The Chase Biography!

Compiled by Kevin Seeley



William Edward Chiaiese was born on October 20, 1934 to John and Emily Chiaiese in Squantum, Mass. John changed the family name to Chase, understanding that the Italian name was both hard to spell and say. While Bill was growing up, his parents felt that he needed to broaden his horizons and arranged for him to take violin lessons.
Bill did not even touch the trumpet, untill the middle of his high school years. A newspaper clipping dated 1956 show Bill listed as a corporal in the 26th Yankee Infantry Division Band holding a bass drum. Bill's experience as a drummer changed his life and the lives of many others. During the ST. Patrick's Day parade he had to lug his huge bass drum for five miles during the miserably cold pouring rain. It hurt so bad that he decided never to do it again. He decided to let his father dig out his (dad's) old trumpet for him. He started playing the old trumpet the summer before his junior year in high school and showed a natural aptitude for it. He started playing in a Drum and Bugle Corps, along with his shcool groups. This ... was prior to his stint in the Boston National Guard where he served for six months in the guard band which honed his talents as a trumpeter and arranger.
Not long after switching to trumpet Bill was playing first chair in the school orchestra where classical music was his main love. In 1952, a neighbor coaxed Bill to attend a Stan Kenton concert with him. This was the band with Maynard Ferguson, Buddy Childers, Conter Candoli, etc. After that night Bill was hooked on jazz and high note trumpet.
As expected with any biography some time periods in a life may be hard to decipher. Bill was doing so much playing, that dates are very confusing. Since Maynard left the Kenton band and headed to Hollywood in 1953, Bill must have seen Kenton before then. One can only assume that he switched to the trumpet around 1951 at about the age of 16.
Bill went to the Berklee School of Music in Boston and studied with renowned trombonist and teacher John Coffey. Armando Ghitalla was his primary teacher as far as his classical approach to trumpet at Berklee. Bill played in the big band that was directed by trumpeter Herb Pomeroy, whom Bill credits with helping him develop as a lead player and stylist. He gradually gained a reputation around Boston with his work in the local dance bands. In 1957 the Berklee Band recorded the first Berklee "Jazz in the Classroom" album with Bill on the lead book. Half of this album is very "intellectual" jazz and half is more straight ahead swing. Bill's lead work drives the band, just as it would do in the years later with Woody Herman. There were many young musicians in the band who later went on to the professional scene. Pual Fontaine, Jimmy Mosher, Hal Galper and Toshiko Akiyoshi to name a few.
Things become a little more confusing at this point. Woody Herman h red Bill after the Herd played a gig with Pomeroy's band in a park in Boston. Woody liked what he heard and hired Bill and several other players for his own band. However, there is information showing Bill's first big gig at the age of 19 replacing Chuck Feretti in the Maynard Ferguson band he fronted at the time. He may have gone with Maynard for he then returned to Boston after his military service than go out with Woody's small group and so on. He returned to Maynard in 1958 to record a couple of albums as lead trumpet.(SEE THE STORY ON THAT LATER IN THE TRIBUTE!!) Throughout his entire stay at Berklee, he was constantly taking time off from school to make enough money to return.
Throughout his entire career Bill was extremely dedicated to his practicing. He had the habit of buzzing his mouthpiece for 30 to 45 minutes after each show, whether it was a two hour concert or a five hour dance gig. In the back of the Kenton bus Bill would drive people crazy with this particular habit. this was, of course, when he wasn't driving his sprorts car from show to show.
Bill's first real taste of fame came when he took over the lead book in Woody's Herd. Bill's rock solid lead work and fierce solo efforts helped the band swing it's butt off. Bill became a featured soloist with the band, not only on high note finishes, but on beautiful ballads as well. Songs such as "Somewhere," "I Can't Get Started," "Summertime" and others showed the sweet side of his horn.
Bill also began to write and arrange for the band. Many of his tunes were recorded by the band in the 60's. "Mo-lasses," "Somewhere," "Taste of Honey," "Y'Know What I Mean," "El Toro Grande," "23 Red," and "Camel Walk" which made it into the 1964 Downbeat yearbook as a featured score.
The Herd, in it's prime during the early sixties was given ample time to perform for a nationl audience. The band was a guest on the Ed Sullivan show each year from 1963 to 1965. These performances coupled with two featured spots on the PBS Jazz Casuals shows, brought the band to the attention of music lovers all across the US. A European show called Jazz 625, was also filmed during this time period. The playing on the Casuals and the 625 shows is outstanding. Bill played lead bood and was featured on several numbers. Several of his arrangements are also performed.

