CHART
A jazz musician’s term for a printed piece of music.
CHASE
A competition between two or more soloists, where each tries to outplay or outperform the other. Similar in concept to trading, but instead of trading a set amount of measures, the soloists would first trade choruses, then half choruses, then phrases, and so on. See also CUTTING CONTEST.
CHASE, WILLIAM “BILL” (1934–1974)
American trumpet player, known for his upper register. After studying at the Berklee College of Music, Bill Chase played lead trumpet in Maynard Ferguson’s big band in 1958, recorded an album with Stan Kenton in 1959, and performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival with Woody Herman. Chase would stay in Herman’s band until 1967, after which he started the jazz-rock group Chase, containing four trumpets, a rhythm section, and a singer. After another brief European tour with Herman’s band in 1969, he recorded his band’s first album in 1971, the self-titled Chase, which contained the hit song “Get It On.” Successive albums were not as well received. Chase and three other members of his band died in a plane crash in 1974 during a tour.
CHEATHAM, ALDOLPHUS ANTHONY “DOC” (1905–1997)
Known more for his playing later in life, Doc Cheatham started playing trumpet at the age of 14. He worked in various local bands before moving to Chicago around 1925, where he played with Albert Wynn and subbed for Louis Armstrong. He then moved to Philadelphia and played with Wilbur De Paris (1927–1928), then to New York, where he performed briefly with Chick Webb. After touring Europe with Sam Wooding from 1928 to 1930, he became known more as a lead trumpet player than a soloist and spent time playing in many different bands, including McKinney’s Cotton Pickers in 1931 and 1932, seven years with the Cab Calloway Orchestra from 1932 to 1939, and brief stints with Teddy Wilson and then Benny Carter. In the 1950s and 1960s, Cheatham worked with various Latin bands and also toured with De Paris, Sammy Price, and Herbie Mann before settling down to lead his own band in New York from 1960 to 1965. After a brief stint with Benny Goodman in 1966, Cheatham settled in as a freelance musician, and his soloing became more recognized. He continued to perform at jazz festivals and clubs into the 1990s. In 1991 he appeared with Wynton Marsalis at a tribute to Louis Armstrong, and in 1996 he recorded an album with trumpeter Nicholas Payton. A few days after a performance with Payton in 1997, Cheatham died in his sleep due to a stroke.
CHERRY, DON (1936–1995)
Generally associated with playing the pocket trumpet or cornet, Cherry joined Ornette Coleman’s group in 1957 and appeared on Coleman’s first seven albums. Those albums, in addition to the group’s celebrated stint at the Five Spot Café in New York (starting in 1959), established Cherry at the forefront of the avant-garde movement. During this time he also recorded with John Coltrane (The Avant-Garde) in 1960. After leaving Coleman’s group, Cherry went on to play with Sonny Rollins, Archie Shepp, Steve Lacy, and Albert Ayler. In Europe between 1964 and 1966, Cherry recorded his two most critically successful albums, Complete Communion (1965) and Symphony for Improvisers (1966). Thereafter, he toured Europe, Africa, and Asia and became known for incorporating non-Western musical elements into his music, writing for and performing with wood flutes, gamelan, and other non-Western instruments. Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, and into the 1990s, he would play with several groups, including Codona, Old and New Dreams (a group dedicated to playing Coleman’s music), Nu, and the Multikulti orchestra and quintet. While in Spain in 1995, Cherry died from liver failure caused by hepatitis. See also POCKET TRUMPET.
CHESTNUT, CYRUS (1963–)
Chestnut was born in Baltimore, Maryland, and began learning piano at the age of seven. By the age of nine, he was studying classical music at the Peabody Institute. He earned a degree in jazz composition and arranging from the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. From 1986 through 1993, Chestnut toured with a number of artists, including vocalist Jon Hendricks, trumpeter Terence Blanchard, Donald Harrison, and Wynton Marsalis, and as a member of the Betty Carter Trio. In 1993 he signed with Atlantic Records and released four albums over the next five years. Chestnut collaborated with opera legend Kathlee Battle on the album So Many Stars (1995, Sony Masterworks), which then led to a fall 1996 U.S. tour together. He continues to tour with his trio, performing at jazz festivals throughout the world as well as at clubs and concert halls. He regularly performs with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Carnegie Hall Jazz Orchestra.
CHIAROSCURO
A record label and company established in New York in 1970. During the 1970s, Chiaroscuro issued albums by artists including Earl Hines, Mary Lou Williams, and Teddy Wilson and also by some free jazz musicians. The label was active into the 1990s.
CHICAGO FOOTWARMERS
A recording group formed in Chicago in 1927, it also went by the names the Dixieland Thumpers and the State Street Ramblers.
CHICAGO JAZZ
A variation of the New Orleans early jazz style created by White musicians in and around Chicago during the 1920s. Famous musicians associated with the style include Benny Goodman, Gene Krupa, Bix Beiderbecke, and Frankie Trumbauer. The Chicago style was characterized by more frenetic rhythms, better instrumental technique, and a focus on the soloist. In contrast with the earlier New Orleans style, piano was typically used in place of banjo, and the upright bass in place of tuba.
CHILDERS, MARION “BUDDY” (1926–2007)
A lead trumpet player, Buddy Childers got his start at age 16 playing in Stan Kenton’s band in 1942. He played with Kenton until 1954, also appearing with numerous other bands, including those of Woody Herman (1949) and Tommy Dorsey (1951–1952). In the 1950s and 1960s, Childers worked as a freelance musician in Los Angeles and spent seven years in Las Vegas (1959–1966). In the 1970s and 1980s, Childers performed with many big bands, notably the Toshiko Akiyoshi–Lew Tabackin Big Band and Bob Florence’s big band. He served as Frank Sinatra Jr.’s musical director starting in 1983 and died from cancer in 2007.
CHILTON, JOHN (1932–2106)
British jazz trumpet player and jazz scholar. Chilton formed his own band in 1954, joined Bruce Turner’s Jump Band in 1958, and played in a few other groups before becoming musical director for George Melly in 1971. He was noted mainly for his jazz texts, including Who’s Who of Jazz: Storyville to Swing Street, Louis: The Louis Armstrong Story, and biographies of Sidney Bechet and Coleman Hawkins. His autobiography, Hot Jazz, Warm Feet, was published in 2007 by Northway Publications. See also ENGLAND.
CHIRILLO, JAMES (1953–)
A guitarist, banjoist, composer, and arranger, Chirillo studied music at the University of North Texas, playing guitar for the school’s One O’Clock Lab Band. After his studies, he began performing with popular singers before joining the U.S. Army Jazz Knights big band in 1979. Following