Prog bands with black members

This is an odd topic, but one brilliant musician jumps to mind now and it's Chester Thomson, he is a fantastic drummer well known too for playing in Frank Zappa's touring band, Santana and Genesis after Peter Gabriel left. Also played in Genesis Revisited and more great albums plus releases.

Edited by Kati - September 25 2015 at 19:00

CosmicVibration wrote: Genesis...

Although not an original member, Chester Thompson (of Zappa & the Mothers fame) played as the second drummer with Genesis from 1977 on...

Vertú - bassist Stanley Clarke, drummer Lenny White and violinist Karen Briggs.

BarryGlibb wrote: What about multicoloured members?

Or those of mulatto or mestizo lineage.

manu katche - what an amazing drummer

Way before the yuppies decided to change their comfortable future by deciding to making music there were the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus etc who were most experimental and groundbreaking artists at the time before anyone else knew progressive even existed in terms of music!  

Also Chuck Berry was groundbreaking and one of the first pioneers of rock and roll, this is the equivalent and more what is progressive music now.  

chazzaboy wrote: I think were talking prog rock here - not sure if Jimi Hendrix would come under that banner really certainly not Chuck Berry

The roots of all music forms are inextricably linked and intertwined.. Jazz, early rock n roll, blues etc have as much influence on the 'progression' of modern music as Classical music or European folk music.. either by working with and developing those innovations or reacting against and going off at a tangent.. progressive music has many forms and i think its fair to say that early guitar pioneers (be it Chuck berry, Hendrix or Django Reinhardt) inspired Steve Howe etc to explore guitar as much as Kraftwerk and others reacted against and away from guitars.. the result is the same, people made new music, explored new territory.

^ Whatever you say my friend...

Kati wrote: Way before the yuppies decided to change their comfortable future by deciding to making music there were the likes of Miles Davis, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus etc who were most experimental and groundbreaking artists at the time before anyone else knew progressive even existed in terms of music!   Also Chuck Berry was groundbreaking and one of the first pioneers of rock and roll, this is the equivalent and more what is progressive music now.

If we look at music that is progressive, and reference albums like Mwandishi (1971), Crossings (1972) and Sextant (1973), I believe Herbie deserves a mention.