Billy Cobham was born on May 16, 1944, in Panama and grew up in Brooklyn, New York. He began his music career at the age of eight in a drum and bugle corps. After his military service, he played with various bands, including Horace Silvers and Miles Davis fusion ensemble. In 1971, he co-founded the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Cobham released his groundbreaking solo album "Spectrum" in 1973. In the following years, he created innovative fusion music and collaborated with renowned artists. Later, he became socially involved, working with UNICEF in Brazil. Cobham taught drumming online and released several albums. He celebrated the 40th anniversary of "Spectrum" with a tour and released "Tales from the Skeleton Coast" as a tribute to his parents.

The SpardaWelt Eventcenter is the venue for the presentation of the German Jazz Trophy by the Sparda-Bank Baden-Württemberg Foundation for Art and Culture. The award ceremony marks the start of the festival, after which the respective prizewinners play the opening concert and other selected international musicians take to the SpardaWelt stage in the following days. The free "Jazz for Kids" event for young jazz fans will also take place here.