobham's 1974 studio album '' Total Eclipse'', and Abercrombie and the Brecker brothers had previously appeared on '' Crosswinds'' (1974) as well. "Taurian Matador" and "Red Baron" were originally recorded on ''

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'' (1973).

Reception

In a review for

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...

, Robert Taylor wrote: "All of the songs are blowing sessions allowing each musician ample time to develop their ideas... This is a good, old-fashioned blowing session that captures one of Cobham's best bands at their peak." The authors of ''

The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings ''The Penguin Guide to Jazz'' is a reference work containing an encyclopedic directory of jazz recordings on CD which were (at the time of publication) currently available in Europe or the United States. The first nine editions were compiled by ...

'' stated: "''Shabazz'' turned up the dials to 11... The recording is classic '70s 'in concert' fare, cavernous and booming, with the drums mixed well up, but still perfectly listenable." Exposé Online's Jon Davis commented: "This band is in absolute top form... ''Shabazz'' is a great sounding recording for both performance and audio quality, and deserves a place as one of the best live fusion albums of the 70s." The writers at ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' included the album in their "Recommended LPs," stating "Cobham swings throughout." However, they cautioned: "at times it can get to be a bit too much."

Track listing

All compositions by Billy Cobham. # "Shabazz" – 13:48 # "Taurian Matador (Revised)" – 5:28 # "Red Baron (Revised)" – 6:37 # "Tenth Pinn" – 14:00 * "Taurian Matador" was recorded at the Montreux Music Festival, Switzerland, on July 4, 1974. Remaining tracks were recorded at the Rainbow Theatre, London, England, on July 13, 1974.

Personnel

* Billy Cobham – percussion * Michael Brecker – saxophone * Randy Brecker – trumpet *

– trombone * John Abercrombie – guitar *

– keyboards *

– bass

References

{{Reflist 1975 live albums Billy Cobham albums Atlantic Records live albums