| Chester Thompson | |
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Chester playing with Genesis during the Turn It On Again Tour (2007) |
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| Background information | |
| Born | December 11, 1948 Baltimore, Maryland, USA |
| Genres | Progressive rock, pop rock, jazz fusion |
| Instruments | Drums |
| Years active | 1973–present |
| Associated acts | Genesis Phil Collins Steve Hackett Frank Zappa Weather Report Era Ron Kenoly |
| Website | www.chesterthompson.com |
Chester Cortez Thompson (born December 11, 1948 in Baltimore, Maryland) is an American drummer and session musician.[1]
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Thompson made his name as a session drummer, going on to play in Frank Zappa's touring band (as part of the 1973–1974 lineups which also featured percussionist Ruth Underwood and jazz keyboardist George Duke) and with Weather Report.[2] He played on such noted Zappa albums as One Size Fits All and Roxy & Elsewhere.
His longest-standing gig was with Genesis.[3] His relationship with the band began with the departure of frontman Peter Gabriel. Then-drummer, Phil Collins, assumed Gabriel's role in live shows but remained behind the drum kit in the studio. Thompson became the touring drummer[4] in 1977, playing on their tours in that year and in 1978, 1980, 1981, 1982, 1983/4, 1986/7, 1992 and the 2007 reunion Turn It On Again Tour. Chester is featured on their live albums Seconds Out, Three Sides Live and The Way We Walk Volume 1, Volume 2 and Live Over Europe 2007. He chose not to be involved in the band's Calling All Stations tour, following the band's failure to invite him to join the studio band following Phil Collins's departure.
Thompson has also worked with Phil Collins on his solo concert tours, drumming on the 1982/83 Hello, I Must Be Going! tour, 1985 No Jacket Required tour, 1990 ...But Seriously tour, The Tarzan Premiere tour of 1999 and The Final Farewell tour of 2004/05. Chester also appears on Phil Collins' Serious Hits... Live! live album and DVD, and has released his own solo album, A Joyful Noise.
Chester also plays on the Steve Hackett albums, Please Don't Touch and Watcher of the Skies: Genesis Revisited. Later on, he played on Tony Banks' solo album A Curious Feeling. He also appears on The Tokyo Tapes album released in 1998 which features Steve Hackett and John Wetton amongst many others. He was also a founding member of the band Fire Merchants with Brand X guitarist John Goodsall and bassist Doug Lunn and appeared on their first recording in 1989.
Chester's playing style is widely acknowledged and respected, and can be seen on numerous live videos of Genesis, from late 1970s up to early 1990s. His live playing with the band is a striking mixture of his own style and Collins' own, being equally comfortable with acoustic and electronic drums. In the past, Chester has endorsed Ludwig Drums (1970-March, 1977), Pearl Drums (April, 1977 - July, 1987), Sonor Drums (1990–1999) and Paiste cymbals (1970–90), but now endorses DW drums since 2000 and Sabian cymbals since 1990.
He was also a member Air Pocket, a band centered around the Fowler Brothers.
Chester Thompson is Adjunct Instructor at Belmont Universitys School of Music in Nashville/USA.
With Air Pocket
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