Chester Thompson at Miner Auditorium, November 26, 2021

SFJAZZ presents Chester Thompson
Robert M. Miner Auditorium
SFJAZZ Center, 205 Franklin St, San Francisco, CA 94102 USA
7:30 PM, Friday, November 26, 2021

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[7:30 PM] {lights down, announcements from Randall Kline}
[7:33 PM] {performers out}

1. [7:34 PM] Gravy Train
   [7:44 PM] {CT yack}
2. [7:45 PM] Mr. T
3. [7:54 PM] Medallion
   [8:04 PM] {HW fluffs the crowd for CT}
4. [8:07 PM] Howard's Tune
5. [8:15 PM] Miracle (according to HW); Moontrane (according to setlist)
6. [8:20 PM] Miracle (according to setlist; sounded kinda like Squib Cakes)
7. [8:32 PM] You Leave Me Breathless (according to setlist; slow ballad)
   [8:39 PM] {quiet parley onstage}
8. [8:40 PM] (unidentified)
   [8:51 PM] {HW introduces the band; more yack}
9. [8:55 PM] Squib Cakes
   [9:04 PM] {set ends: CT says thanks; high fives with the band; all off}
   
   Encore
10. [9:07 PM] Powerhouse
    [9:17 PM] {show ends; final words from HW; all off}

• Darrell Green: drums;
• Chester Thompson: keyboards, Hammond B-3 organ;
• Howard Wiley: tenor saxophone;
• Drew Zingg: guitar.

Sadly, this show did not sell very well: the balcony and side tiers were closed off in order to compact the crowd into the central seating area. I was perfectly happy to keep our seats by the SBD since we had a great line of sight to CT, but I was more than a little annoyed with the folks behind us, who seemed to talk during every single song. Idiots!

The performance was good, but it felt to me like CT or Howard could have raised it up a notch by taking more time to invite the crowd in: to let them know it was OK to hoot and holler, or to stand up and dance. Something to budge things up from the tepid applause that followed most of the solos. To put things another way: a little bit of showmanship would have helped! Don't get me wrong, I thought the playing was virtuosic, but if you want to pack the house, sometimes you got to pander to a lower denominator.

Big thanks to Ting for the photo gallery!

Whoa! This section is incomplete for now, sorry!

Back to the previous event! ☸ Up to the 2021 yearbox! ☸ Up to the 2021 event list! ☸ On to the next event!