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Todd Cochran

Musical artist From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Todd Cochran
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Todd Cochran (born September 3, 1951) is an American pianist, composer, keyboardist, essayist, and conceptual artist. Early in his career he was also professionally known as Bayeté. Cochran started his career as a teenager with saxophonist John Handy.[1] Two years later he joined vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson’s[2] Quartet, and made his jazz recording debut composing and performing on a benchmark album for Hutcherson, "Head On[2]" (on Blue Note Records) that featured a nineteen-piece ensemble. The recording was critically hailed as cross-pollinating the evolving contemporary modal jazz, avant-garde sound of the 1970s. Cochran’s first solo project "Worlds Around the Sun"[2] became a #1 jazz album and marked his entree into the jazz discussion. From the mid-1970s forward Todd has experimented with and incorporated synthesizers, electronic and mixed-media concepts in his creative projects while collaborating with a wide range of artists in the genres of jazz, art rock, pop, R&B, and twenty-first-century classical.

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Cochran's best-known jazz compositions[3] include "At The Source" (Bobby Hutcherson), "Free Angela" (Bayeté Todd Cochran, Santana), "Eternal Worlds" Julian Priester, "My Pearl", "Geni-Geni" (Automatic Man), "Monte Carlo Nights" Grover Washington Jr., "Spanish Rose", "Back To Lovin' Again" (Freddie Hubbard), and "Secret Places" (Todd Cochran).

He released two albums on Prestige Records in 1972 and 1973.[3] He was keyboardist and lead singer of Automatic Man from 1976 - 1978. He was also a member of Fuse One, a coalition of jazz musicians who released two albums on CTI Records in 1980 and 1981.[2]

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Youth

Pianist and composer Todd Cochran was born in San Francisco[1] As a child, there never was a time when music or conversations about art or culture were not occurring in the household. Gaining a natural sense of the importance of the arts came with this childhood exposure. Along with the early passion Todd exhibited for the piano he benefitted from his family's devoted love of attending live music and art performances that extended across the spectrum: chamber music, jazz, dance, plays, and religious concerts. With his father he enjoyed going to sports. However, listening to recordings, watching documentary films, and reading were at the heart of his youth and teenage years.

His later education meant that his fundamental orientation to the piano and performing arts was classical music and theory. At around age 14 he was exposed to jazz. He was transfixed by the music and the notion of playing it captivated his imagination. By his mid-teens, Todd had become consumed by music. While continuing to study classical music and theory, learning to play jazz and the communal experience of making creative music and improvisation captivated him.  

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Early years

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Cochran's musical development was impacted by the cultural, political, and community atmosphere of the civil rights movement. Shifting attitudes made for a mélange of possibilities and directions to pursue. At 17, during the highpoint of psychedelic San Francisco, Cochran's joining saxophonist John Handy's band solidified his commitment to jazz.

Soon thereafter he began his mentor relationship and friendship with New Zealand jazz pianist Mike Nock – known for his work with wind multi-instrumentalist, and composer Yusef Lateef. It was after filling in at the keyboards of Nock's band The Fourth Way in a performance at Bill Graham’s Fillmore West (San Francisco) that he began to attract the attention of the jazz community. A musical connection with vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson ensued. Several years of playing in Hutcherson’s quartet led to Cochran's entrée into the world of recording, with Cochran composing, arranging, and playing on Hutcherson’s album Head On. Cochran was also a member of Hutcherson’s co-led quintet with trumpeter Woody Shaw.

Cochran's work with Bobby Hutcherson led to meeting Duke Pearson (pianist, arranger, producer) who encouraged his interest in recording. From there he composed four pieces and played keyboards on the album Iapetus with saxophonist Hadley Caliman. Later came the live album Intensity with saxophonist John Klemmer.

aka Bayeté Todd Cochran

An evolving sense of what Cochran wanted to do musically precipitated a more conscious and focused creative impulse and changing his name to “Bayeté.” (Pronounced: by-yet-tāy)

Worlds Around The Sun

Cochran’s first solo album Worlds Around the Sun featured his composition "Free Angela" – written as an homage to Angela Davis, which was later recorded by Santana. It has been widely sampled by hip-hop artists. Cochran’s "Free Angela" along with Rolling Stone’s “Sweet Black Angel” and John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “Angela[4]” is discussed in the book “Listen Whitey” by author, culture historian, and music reissue producer Pat Thomas. Worlds Around The Sun was reissued on the Omnivore label (2014). Cochran also composed the score for a documentary film about Angela Davis, Ain’t It Slick by Independent filmmaker/director Francisco Newman. A second, more experimental, and transitional solo album for Prestige, Seeking Other Beauty followed.

Also elaborating on the zeitgeist of the period was the composition "Eternal Worlds" that Cochran (aka Bayeté) wrote and was the pianist for trombonist Julian Priester’s album Love, Love (ECM).

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Automatic Man and Art Rock

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Cochran’s early career in the Bay Area jazz scene was influenced by a trend of blending genres and crossing traditional boundaries. This environment led him to explore avant-garde and freeform music, marked by spontaneous improvisations. His compositions evolved into simpler structures that incorporated electric keyboards and synthetic sounds, creating pieces that explored atmospheric and conceptual themes.

Collaboration became a key part of Cochran’s approach, adapting to diverse roles across projects. His partnership with Michael Shrieve of Santana led to the formation of Automatic Man, along with guitarist, Pat Thrall and bassist Doni Harvey. Automatic Man was a band known for its fusion of rock and jazz elements, which developed a lasting underground following. This project, recorded in London, introduced Cochran to the progressive rock scene, where he worked with artists including Jim Capaldi (Traffic), Bill Bruford (Yes), Phil Collins’ fusion band, Brand X, and The Real Thing.

Back in Los Angeles, Cochran recorded Automatic Man’s second album, Visitors, with new members Jerome Rimson and Glenn Symmonds. He later returned to England to join Peter Gabriel’s band; touring, and additionally recording on the Robert Fripp. Cochran’s tenure in London concluded with a role in “PM,” a group formed with Carl Palmer of Emerson, Lake and Palmer.[citation needed]

Filmography

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*Additional Music/Arranging/Performing

(1) "The Spook Who Sat Behind The Door" in 2012 named to the National Film Registry as a work of enduring importance to American culture. Sept. 18, 2020 New York Film Festival

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Discography (selected)

As solo artist

  • 1972: Worlds Around the Sun (Prestige) 2014: Reissue (Omnivore)
  • 1973: Seeking Other Beauty (Prestige)
  • 1991: TODD[5] (Vital)
  • 1997: Secret Places (Sony BMG)
  • 1998: Melrose Place Soundtrack, She Is Gentle Rain (Sony BMG)
  • 1999: A Voice In The Forest, Colour Naturelle (Natural Color) (Sony BMG)

As collaborator

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References

Additional References

External links

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