Bill Chase (born in 1934) had an
unusual heritage for an influential jazz man – he came from Boston, born to
Italian parents who came from musical roots.
Chase studied classical trumpet in the early 1950s, but soon came under
the influence of contemporary jazz. By
1960, he was playing with Woody Herman’s Thundering Herd, and after a decade
fronted his own group, Chase, a nine-piece jazz-rock fusion group fronted by
four trumpets. It was through Chase that
Bill perfected his fusion sound, built on complex arrangements that put the
emphasis on soaring, demanding trumpet play. Chase released three albums: the self-titled “Chase” in 1971; “Ennea” in 1972; and Pure
Music in 1974. The group was working on a fourth album in
the summer of 1974. Sadly, this effort
would never come to fruition, as four members of Chase -- Bill Chase, guitarist
John Emma, drummer Walter Clark, and pianist
Wally Yohn – boarded a plane in Chicago to fly to Jackson, Minnesota to
play a county fair. The Piper PA-30 Comanche they were flying on came down when
pilot Dan Ludwig attempted to land in Jackson in heavy rain. A distress
signal was picked up near Armstrong, Iowa, which was the last communication
from the craft. The NTSB probable cause blames pilot error, specifically an
improper IFR operation (there was 400 feet of ceiling at Jackson that
afternoon).
