Powerhouse

Description

With long-standing stints in Tower of Power and Santana, Chester Thompson may well be the most decorated and distinguished keyboardist in all of rock and R&B, not to mention the Bay Area music scene. It’s no surprise that this 1971 album is one of the rarest and most sought-after records from Black Jazz Records – it’s Thompson’s first record, recorded a few years before he joined Tower of Power, featuring a smoky group with his fellow musician Rudolph Johnson on saxophone, drummer Raymond Pounds (Pharoah Sanders, Stevie Wonder, Pointer Sisters), and trombonist Al Hall (Johnny Hammond, Freddie Hubbard, Eddie Harris). And yes, Powerhouse lives up to its title honestly... it’s jazz, sure, but injected with a burst of electricity thanks to Thompson’s Hammond B-3, and with only four tracks spread across two sides, it’s pretty much a non-stop groove. The liner notes include quotes from another Tower of Power member, Dave Garibaldi, and Bay Area keyboardist Todd Cochran, aka Bayeté, attesting to Chester Thompson’s greatness.