Birds of Fire

Billy Cobham's 1973 solo debut Spectrum was built to showcase fusion virtuosity, but the drum break from its track 'Stratus' went on to become one of the most sampled beats in hip-hop production. A record made for musicians' musicians quietly became load-bearing infrastructure for an entirely different genre.

In February 1969 John McLaughlin had only just landed in the United States and knew nothing of the New York scene. Within the same month he was called into the In a Silent Way sessions and told to play like a man who had never touched a guitar. A year later, on Bitches Brew (1970), his name is the title of a track.