Bill Chase (October 20, 1934 – August 9, 1974) was an American trumpeter and leader of the jazz-rock band

Chase Chase or CHASE may refer to: Businesses * Chase Bank, a national bank based in New York City, New York * Chase Aircraft (1943–1954), a defunct American aircraft manufacturing company * Chase Coaches, a defunct bus operator in England * Chase Co ...

Biography

Bill Chase was born William Edward Chiaiese on October 20, 1934, to an Italian-American family in

Squantum Squantum is a neighborhood of Quincy, Massachusetts, connected to the mainland by a causeway that crosses over a wetland area of the bay. Often thought of as a peninsula, Squantum proper is technically a barrier island as it is surrounded on all fou ...

, Massachusetts. His parents changed their name to Chase because they thought Chiaiese was difficult to pronounce. His father played trumpet in the Gillette Marching Band and encouraged his son's musical interests, which included violin and drums. In his mid-teens he settled on trumpet. Chase attended his first

Stan Kenton Stanley Newcomb Kenton (December 15, 1911 – August 25, 1979) was an American popular music and jazz artist. As a pianist, composer, arranger and band leader, he led an innovative and influential jazz orchestra for almost four decades. Though K ...

concert, which included trumpeters

Conte Candoli Secondo "Conte" Candoli (July 12, 1927 – December 14, 2001) was an American jazz trumpeter based on the West Coast. He played in the big bands of Woody Herman, Stan Kenton, Benny Goodman, and Dizzy Gillespie, and in Doc Severinsen's NBC Orc ...

and

Maynard Ferguson Walter Maynard Ferguson CM (May 4, 1928 – August 23, 2006) was a Canadian jazz trumpeter and bandleader. He came to prominence in Stan Kenton's orchestra before forming his own big band in 1957. He was noted for his bands, which often served ...

. After graduating from high school, he studied classical trumpet at the

New England Conservatory The New England Conservatory of Music (NEC) is a private music school in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the oldest independent music conservatory in the United States and among the most prestigious in the world. The conservatory is located on Hu ...

but switched to the Schillinger House of Music (

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

). His instructors included

Herb Pomeroy Irving Herbert Pomeroy III (April 15, 1930 – August 11, 2007) was an American jazz trumpeter, teacher, and the founder of the MIT Festival Jazz Ensemble. Early life Pomeroy was born in Gloucester, Massachusetts, United States. He began playing ...

and

Armando Ghitalla Armando Ghitalla (June 1, 1925 – 14 December 2001) was an American orchestral trumpeter. He studied at the Juilliard School, and performed in the New York City Opera, the New York City Ballet, and the Houston Symphony. He was a member of the Bost ...

. Chase played lead trumpet with Maynard Ferguson in 1958, Stan Kenton in 1959, and

Woody Herman Woodrow Charles Herman (May 16, 1913 – October 29, 1987) was an American jazz clarinetist, saxophonist, singer, and big band leader. Leading groups called "The Herd", Herman came to prominence in the late 1930s and was active until his dea ...

's Thundering Herd during the 1960s. One of Chase's charts from this period, "Camel Walk", was published in the 1963 ''Downbeat'' magazine yearbook. From 1966 to 1970 he freelanced in Las Vegas, working with

Vic Damone Vic Damone (born Vito Rocco Farinola; June 12, 1928 – February 11, 2018) was an American traditional pop and big band singer and actor. He was best known for his performances of songs such as the number one hit "You're Breaking My Heart", and ...

and

Tommy Vig Tommy may refer to: People * Tommy (given name) * Tommy Atkins, or just Tommy, a slang term for a common soldier in the British Army Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Tommy'' (1931 film), a Soviet drama film * ''Tommy'' (1975 fil ...

. In 1967 he led a six-piece band at the Dunes and Riviera Hotel where he was featured in the Frederick Apcar lounge production of ''Vive Les Girls'', for which Chase arranged the music. In 1971 he started a jazz rock band named "Chase" that mixed pop, rock, blues, and four trumpets. The debut album ''

'' was released in April 1971. Chase was joined by Ted Piercefield, Alan Ware, and Jerry Van Blair, three jazz trumpeters who were adept at vocals and arranging. They were backed up by a rhythm section consisting of Phil Porter on keyboards, Angel South on guitar, Dennis Johnson on bass, and John "Jay Burrid" Mitthaur on percussion. Rounding out the group was Terry Richards, who was the lead vocalist on the first album. The album contains Chase's most popular song, "Get It On", released as a single that spent 13 weeks on the charts beginning in May 1971. The song features what Jim Szantor of ''Downbeat'' magazine called "the hallmark of the Chase brass—complex cascading lines; a literal waterfall of trumpet timbre and technique." The band received a Best New Artist Grammy nomination, but was edged out by rising star

Carly Simon Carly Elisabeth Simon (born June 25, 1943) is an American singer-songwriter, memoirist, and children's author. She rose to fame in the 1970s with a string of hit records; her 13 Top 40 U.S. hits include "Anticipation" (No. 13), " The Right Thin ...

