Big Bang Theory : Jazz Explosion’s Success Secret: ‘It’s a Real Band’

Almost the way one is happily surprised when a blind date develops into something worthwhile, Billy Cobham is pleased with the musical success of the ad hoc Jazz Explosion Superband.

“I’ve been offered these all-star things before and I’ve never done them, because there’s a lot of silliness when you put together a bunch of Indian chiefs and try to make a tribe. But this is a band,” said the drummer, who is joined in the group by bassist Stanley Clarke, guitarist Larry Carlton, saxophonist Najee and keyboard player Darren Johnson. They play Thursday night at the Coach House in San Juan Capistrano and Saturday at the Greek Theatre in Los Angeles.

“It’s a real band,” Cobham continued, on the phone from his mother’s house in New York earlier this week. “And I’m quite happy about that,” added the 48-year-old veteran of John McLaughlin’s groundbreaking Mahavishnu Orchestra, “because I know what a band can be.” The cohesion is especially remarkable given that except for Cobham and Clarke, none of the five musicians ever played with each other before starting rehearsals in Los Angeles this month. And the Cobham/Clarke collaboration was nearly 15 years ago, when Cobham played on Clarke’s “School Days” album.

How does Cobham explain it?

“The material we are playing is in line with the personalities of the players,” he answered. “That’s one thing I’ve learned: You do tunes people can play and feel comfortable with, so that you can jell as a group.”

The Superband’s song list is a blend of contemporary and traditional material: Such classics as Miles Davis’ “All Blues” and Charles Mingus’ “Goodbye Pork Pie Hat” are heard along with Clarke’s “School Days,” Cobham’s “Stratus” and “I Need My Independence,” Najee’s “Buenos Aires” and Michael McDonald’s “Minute by Minute,” which was a Grammy-winning hit for Carlton.

The arrangements are intended to create interest for the players as well as for the audience, Cobham said. “We don’t just play grooves, where there’s a melody and then everybody solos. There are a lot of patterns that we use to tie these things together.”

He noted that each member doesn’t play on every tune: “Larry and Stanley do a duo number, and Larry plays a solo on ‘All Blues.’ That’s like our ballad.”

Cobham said his own role is basically to lay down a good-time feeling. “I act as a springboard to let the other musicians shine. If I’m playing good time for Larry, I’m making him feel secure so that he can play whatever he wants to on top.”

The brainchild of Paul Zukovski of Front Row Productions in Los Angeles, the Superband is on a 13-date tour that started in Detroit on June 17 and will end in Phoenix on Sunday. Business has been good, Cobham said.

After the Superband, Cobham--who has lived in Korgen, Switzerland, near Zurich, since 1984--will lead a trio with pianist George Cables and bassist Ira Coleman. They’ll play in the San Francisco Bay Area and in New York before heading into the recording studio.

His main extracurricular activity has been working with street children in Santos, Brazil, under the auspices of UNICEF in a program called Billy and the Kids. Cobham said he goes to Santos for two-week stretches to teach the children about music and “to teach these kids instrument repair, give them something they can to survive, make money in a meaningful way.”

* The Jazz Explosion Superband plays Thursday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at the Coach House, 33157 Camino Capistrano, San Juan Capistrano. Tickets: $25. Information: (714) 496-8930.