Critics were astounded by the power of the Herd in the 60's, each album they recorded received more praise than the previous ones. "Many critics have attributed much of the bands spark and drive to Chase's forceful lead work. The concert reviews from the current band were better than ever. "The trumpets with some new faces on hand, had their customary bite and sparkle, paced by Chase's remarkable lead work. Chase has some exciting solo bits, mostly in high note climaxes, but also in a more melodic wein, as on "Everybody Loves Somebody."
The Woody's Winners album in 1965 is probably the best, as far as Bill's playing goes. "The best writing is Chase's 23 Red, a wild, boppish up tempo arrangement in the first Herd tradition. Chase does a terrific job in the section. He's one of the stronger lead players around now and maybe one of the best in history." All of this from a Downbeat critic, usually known to many as tough to get a good big band review.


Bill was always in command of the Herman trumpet section and even the entire band with his playing. Bill Chase wrote,"There are things I made Woody's band do that I accomplished without saying a word. Just by taking one note and placing it in a certain position, maybe an infinitesimal fraction of a beat further each night, with the objective in mind that enventually it would get to the point where I thought it should be. The guys would follow those subtle changes without even knowing that they were doing it. That's groovy satisfaction!" Bill was called on many times to be the sparkplug of an exausted band. He also wrote,"And there were times when I knew I'd simply have to turn the whole band, like after an all day bus ride when everyone was totally beat...So I would turn it on so damned hard that at the end of the night I'd be completely spent. I wouldn't have one note left. Because no matter how tired or swollen your chops might be, when a key highnote passage comes up, you pace yourself to play it. A major part of it is mental. If you say, 'There is no way I can make it tonight,'than you will not make it. But when it has to roar and you're the lead player, you can't say that. Because you have to make it!!" In 1966 while on tour for the State Department, Nat Pierce had this to say: "We were playing a reception for the second vice president of Tanzania, and I had to write out the Tanzanian national anthem for the band. I thought I'd doctor it up a little and put some flashy things in for Bill Chase to play. We were rehearsing it in the room in which we were to play while workers were up on step ladders decorating the place with crepe paper and banners. When we started to play it and Bill started playing the flashy stuff, the workers started coming down off the ladders and coming toward the band. I said 'uh-oh, we'd better leave that Bill Chase part out." In 1966, Bill left Woody and landed in Las Vegas to work the hotel show circuit. He started working primarily at the Dunes hotel playing the Viva Les Girls show. He also played in the Tommy Vig Orchestra, but did not record with them. Bill briefly worked as a studio player, but there wasn't enough work for him, so he just stuck to the show circuit. Melody Maker magazine quoted Bill on his desire to improve as a jazz soloist in a 1966 article, "I like the usual jazz soloists, like Clark Terry, Clifford Brown, Dizzy and don't forget Harry "Sweets" Edison. But I would like to fashion my style on Clark. It's more and more difficult to be original these days. I'm certainly not original, so it's a matter of getting the right influences." Several sources say that bill appeared on the Ed Sullivan show as a featured soloist in 1968 when Sullivan was filming in Las Vegas. In an all to brief two minute spot Bill played his high note feature as scantily clad chorus line girls danced all about. No one remembers exactly what was played, but one source thought it was the "Carnival of Venice" up an octave. Throughout his stint in Vegas, Bill continued to do occasonal tours with Woody even up until 1970. Several of these concerts have been recently issued on C.D. In Vegas, Bill' reputation as a fearless lead player landed him many quality gigs. However he became bored of life in the clubs. He once mentioned that he used to play cards and read comics with one hand as he played the show with the other. Bill also spent time as Vic Damone's lead player. When big shows came to Las Vegas needing an extra trumpet player, Bill ws the trumpeter that each artist would call on. When Johnny Carson would come to town, Doc Severinsen would call Bill to play in the band. Trumpeter Byron Ligenfelter met Bill in 1964 when he joined Woody's band to replace Larry Ford. Byron was only on the band for three weeks when he received his draft notice. After the service Byron settled in Vegas and played the Viva Les Girls show with Bill. Bill became so restless with playing the same show, that he began to look for a new way to express himself. Byron, ex-Herman trumpeter Gerry Lamy and several other musician buddies convinced Bill to start his own group. Late in 1969, the band began to rehearse in a large vacant warehouse after they had finished thier jobs. Usually rehearsals would run from 2:30 a.m to 7:00 a.m. The band originally learned tunes off the radio, such as "Vehicle," "With a Little Help from My Friends," "Celebrate" and others. Finally with enough cover tunes learned they auditioned at the Pussycat-A-Go-Go. They signed on as an after hours music group. They would play five one hour sets. The band gradually formed a local followin and slowly added in some original tunes. The first gig at the Pussycat was originally booked as a two week job, however it soon stretched into two and a half months. This