. Chase released their second album, '' Ennea'', in March 1972; the album's title is the Greek word for nine, a reference to the nine band members. The original lineup changed midway through the recording sessions, with Gary Smith taking over on drums and G. G. Shinn replacing Terry Richards on lead vocals. The third album, ''

Pure Music ''Pure Music'' was the third and final album by jazz-rock fusion band Chase. The failure to sell the ''Ennea'' LP on a mass market forced Bill Chase to re-group several times and come up with a new musical approach; the result was ''Pure Music''. ...

'', moved the band toward jazz. Two of the songs were written or co-written by Jim Peterik of the

Ides of March The Ides of March (; la, Idus Martiae, Late Latin: ) is the 74th day in the Roman calendar, corresponding to 15 March. It was marked by several religious observances and was notable in Rome as a deadline for settling debts. In 44 BC, it became ...

, who also sings on the album, along with singer and bassist Dartanyan Brown.

Plane crash

Chase's work on a fourth studio album in mid-1974 came to an end on August 9, 1974. While en route to a scheduled performance at the Jackson County Fair, Chase died in the crash of a chartered twin-engine

Piper Twin Comanche The Piper PA-30 Twin Comanche is an American twin-engined cabin monoplane designed and built by Piper Aircraft. It was a twin-engined development of the PA-24 Comanche single-engined aircraft. A variant with counter-rotating propellers was ...

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, Minnesota, at the age of 39. The pilot and co-pilot were killed, as were keyboardist Wally Yohn, guitarist John Emma, and drummer Walter Clark.

Methodology

Chase encouraged long tones as an exercise for developing the embouchure and attributed much of his ability in the upper register of the trumpet to this practice. He was also physically fit. He lifted weights and used stretching routines he learned from female dancers in the Latin Quarter of New York City.

Discography

* ''

'' (Epic, 1971) * '' Ennea'' (Epic, 1972) * ''

'' (Epic, 1974) * ''Live Forever'' (The Hallmark Chase Group, 1998) * ''The Concert Series Volume 1'' (The Hallmark Chase Group 2001) * ''The Concert Series Volume 2'' (The Hallmark Chase Group 2001) * ''The Concert Series Volume 3'' (The Hallmark Chase Group 2001)

As sideman

With

* '' Swingin' My Way Through College'' (Roulette, 1959) * ''

Maynard Ferguson Plays Jazz for Dancing ''Maynard Ferguson Plays Jazz for Dancing'' is an album released by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson featuring tracks recorded in early 1959 and originally released on the Roulette label.Minn, MMaynard Ferguson discography accessed Octob ...

'' (1959) * ''

Maynard '64 ''Maynard '64'' is an album released by Canadian jazz trumpeter Maynard Ferguson collecting tracks recorded between 1959 and 1962 which was originally released on the Roulette Records, Roulette label.Minn, MMaynard Ferguson discography accessed Fe ...

'' (Roulette, 1963) * '' A Message from Newport'' (Roulette, 1972) With

* ''At the Monterey Jazz Festival'' (Atlantic, 1960) * ''The New Swingin' Herman Herd'' (Crown, 1960) * ''The New World of Woody Herman'' (Jazz Legacy) * ''Encore'' (Philips, 1963) * ''The Swingin'est Big Band Ever'' (Philips, 1963) *

Woody Herman–1963 ''Woody Herman–1963'' is a 1963 studio album by Woody Herman and his big band. The album peaked at 136 on the ''Billboard'' 200. Reception Ken Dryden reviewed the album for Allmusic and wrote that "While this is hardly "the Swingin'est Big Ba ...

(Phillips, 1963) * ''The Swinging Herman Herd-Recorded Live'' (Philips, 1964) * ''My Kind of Broadway'' (Columbia, 1964) * ''Woody Herman: 1964'' (Philips, 1964) * ''Woody's Big Band Goodies'' (Philips, 1965) * ''Woody's Winners'' (Columbia, 1965) * ''The Jazz Swinger'' (Columbia, 1966) * ''Woody Live East and West'' (Columbia, 1967) * ''The Magpie'' (Atlantic, 1967) * ''Heavy Exposure'' (Cadet, 1969) * ''Double Exposure'' (Chess, 1976) * ''Live in Antibes 1965'' (France's Concert, 1988) * ''Live in Seattle'' (Moon, 1989) * ''Blue Flame'' (Lester, 1991) * ''Live in Stereo 1963 Summer Tour'' (Jazz Hour, 1991) * ''Live Guard Sessions'' with Sarah Vaughan (Jazz Band, 1991) With

* '' Standards in Silhouette'' (Capitol, 1960) * '' Viva Kenton!'' (Capitol, 1960) * ''Live at Barstow 1960'' (Status, 1994)

References

Other sources

* Szantor, Jim, ''Downbeat'' magazine, articles of February 4, 1971, and February 3, 1972. * "New Acts" column, ''Variety'' magazine, March 13, 1974. * "Obituaries" column, ''Billboard'' magazine, August 31, 1974.

External links

Bill Chase biography at Great-Music.net

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chase, Bill 1934 births 1974 deaths Jazz-rock trumpeters American jazz trumpeters American male trumpeters Berklee College of Music alumni Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1974 Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in the United States Accidental deaths in Minnesota 20th-century American musicians American people of Italian descent 20th-century trumpeters 20th-century American male musicians American male jazz musicians