Unlike some other Genesis members, Chester Thompson is still active in the music business. Back in 2023 Chester recorded an album and toured with Australian prog rock band Unitopia. Around that time Chester also released his new solo record ‘Wake Up Call’. Having been a fusion and jazzrock fan since I first heard the music of Brand X, I was thrilled to get a copy of Chester’s new album. I bought it on cd and blue vinyl.
Some years ago the Chester Thompson Trio was scheduled for a performance at the Boerderij in Zoetermeer, but their gig got cancelled for some reason. I was very disappointed. When I heard Chester was playing a gig in Zoetermeer with Unitopia and Alphonso Johnson I bought a ticket straight away. I was lucky to meet Chester after the concert. We spoke a few words and he was very kind. He signed his new record for me, and a copy of The Way We Walk volume 1.
This february there was a press statement from Inside Out that Chester was involved in a project with Neal Morse called Cosmic Cathedral. Having listened a lot to Spock’s Beard in the past I was excited to hear their music. Chester’s collaboration with Morse was the reason for Dutch iO-pages tot put Chester on the front cover of their magazine. They wrote a nice article about Chester and his work as a drummer over the years. Chester’s had an impressive career playing with Weather Report, Frank Zappa and Steve Hackett to name a few. Although Nic Collins did a great job on The Last Domino? tour, I still feel Chester should have been part of the band for their last encore. To me, he was GENESIS as much as any other.