page_title: Chester Thompson
section_title: 1976–1992; 2007: Genesis
hierarchical_section_title: Chester Thompson / Career / 1976–1992; 2007: Genesis
caption_attribution_description: Strasbourg-1981-10-28-29
context_page_description: Chester Cortez Thompson is an American musician. He is primarily a drummer, percussionist, session musician, producer, and teacher. Thompson is perhaps best known for working with Frank Zappa and The Mothers of Invention from 1973 to 1975, and with the progressive rock band Genesis from 1977 to 1992, and again in 2007. He is a current member of his jazz group, the Chester Thompson Trio, formed in 2011.
context_section_description: Just two weeks into Santana rehearsals, Thompson was invited by Genesis drummer and singer Phil Collins to join the band as their touring drummer after their current drummer, Bill Bruford, wished to move on. Collins wished to pick an American drummer, and heard Thompson's playing on Zappa's live album Roxy & Elsewhere (1974) which featured Thompson playing in tandem with drummer Ralph Humphrey. Thompson had heard of Genesis's music from bassist Alphonso Johnson, and agreed to join the band for rehearsals in November 1976 for their upcoming tour supporting Wind & Wuthering (1976). "The first day of rehearsal, we just started jamming as everybody was setting up gear, we were just going for it". Thompson was shown the drum part to "Afterglow" and at first had difficulty in playing its straightforward beat.
  From 1976–2007, Thompson played with Genesis as their touring drummer. Thompson is featured on the live albums Seconds Out (1977), Three Sides Live (1982), The Way We Walk, Volume One: The Shorts (1992), The Way We Walk, Volume Two: The Longs (1993), and Live over Europe 2007 (2007).
  After the 1992 tour, Thompson stepped down as their touring drummer in order to spend more time with his family. He talked with Genesis bassist/guitarist Mike Rutherford about the possibility of playing the drums on their final studio album, Calling All Stations (1997). However, since Collins had left the band, Thompson wanted to become a full-time member of the band, and not just a side man. However, Genesis continued without Thompson for the album and tour but he came back in 2007 for the tour called "turn it on again : the tour". Thompson played an impromptu jam at Collins's wedding in 1999.
caption: Thompson performing with Genesis in 1981
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