Bobby Colomby
Encyclopedia
Bobby Colomby is an innovative jazz
-rock
fusion drummer
, and an original member of the group Blood, Sweat & Tears
. He's also the uncredited drummer on John Cale
and Terry Riley
's collaboration album Church of Anthrax
.
He graduated from the City College of NY
with a degree
in Psychology
, and his elder brother Harry Colomby was the manager
of Thelonious Monk
.
Colomby played on the self-titled
Blood, Sweat & Tears' 1970 Grammy Award
for Album of the Year, which features the hit songs: "Spinning Wheel
", "And When I Die
", and "You've Made Me So Very Happy
" (all sung by David Clayton-Thomas
). After many changes in the group he became (in the end) the defacto owner of Blood Sweat & Tears name.
Colomby produced
jazz bass
virtuoso
Jaco Pastorius
' first solo
album
; The Jacksons
' comeback album Destiny; Chris Botti
's albums December, When I Fall In Love, To Love Again and Italia; Paula Cole
's album Courage and Jeff Lorber
's album He Had a Hat.
For a few years in the late 1980s Bobby Colomby was a reporter for the television programs Entertainment Tonight
and "The CBS Morning Program." He also hosted "In Person from the Palace".
In 2000, Colomby and Richard Marx
created Signal 21 Records
. The label released only one album, Richard Marx
's Days In Avalon before the label folded shortly thereafter.
Colomby is married
to Donna Abbott, a graphic designer
and native of California
.
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
-rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
fusion drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
, and an original member of the group Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears
Blood, Sweat & Tears is an American music group, originally formed in 1967 in New York City. Since its beginnings in 1967, the band has gone through numerous iterations with varying personnel and has encompassed a multitude of musical styles...
. He's also the uncredited drummer on John Cale
John Cale
John Davies Cale, OBE is a Welsh musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground....
and Terry Riley
Terry Riley
Terrence Mitchell Riley, is an American composer intrinsically associated with the minimalist school of Western classical music and was a pioneer of the movement...
's collaboration album Church of Anthrax
Church of Anthrax
Church of Anthrax is a collaboration between John Cale and Terry Riley. The record was released in February 1971 by Cale's record company, Columbia Records, nearly a year after the material was recorded.-Track listing:...
.
He graduated from the City College of NY
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
with a degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
in Psychology
Psychology
Psychology is the study of the mind and behavior. Its immediate goal is to understand individuals and groups by both establishing general principles and researching specific cases. For many, the ultimate goal of psychology is to benefit society...
, and his elder brother Harry Colomby was the manager
Talent manager
A talent manager, also known as an artist manager or band manager, is an individual or company who guides the professional career of artists in the entertainment industry...
of Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Monk
Thelonious Sphere Monk was an American jazz pianist and composer considered "one of the giants of American music". Monk had a unique improvisational style and made numerous contributions to the standard jazz repertoire, including "Epistrophy", "'Round Midnight", "Blue Monk", "Straight, No Chaser"...
.
Colomby played on the self-titled
Blood, Sweat & Tears (album)
Blood, Sweat & Tears is the second album by the band Blood, Sweat & Tears, released in 1968. It was a huge commercial success, rising to the top of the U.S. charts for a collective seven weeks and yielding three successive Top 5 singles...
Blood, Sweat & Tears' 1970 Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
for Album of the Year, which features the hit songs: "Spinning Wheel
Spinning wheel
A spinning wheel is a device for spinning thread or yarn from natural or synthetic fibers. Spinning wheels appeared in Asia, probably in the 11th century, and very gradually replaced hand spinning with spindle and distaff...
", "And When I Die
And When I Die
"And When I Die" is a song written by American singer Laura Nyro. It was first recorded by American folk group Peter, Paul and Mary in 1966. Nyro then recorded it on her 1968 debut album More Than a New Discovery. However, the song is probably best known for its cover version by American rock group...
", and "You've Made Me So Very Happy
You've Made Me So Very Happy
"You've Made Me So Very Happy" is a song written by Brenda Holloway, Patrice Holloway, Frank Wilson and Berry Gordy, and was released first as a single in 1967 by Holloway on the Tamla label...
" (all sung by David Clayton-Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas
David Clayton-Thomas is a Canadian musician and singer best known as the lead vocalist for the American band; Blood, Sweat & Tears...
). After many changes in the group he became (in the end) the defacto owner of Blood Sweat & Tears name.
Colomby produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
jazz bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
virtuoso
Virtuoso
A virtuoso is an individual who possesses outstanding technical ability in the fine arts, at singing or playing a musical instrument. The plural form is either virtuosi or the Anglicisation, virtuosos, and the feminine form sometimes used is virtuosa...
Jaco Pastorius
Jaco Pastorius
John Francis Anthony Pastorius III , known as Jaco Pastorius, was an American jazz musician and composer widely acknowledged as a virtuoso electric bass player....
' first solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
; The Jacksons
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
' comeback album Destiny; Chris Botti
Chris Botti
Christopher Stephen "Chris" Botti , is an American trumpeter and composer. In 2007, Botti was nominated for two Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album. On December 4, 2009, he was nominated for three more Grammy Awards including Best Pop Instrumental Album and Best Long Form Music Video...
's albums December, When I Fall In Love, To Love Again and Italia; Paula Cole
Paula Cole
Paula Cole is an American singer/songwriter. Her single "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" reached the top ten of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1997, and the following year she won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.-Early life:...
's album Courage and Jeff Lorber
Jeff Lorber
Jeff Lorber is an American Grammy Award-nominated keyboardist, composer, and record producer.After leading his own group, The Jeff Lorber Fusion, he went on to pioneer the smooth jazz genre....
's album He Had a Hat.
For a few years in the late 1980s Bobby Colomby was a reporter for the television programs Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight
Entertainment Tonight is a daily tabloid television entertainment television news show that is syndicated by CBS Television Distribution throughout the United States, Canada and in many countries around the world. Linda Bell Blue is currently the program's executive producer...
and "The CBS Morning Program." He also hosted "In Person from the Palace".
In 2000, Colomby and Richard Marx
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...
created Signal 21 Records
Signal 21 Records
Signal 21 Records is a defunct independent record label created by singer-songwriter Richard Marx and Blood, Sweat, and Tears drummer Bobby Colomby in 2000...
. The label released only one album, Richard Marx
Richard Marx
Richard Noel Marx is an American adult contemporary and pop/rock singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. He had a string of hit singles in the late 1980s and 1990s, including "Endless Summer Nights", "Right Here Waiting", "Now and Forever", and "Hazard"...
's Days In Avalon before the label folded shortly thereafter.
Colomby is married
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
to Donna Abbott, a graphic designer
Graphic designer
A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, printed or electronic media, such as brochures and...
and native of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
External links
- Drummer world entry http://www.drummerworld.com/drummers/Bobby_Colomby.html
- 1998 Interview http://www.rdrop.com/users/rickert/bobby.html
- IMDB Entry http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0173079/