On August 24, 1973, 40,000 salsa fans (a record-breaking crowd at the time for a Latin music event) eagerly piled into New York’s Yankee Stadium to watch some of the world’s most influential artists share the stage. But the Fania All Stars—a collective that included such legends as Johnny Pacheco, Willie Colon, Ray Barretto, and Héctor Lavoe—was eager to highlight its versatility by performing not just Latin hits, but also soul and rock hits from the day.

Drumming legend and fusion pioneer Billy Cobham will bring his highly acclaimed Art of the Rhythm Section Retreat back to the Mesa Arts Center for its third year, offering a one-of-a-kind immersive educational program for guitarists, bassists, drummers, keyboardists, and for the first time, woodwind players.

Any jazz aficionado who acknowledges the significance of the fusion movement beginning in the late 1960s would cite bands like Miles Davis, Mahavishnu Orchestra, and George Duke as prominent architects of the sub-genre. What do all of these legendary groups have in common? Drummer Billy Cobham. He’s unquestionably the finest living drummer from that period, one who took risks playing in groups outside of the “certifiable” jazz community.

Some years back, Grateful Web’s Dylan Muhlberg spoke with celebrated Jazz Fusion drummer Billy Cobham in the midst of a long-running 40th-anniversary celebratory tour of his groundbreaking debut album Spectrum (1973). Put simply, Cobham alongside contemporaries such as the late Tony Williams, changed drumming in jazz from then on.