Billy Cobham - Total Eclipse (1974)

Tracklist

1. Solarisation
2. Lunarputians
3. Total Eclipse
4. Bandits
5. Moon Germs
6. The Moon Ain't Made Of Green Cheese
7. Sea Of Tranquillity
8. Last Frontier

personnel :

Billy Cobham : piano, drums, tympani
Michael Brecker : soprano & tenor saxophones, flute
Randy Brecker : trumpet, flugelhorn
Glenn Ferris : tenor & bass trombones
Alex Blake : electric bass
Milcho Leviev : keyboards
John Abercrombie : guitar

Additional musician :

Cornell Dupree : guitar
David Earle Johnson : congas
Sue Evans : marimba

This is Billy Cobham's third solo recording under his own name and is a fine follow-up to Crosswinds. The mini-suite "Solarization" not only showcases the band's technical abilities, but also Cobham's strong compositional skills. It also features a schizophrenic piano solo ("Second Phase") from the underrated pianist Milcho Leviev, who sounds like a mutation of Cecil Taylor and Bill Evans. The funky "Moon Germs," on which John Abercrombie is pushed to inspiring new heights, became a Cobham classic. "The Moon Ain't Made of Green Cheese" is a beautiful flugelhorn solo by Randy Brecker backed by Cobham's debut on piano. The band stretches out on the lengthy "Sea of Tranquility," while "Last Frontier" is a gratuitous drum solo. This recording is highly recommended as Cobham still sounds inspired. -- Robert Taylor (allmusic.com)