was in the summer of 1970. Bill felt that he needed to shop his product around a little, so he got some help from Woody in finding some record executives who would listen. Bill flew to Boston to play a show with Woody and over dinner he talked to his buddy, trumpeter Lin Biviano who was then playing lead with the Glenn Miller band, about his band. Soon after his meeting, Bill called Lin at his home in Pennsylvania, asking him to fly out to Vegas that day to play on his demo. The next day Lin arrived in Vegas and went to Bill's apartment at the Tropicana hotel and found Bill fiddling with what would soon become his most popular song. "Get It On" was originally written without a vocal part. The band recorded a 6-12 song demo in Byron's living room with record executives from Epic present. Dennis Johnson, who joined the band after six weeks remembered recording a great tune called "Pensive Passion" which was in 7/4 time on the demo. The band at this time was made up of Bill, Byron, Jerry and Lin on trumpets. The rhythm section was comprised of John Palmer on guitar, Jay Burrid on drum, Dennis Johnson on bass and Phil Porter on keys. Trumpeter Alan Ware came in to replace Byron who decided he wanted to keep his steady job at the hotel. Alan was working in the same lounge act in the same hotel where Bill was playing. They became friends in their off hours and naturally when Bill needed another player, Alan came to mind. Alan became the band's road manager. He was also the only band member with good credit!!! He bought a car for the band to travel in. This was a major commitment, as sometimes they had to scrape by on only $75 a week. After about two months of rehearsals, Guitarist Angel South joined the band bringing a heavy background in blues and rock music. Angel soon became one of the most inventive and talented guitarists on the scene. Later when the band started to tour, Bill would rely on Angel's soloing to bring the crowd to it's feet. When the band decided to go out on the road, several members chose to stay in Vegas, hoping that a gig in a club would be more steady than the life on the road with Bill's fledgling band. Byron left the band early in 1971 to stay with his wife and newborn son. Lin was offered the lead chair in Buddy Rich's band. Gerry also wanted to stay with his steady job in town. With replacements needed, Bill went to the band for help. Jay Burrid had been in the Navy with trupeter Jerry Van Blair stationed in San Francisco. Jay moved to Vegas to try and make some money, while Jerry stayed in San Francisco for the same reason. When a spot in the trumpet section opened, Jay recommended Jerry for the chair. He filled it better then anyone coudld have hoped. Young trumpeter Ted Piercefield was also a highly talented arranger and vocalist and was recruited to fill Gerry Lamy's sopt. Epic records saw a future in the band and had the band move to Chicago to record what would soon become their most popular album. The band was booked into "Mothers," a club in Chicago, playing from 9:00 p.m untill 3:00 a.m. After the gig was over they would pack up and move all of their gear to Universal Studios for the recording session that afternoon. The band had rented some apartments nearby, so they were able to eat and get some rest before the call at the studio. After teh early afternoon session they would move all the gear back into the club for the show that night. This process was repeated for more than a week. In nine days they figured that they had the album completed. After compiling the total time of the album, Bill realized that it was about six minutes short. He sent Ted and Alan into a practice room to arrange something. In very little time, they had an arrangement of Rod Stewart's "Handbags and Gladrags" finished. Bill loved it and it was recorded that same afternoon. The album proved to be a huge success as "Get It On" becamse a number one pop hit in the summer of 1971. The band was nominated for a Grammy award. Bill was voted as the number two pop musician of the year, runner up to Frank Zappa. The group also placed second in the Rock/Pop/Blues group of the year category and the album was the number one pop album of the year, according to Downbeat Magazine. The band's fame soon spread and national television spots followed. Performances on the Smothers Brothers and Tonight Shows brought their music to more people. The Smothers show was taped in the studio with no audience. The band played "Open Up Wide" and "Get It On" on both shows. On the Tonight Show the audience went crazy, prompting Johnny Carson to quip "Fine group, just fine, but there are nine fellows who will not be invited to Lawrence Welks's birthday party." Riding the crest of the first album's success the band was booked into George Wein's Newport Jazz Festival. The show went over extremely well, but the festival had it's problems when riots broke out during the following group's performance. Angel remembers rioters tearing the place apart and even hurling the grand piano off of the stage. This was the event that caused the moving of the festival to Carnegie Hall for several years. Throughout 1971 the band maintained a vigorous touring schedule. The band was a supercharged bunch of musicians on stage and after each show they were totally exhausted, having given their all. Usually the shows went off without a hitch, however there were a few occasions when somehthin did go wrong. During one show the drum beat got changed around, nothing like this had ever happned before. Everyone was so amazed that something went wrong that they all broke into laughter. The music stopped and the band took several minutes before they regained enouhg composure to start the tune over again.
More to come!!