THE PROG INTERVIEW CHESTER THOMPSON

Every month we get inside the mind of one of the biggest names in music. This issue it’s Chester Thompson. The US-born percussionist got his first gig when he was just 13 and his adult CV includes stints with Frank Zappa, Weather Report and, more recently, Unitopia. He made his mark on the 70s jazz fusion scene and soon became Genesis’s go-to live drummer. Now in his mid-70s, he lets us in on some trade secrets from his storied career and reveals how his accidental new album, Wake-up Call, came about.

Mike Barnes

In 2008, drummer Chester Thompson was honoured with the Sabian Lifetime Achievement Award by American body the Percussive Arts Society to mark a career that began in Baltimore in the 60s when he was in his early teens. He honed his skills playing along to jazz records and went on to formally study flute, percussion and composition. He was about to embark upon a four year degree course but instead joined Frank Zappa And The Mothers Of Invention in 1973, reckoning, “Well, this is what I’m trying to get ready for anyway.” Thompson played on a number of albums, including Roxy & Elsewhere (1974), One Size Fits All (1975) and Bongo Fury (1975). He left Zappa to join Weather Report, with whom he recorded Black Market (1976). Around this time, Weather…

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Prog Italia (Digital) - 1 Issue, Issue 148

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