CROSSWINDS

It seems Billy Cobham is best known for his debut solo LP, Spectrum. It's a great album. This follow-up, Crosswinds doesn't seem to get quite the same love. And in ways it's an even greater album. Some have called it "uneven". I just read a comment that someone referred to "Savannah The Serene" as boring, yet was stoked for "The Pleasant Pheasant". Fair enough, horses for courses. Spectrum was potently original and excellent right out of the gate, yet when Crosswinds showed a lighter side people felt it was too laid-back, perhaps weaker for it. I see Crosswinds as far more mature and muscular yet as delicate as a flower petal. These dynamic contrasts amongst the songs show growth and expansion. I get it, we all want more of what came before, especially if it's really good, and Spectrum was really good. Crosswinds has Cobham stretching out into more adventerous and complicated horizons. Not everything great in music is about sheer force and drive. The cerebral aspect on a more contemplative level is essential to broaden the range of human experience and emotion. We can bang our heads all day and some are fine with that, unable to appreciate subtlety, open spaces, and textural detail. Crosswinds has it all and because of the success of all the ingredients, the outcome is a 5 star masterwork.

The first side is one piece, "Spanish Moss ? A Sound Portrait", and is divided into four tracks. The first song features Michael Brecker woodwinds on the right channel, Randy Brecker trumpet on the left, and Garnett Brown trombone in the center. All three dance between the front line and it's a beautiful opener, and it gets even better. When a trombone sings it can be an amazing lead voice and Garnett Brown plays one of the most lovely trombone solos I've ever heard on "Savannah The Serene". George Duke underneath GB's trombone is like a cloud carrying an angel, and although Cobham has a subdued role here it's no less important than anything he's ever done. To play with this kind of delicate pianissimo is extremely difficult and this is an amazing display coming from a man who can conjour the image and sound of a freight train unlike any other. BC's approach and authority is unique and you always know it's him. To his great credit he understands and incorporates all ranges in between dense and sparse and this ultra- fine touch is again displayed on Side two on "Heather". Meanwhile, "Savannah The Serene is one of my all-time favorite tracks?by anyone. First heard when I was 14 years old, is exactly what I found fascinating in fusion and couldn't get enough of and in 1974, as a young drummer who loved BC's thundering cadences and sweeping rolls, found as much amazement in the beauty of a song like this. I didn't forget about John Ambercrombie's acoustic ornamentations. He's not just noodling here, and if anyone thinks so?you just have no soul. JA's contributions also range from wickedly expressive as on the last track "Crosswind" to the ethereal stylings that make so much of this album come to life. JA knows when to play, when not to play, and exactly what to play, and when his guitar does speak, it's quite important and so welcome. Just when you're lulled into unearthly sereneness, something ominous is brewing. "Storm", all Billy, is exactly that. Each drum stroke has a velocity that is powerful, deliberate, and accurate. Just as a single-stroke roll and double-stroke roll sound different even though both are playing repetitive 16th notes, or the left hand is distinguishable from the right, every note BC plays seems to overcome those differences and it's quite unhinged here. Finally "Flash Flood" completes the suite and it's a relentless, uptempo roller-coaster befitting of the name. Our horn and reed section returns and this closing track sweeps hard-left and hard-right, taking out all that dares stand in the way. And that's side one. Side two opens with some strong skunk funk on "The Pleasant Pheasant". No need to describe this great track, you know who's who and what's going on 🙂 "Heather" is another journey into the heart and soul of introspection and contemplation, with George Duke supporting an epic Michael Brecker lead that is perfection. This isn't the only album to feature world class musicians, and having such players doesn't always gaurantee a synergy bigger than the sum of its parts. Not only are these incredible compositions, not only are these incredible players, the outcomes are better than perfect, whatever that can even be. And the closer is where it's at for very good reason of course. And here on "Crosswind" John Ambercrombie shows he's got more than just cream puff sensibilities. There's only one fault with JA's solo?it's far too short.

Yes, Spectrum is a great album. And how lucky we are BC had the foresight to make Crosswinds even greater.