The Setting
The live sessions with bassist Alphonso Johnson, pianist Joe Davidian and percussionist Tony Carpenter were recorded with the students attending the masterclass. Learning about the basics of mic placement and getting sounds in the room, the students tracked the sessions with Mark Hornsby in the control room with the studio's custom Neve 6 console.

"Having that enthusiasm and encouragement definitely makes a difference. Getting to talk to them between takes and involve them in the process made it such a special experience for me."

The Gear
The album was recorded on the studio's DW Cherry/Gum Jazz-series kit with Maple shells, including a custom made Craviotto snare. It is one of Mark Hornsby's favourite kits because of its versatility. Also, a Korg Wavedrum was used for some transition pieces to link the tracks on the album.

"Equipment-wise they've got everything you could want, and the way they had this kit set up felt like one of my own."

The Sound
"A big part of the vibe of any recording is the sound of the room itself, and [Studio A] is an amazing room. Everything sounded so good in there that we weren't stuck with having to 'manufacture' a sound."

Chester wanted a sound that needed as little post-processing as possible and a live-studio-feel.
"The mixing on this album was very raw, which I do like. It was just faders up and three or four processors at the most. There's a difference in energy when you have real people. When I played with Genesis we never played to tracks, so I didn't want something that couldn't be recreated live with a real band. I wanted it to be able to be performed."

The album is released on May 1st, 2019, and will be available through CD Baby.

Chester Thompson Trio
Together with Alphonso Johnson and Joe Davidian Chester has his 'Chester Thompson Trio'. Steppin' is the third album the trio releases after Approved (2013) and Simpler Times (2015). The trio, with Joe Davidian and Michael Rinne, also released their 2017 performance at the 'Drums and Percussion Paderborn' drum festival in Germany, titled:
'Live at Drums 'n' Percussion Paderborn'.

Click on the albums to listen to them on Drummerszone.

About Sweetwater Studios
Sweetwater Studios is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sweetwater Sound, Inc., the largest online music instrument retailer in the USA. With three world-class studios designed by Russ Berger and access to a greater diversity of musical equipment and professional audio gear than any other recording studio in the world, Sweetwater Studios is able to accommodate just about any recording, mixing or mastering project. With renowned staff producer Mark Hornsby at the helm, who has worked on many Grammy-award winning albums, Sweetwater Studios also has an exceptional staff of producers, engineers, session musicians and studio technicians. Check out sweetwaterstudios.com.