Bill Chase

William ‘Bill’ Edward Chiaiese (Chase) (October 20, 1934 – August 9, 1974) was the legendary trumpeter and bandleader of the jazz-rock fusion band Chase, and is also known for his lead trumpet work with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd during the 1960s.

William Edward Chiaiese was born on October 20, 1934 in Boston, Massachusetts to his parents John and Emily Chiaiese, who later changed the name ‘Chiaiese’ to Chase to make it easier to pronounce. His father played the trumpet in the Gillette Marching Band and encouraged Bill’s musical interests which included violin and percussion before he finally settled on the trumpet during his mid-teens. After graduating high school, Bill studied classical trumpet at the New England Conservatory but would shortly transfer to the Berklee School of Music under John Coffey, who taught both the trombones and the trumpets at the school.

“Coffey’s whole teaching was correct embouchure. That was one thing he corrected me on right away. I was definitely not using my lips properly. The placement of the mouthpiece on my lips was wrong and he corrected that for me.”

It was while Bill attended Berklee in 1952 that he attended his first Stan Kenton concert, which featured Maynard Ferguson on lead trumpet.

“My ears opened up like a parachute. I couldn’t believe him! All that night and next day I was making noises to myself, trying to recapture Maynard’s sound.”

Soon after, Bill was a member of a Boston orchestra led by one of his Berkeley instructors. “One night,” Chase recalled, “Maynard Ferguson came into the club, I told him, if you ever need a trumpet player call me up, and to my amazement, not long afterward he did.” Bill would play with Maynard for about year, later gaining experience with the Stan Kenton Orchestra, until he joined Woody Herman’s band The Thundering Herd, where Chase spent most the early and middle 1960’s.

“That was hard work – I had to play lead trumpet and set fire to the whole band. Even when we saw nothing but buses and hotel rooms and ballrooms, when my chops were beat and swollen, I just forced myself to keep going. Woody (Herman) was an inspiration; he’s a true pro. He showed me that my primary duty was never to let the public down.” The respect was mutual with Woody Herman recalling Bill Chase to be the best lead trumpet ever to pass through his band.

Chase: The Band

In 1970, he started his own band, Chase, which consisted of four trumpets, a rhythm section, and a vocalist. Joining Bill on trumpet were Ted Piercefield, Alan Ware, and Jerry Van Blair. The trumpets were backed up by Phil Porter on the keyboards, Angel South on guitar, Dennis Johnson on Bass, and Jay Burrid on percussion. The group released its self-titled debut album in 1971, which featured Terry Richards on lead vocals. The album featured the group’s most well known song “Get It On,” which was released as a single and spent thirteen weeks on the charts beginning in May of 1971. The album would even earn the band a best new artist grammy nomination.

The band released its second album, Ennea, in 1972. The album’s title was taken from the Greek word for nine, a reference to the band’s nine members. The line-up for the album was altered slightly with Gary Smith taking over on percussion and G.G. Shinn on lead vocals. The album itself featured the ‘Ennea Suite’ on side two with tightly chorded jazz arrangments and lyrics based on Greek Mythology and was not as well received by the public as the previous album had been.

After an extended hiatus, Chase released a third album named Pure Music in 1974. The album featured a new line-up, but with Chase’s familiar four trumpet section with Jim Peterik from the Ides of March as songwriter and back-up vocalist as well as Dartanyan Brown on lead vocals and bass. Pure Music was another step away from rock and was considered by Variety magazine to be Chase’s ‘most commercial effort yet’ and that ‘their brand of jazz could have a commercial impact.”

On August 9, 1974, while enroute to a performance in Minnesota, Bill Chase died when his plane went down along with keyboardist Wally Yohn, drummer Walter Clark, and guitarist John Emma. The last song Chase ever recorded was Close Up Tight, the first was Open Up Wide. In 1977, A Chase tribute band, primarily composed of original members, recorded an album entitled Watch Closely Now in tribute to Bill Chase.

This is a video of Bill Chase performing ‘Weird Song #1′ in 1974. This is the only commercial recording of the Chase band that I know of. The entire performance can be purchased at www.seeleymusic.com

For Information about Bill Chase:
http://www.great-music.com/bill-chase
http://www.jazztrumpetsolos.com/Chase.htm
http://www.seeleymusic.com/chase/

To order Chase’s music:
http://www.great-music.net/chase.htm

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