Chester Thompson, keyboard magician and master of the B-3 organ, has returned to his jazz roots after a productive decade with Tower of Power and 17 years with Santana.  His powerful quartet features Barry Finnerty on guitar, Ron E. Beck on drums, and Howard Wiley on tenor sax.  The band has a hard-driving sound full of free-flowing improvisation that Chester holds together with his funky Hammond B-3 grooves.  Carlos Santana has called Chester’s music “earthy, energetic, and exciting.”

Chester grew up in Oklahoma City, where he heard organ music at church and started playing at the age of five.  He went on the road with the Rudy Johnson Trio when he was 19, played with Jules Broussard in San Francisco, and joined Tower of Power in 1973.  He debuted with Santana on the Beyond Appearances album in 1985 and co-wrote much of the music on the classic Blues for Salvador and Spirits Dancing in the Flesh, as well as the song “The Calling” on the phenomenally successful Supernatural, which won eight Grammy awards.  Chester is a soulful musician with a powerhouse band and great creative energy.  Tap into the current tonight at the Freight.

Listen to a track from Chester Thompson: