[Dixielandjazz] Re: Bill Chase albums?

[Bill Haesler]

Dear Jim (and other interested DJMLers),
Courtesy of Wikipedia (the free encyclopedia) and my disco files, herewith
all you need to know about Bill Chase and the 'Chase' LPs.
CDs of the LP albums were released in 1998, but not currently available, so
far as I can find.
Amazon have new and used copies.
Or so they say.
Kind regards,
Bill (who can never resist a research challenge).
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Bill Chase (October 20, 1934 - August 9, 1974) was an American trumpet
player and leader of a jazz-rock fusion band that bore his name. He was born
William Edward Chiaiese in Boston, Massachusetts, but his family changed
their name to Chase, realizing Chiaiese was difficult to pronounce.

Chase built his reputation with Maynard Ferguson and Stan Kenton, and during
the 1960s he played lead trumpet in Woody Herman's Thundering Herd.
Recordings of the Herman band from that time period, including Woody's
Winners, Live in Antibes, Blue Flame, Live in Seattle, Somewhere, Live at
Newport 1966, Heavy Exposure, Woody Herman & the Fourth Herd, and Jazz Hoot
are considered some of the most exciting in the Herman discography. The band
also filmed several television appearances for the program Jazz Casual.

In 1970 he started his own band, known as Chase, which released its
eponymous debut album in early 1971. Bill Chase was joined by Ted
Piercefield, Alan Ware, and Jerry Van Blair, three veteran jazz trumpeters
who were also 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 Jay Burrid on percussion. Rounding out the group
was Terry Richards, who was featured as lead vocalist on the first album.
The album contains Chase's best-known song, "Get It On," which was released
as a single and spent thirteen weeks on the charts starting in May of 1971.
It 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."

Late in 1971, Chase released their second album, Ennea. The original lineup
was retained, except for Gary Smith on drums, and G. G. Shinn replacing
Terry Richards on lead vocal. Whereas the first Chase album sold nearly
400,000 copies, Ennea was not as well received by the public. A possible
reason for this may have been the shift of focus away from the trumpet
section. As Bill Chase put it in a Downbeat interview, "I don't want people
to be heavily conscious of a trumpet section. They should just hear good
things, but not be clobbered over the head with brass." A single, "So Many
People," received some radio play, but the side-two-filling "Ennea" suite,
with its tightly-chorded jazz arrangements and lyrics based on Greek
mythology, was less radio-friendly.

Following an extended hiatus, Chase reemerged early in 1974 with the release
of Pure Music, their third album. With an entirely new lineup, but keeping
the four-trumpet section headed by Bill Chase, the group moved further from
the rock idiom, placing their focus more heavily on jazz. Variety magazine
said that Pure Music was "probably Chase's most commercial effort, and their
brand of jazz could have a commercial impact." The songs were written by Jim
Peterik of the Ides of March, who also sings on the two songs on the album
with lyrics, backing up singer and bassist Dartanyan Brown.

On August 9, 1974, while on tour promoting the Pure Music album, Bill Chase
died in a plane crash in Jackson, Minnesota. Also killed along with the
pilot were Wally Yohn, keyboardist, Walter Clark, drummer, and John Emma,
guitarist. With the death of Bill Chase came the death of the group Chase.
(Ironically, as the first song on Chase is called "Open Up Wide," the last
song on Pure Music is called "Close Up Tight.")

'Chase'
Bill Chase, Alan Ware (tp,arr) Ted Piercefield (tp,vcl,arr) Jerry van Blair
(tp,vcl) Phil Porter (keyboards) Angel South (g,vcl) Dennis Johnson (b,vcl)
Jay Burrid (perc) Terrie Richards Alden (vcl) D.O. Rourke (arr)
New York, 1971
    Open up wide (bc arr)
    Living in heat (bc arr)        -         -
    Hello groceries (aw,dor arr)        -         -
    Handbags and gladrags (aw,tp arr)        -         -
    Boys and girls together (as,tp arr)        -         -
    Invitation to a river (bc arr)        -         -
            Two minds fest
            Stay   
            Paint it sad
            Reflections
            River  
Released on Epic KE30472, BG33737 and BN26297.

'Ennea'
Bill Chase, Ted Piercefield, Alan Ware, Jerry van Blair (tp,flhrn) Phil
Porter (org) Angel South (g,arr) Dennis Johnson (b) Gary Smith (d) G.G.
Shinn (vcl) Danny Long, Charlie Brent (arr)
New York, 1972
    Swanee river (ba arr,ggs vcl)
    It won't be long (cb arr,ggs vcl)
    I can feel it (as,bc arr,ggs vcl)
    Ennea (bc arr)
            Cronus [Saturn]
            Zeus [Jupiter]
            Poseidon [Neptune]
            Aphrodite [Venus] (pt 1)
            Aphrodite [Venus] (pt 2)
            Hades [Pluto]

Jay Burrid (d) replaces Gary Smith
New York, 1972
    So many people (tp vcl,bc,dl arr)
    Night (tp vcl,arr)
    Woman of the dark (ggs vcl,bc arr)
Released on Epic KE31097, BG33737

'Pure Music'
Bill Chase (tp,el-tp,flhrn) Jay Sollenberger, Jim Oatts, Joe Morrissey (tp)
Wally Yohn (org,synt) John Emma (g) Dartanyan Brown (el-b,vcl) Tom Gordon
(d) Jim Peterik (vcl)
New York, 1973
    Run back to mama
    Love is on the way
    Weird song no 1
    Twinkles       
    Close up tight 
    Bochawa        
Released on Epic KE32572
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