William Emanuel Cobham Jr. (born May 16, 1944) is a Panamanian-American jazz drummer who came to prominence in the late 1960s and early 1970s with trumpeter Miles Davis and then with the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Generally acclaimed as fusion’s greatest drummer, Billy Cobham’s explosive technique powered some of the genre’s most important early recordings.

At his best, Cobham harnessed his amazing dexterity into thundering, high-octane hybrids of jazz complexity and rock & roll aggression. He was capable of subtler, funkier grooves on the one hand, and awe-inspiring solo improvisations on the other; in fact, his technical virtuosity was such that his flash could sometimes overwhelm his music. Cobham was one of the first drummers to use open-handed drumming.

The method involves not crossing the hands when playing the hi-hat (or ride-cymbal) and snare drum simultaneously as opposed to the more traditional way of playing drums which features crossed hands as the basic playing position. Many drummers that use this style position their “ride” cymbal above their hi-hat for a quicker transition to both. This technique is just a small glimpse to why Cobham was such a great drummer. Cobham influenced hundreds of musicians to come, and remains one of the greatest jazz and fusion drummers in history.