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.
[2] Pianist and composer Todd Cochran was born in San Francisco[1] and raised in a home environment of classical music and jazz, and an atmosphere of deep love for the arts.
“I was hearing the music, reading the poetry, absorbing the songs and words that were being written, seeing the images, experiencing changing attitudes, understanding the narratives; my heart and thoughts were inspired by the passion of the messages and the possibilities.
I knew without any doubt I had to become a part of that zeitgeist.” To that end, making art that creatively mirrored the vitality and passions of the socio-cultural moment set the path of his musical career.
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.
Cochran's work with Bobby Hutcherson led to meeting Duke Pearson (pianist, arranger, producer) who encouraged his interest in recording.
His compositions evolved into simpler structures that incorporated electric keyboards and synthetic sounds, creating pieces that explored atmospheric and conceptual themes.
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.
[citation needed] *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 Peter Gabriel by Armando Gallo p. 21, © Omnibus Press 1986 The Universal Tone - Bringing My Story to Light by Carlos Santana with Ashley Kahn and Hal Miller p. 356 Little, Brown and Company © 2014 Listen Whitey - The Sights and Sounds of Black Power 1965 - 1975 by Pat Thomas p. 102 Fantagraphics Books © 2012 Meeting Vibraphone Jazz 'Head On' by Kevin Whitehead Fresh Air NPR September 9, 2008 Todd Cochran on the Oberheim Four Voice by Bob Moog, Keyboard Magazine, p. 117 December 1989 Between Sound and Space: ECM Records and Beyond Julian Priester: Love Love by Tyran Grillo July 2012 100 Greatest Jazz Albums, Bobby Hutcherson - Head On Blue Note Re-release (with added tracks): May 13, 2008 But Not Forgotten – Music by African-American composers for Clarinet & Piano, Marcus Eley (clarinet) "Soul-Bird" composed by Todd Cochran CD Review: MusicWeb-International (UK) Apples, Oranges, and Arthur Blythe from In The Moment by Francis Davis p. 188 Oxford University Press, 1986 A Perfect Sense of Ensemble Cue Newspaper National Arts Festival Marcus Eley, Soul-Bird Grahamtown South Africa, Monday, July 6, 2009 Omnivore Spotlights Worlds Around The Sun Re-issue The Second Disc theseconddisc.com January 15, 2014 Bayeté Todd Cochran Worlds Around The Sun Review by Brian Greene It's Psychedelic Baby!
Magazine, January 29, 2014 Bayeté Todd Cochran Worlds Around The Sun Review by Steve Maxwell Von Braund, The Boomerang Wire www.thewire.co.uk March 2014 Creative Music and other forms of Avant Garde- Jazz Weekly March 17, 2014 Jazz Greats Jaco Pastorius And Bayeté Revisit Their Best Albums JP'S Music Blog Record-Journal April 1, 2014 JazzWax by Marc Myers Marc Myerswrites daily on jazz legends and legendary jazz recordings Bayeté—Worlds Around the Sun (Omnivore) April 11, 2014 JFS #177 The Bayete Todd Cochran Interview | Jake Feinberg Show June 8, 2014 Cash Box by David Bowling Worlds Around The Sun by Bayeté Todd Cochran Sunday May 25, 2014 Black Power Jazz Revisited London Evening Standard U.K. by Alastair McKay Uncut Magazine Worlds Around The Sun by Bayeté Todd Cochran July 2014 The Spy Movie That Upset the American Dream (The Spook Who Sat Behind The Door) by J. Hoberman The New York Times September 18, 2020 The Spook Who Sat Behind The Door - 2012 National Film Registry Clarinet Works by Black Composers The Clarinet International Clarinet Association, December 2020