Gravy Train w/ Chester Thompson & Special Guests

NOV 26-28 | Thanksgiving Week

Nov 26, 2021

Miner Auditorium

PLEASE NOTE:
This page is an archive of a past production

Please visit our calendar for all upcoming SFJAZZ shows.

Original show description below.

This concert will be broadcast live as part of Fridays Live, available to all SFJAZZ Members.

One of the most revered Hammond organists alive, Chester Thompson has led a charmed musical life – writing, recording and performing for four decades with two of the legendary bands to emerge in the 1960s and 1970s, Tower of Power and Santana. He makes his Miner Auditorium debut with a Thanksgiving time groove fest featuring music from across his momentous career. with a superb band.

Arriving in the Bay Area in 1969, Thompson worked with stalwart San Francisco saxophonist Jules Broussard before forming his own quartet, eventually releasing his aptly named 1971 debut, Powerhouse, on the Black Jazz label.

He served a 10-year stint with Oakland-based funk phenomenon Tower of Power beginning in 1973, composing most of the band’s instrumental tunes and touring relentlessly before leaving to explore new horizons with Santana. Thompson recorded eight albums over his 26 years with Santana, and contributed greatly to their 1999 commercial zenith Supernatural, which sold over 30 million copies and won nine GRAMMY awards, including Album of the Year. Upon leaving the Santana fold in 2009, Thompson dove headlong back into jazz and released his follow-up to Powerhouse, entitled Mixology.

The organist makes his Miner Auditorium debut with a Thanksgiving time groove-fest featuring music from across his momentous career, with a superb band.

Chester Thompson: Staying Hungry (On the Corner)