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“Fans say, ‘You were part of the band.’ I was never part of the band… I was an employee. And all things come to an end”: Chester Thompson’s career in and out of Genesis | Louder

American drummer recalls his life and times with Frank Zappa, Weather Report, Phil Collins, Unitopia and even the Bee Gees

US-born percussionist Chester Thompson got his first gig when he was just 13 and his adult CV includes stints with Frank Zappa, Weather Report and, more recently, Unitopia. 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. Weather Report had a more organic feel than many 70s fusion bands, but then keyboardist Joe Zawinul and saxophonist Wayne Shorter had played with Miles Davis on Bitches Brew.

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