Browse archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Published on 06/12/1996 All articles from this issue

Father's Day with the Costers: Santana's keyboardist, son in sync

printer friendly version

By Ellen Murray

Special to the Town Crier

With Father's Day coming up this weekend, it's fortunate thatLos Altos Hills resident Tom Coster, of Santana fame, has plentyto crow about.

His 30-year-old son Tom, Jr. is playing with dad on the new release,"From The Street," Coster's fourth project for JVC Musicand a fusing of his proven musical prowess with up-to-date technologyin a collection of tunes both familiar and fresh.

The Costers, Toms senior and junior, will be playing in the 17thannual Los Altos Arts & Wine Festival for the first time thisJuly 13 and 14. Tom Sr.'s put together a small, local group offive musicians for the event.

"I guess I wanted to play my hometown," he said recently.

The Costers lead a long list of entertainers for this year's festivalin downtown Los Altos, including Joanie Morris, a Patsy Clinesound-alike.

In "From The Street," Tom Jr. used rhythmic based loopingand sampling and created drum patterns around them for an entirelynew set of musical options.

"What's unusual (about the release) is that I allowed myson and engineer Eric Valentine to take my songs and do what theydo best with them," Coster said.

Coster also used trumpeter Mark Isham and percussionist SheilaE. on the project. He's known them since they were children andtheir performance on this project, in conjunction with Tom Jr.'sefforts, makes "From The Street" a multi-generationaleffort.

"I used to teach Mark when he was younger and seeing himagain rekindled our relationship. As for Sheila, her uncle 'Coke'Escovedo and her dad Pete gave me my breaks when I was new inthe Bay Area. Our kids went into the family business, so to speak.It was great to involve Sheila in a project with Tom jr. and myself."

If Coster sounds like the typical dad, remember that he's 55 yearsold and that it was the hip sound of Coster on keyboard with theSantana band that gave his career a giant leap forward in the1970s.

Coster has always been, first and foremost, a jazz musician. Hispassion for jazz began when he was exposed to swing and bebopby his father as a pre-teen. He started playing the accordion,learned the Hammond organ in the 1960s, which led to his use ofelectric keyboards. His career with Santana lasted until 1978.Then Coster recorded two solo projects, rejoined Santana in 1983and 1986 before recording four albums with the adventurous fusionunit Steve Smith and Vital Information.

"From The Street" shows the "wisdom of experienceand the lesson that as you grow older, if you let fresh thingsenter your life it opens up a whole new reality," Costersaid.

Though he handles interviews well, Coster Sr. calls himself "reclusive"these days, when he's not on tour or promoting his release. Hethoroughly enjoys his home in Los Altos Hills with its 24-tracksound studio.

"It's a restful place," he said. "I'm very fortunatethat I can get up in the morning and do what I like to do allday." If he sounds somewhat like a typical Silicon Valleyexecutive, Los Altos Style, it's because he lives in a neighborhoodwith the movers and shakers of other successful start-ups.

He's also full of enthusiasm for his wife Donna's golf game ("She'sjust taken it up ... Can you play?") and for a fishing tripto British Columbia he's about to take with daughter Kimarie,29, a graduate of San Jose State University with a degree in radioand television.

"Kimarie's a bit unnerved about the fishing trip. It involvesflying in a small plane to a remote area - a kind of father-daughterretreat," Coster said.

Tom Jr. is not going on this trip. "He's traveled aroundthe world recently, on tour with John Tesh." But Coster'sproud of his son's accomplishments, as well as his local credentials:Tom Jr. is a graduate of St. Nicholas and St. Francis schools.

For festival information, call the Los Altos Village Associationat 949-5298.