A little bit of Chuck on the side...

Solar Bell · 02-19-2006, 04:30 PM

I am Chuck Willard. I am 53 years old and have been playing trumpet about 45+ years.
I play a Lawler C7 trumpet in satin gold finish. I use a GR mouthpiece which Gary made for me and is basically a Jet Tone Bill Chase, reverse engineered. I’ve played it for about 3 years and before that a Jet Tone Bill Chase for over 20 years.

I played a Courtois 708 Sonic for many years before purchasing my first Schilke, a B1.
The B1 was followed by a B6. I guess I am too rough on the lightweight Schilkes as I had lead pipe bending problems with each. The Lawler is a very good horn, the equal or better of the Schilkes in every way. In my opinion.

I have done a little of everything in my life.
I was a competitive swimmer and speed skater through my teens. The problem was that the other boys grew much taller than I did. I also was a pretty decent amateur boxer.

I was very heavily into drag racing through the 60’s and early 70’s, racing a sponsored car in the “Pro Stock” class. That was a gas.

I am retired from my occupation as a tool maker due to a medical disability. (work related lung damage)

My father was a prominent trumpet player/band leader in the Detroit area and being his son I was able to meet and hear most of the great musicians that came through Detroit.
I attended Cass Tech High School in Detroit and won scholarships to Interlochen and the University of Michigan. Armed with letters of introduction from Chuck Peterson and Manny Klein, I landed a (very short-lived) spot in the US Navy band.

For the last five years I have been the lead player in a very busy swing band in the Detroit area. We are a fifteen piece (6 brass) band with a great vocalist and do transcriptions of the best of the swing era big bands; Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Harry James, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, etc. I do all the Harry James and Bunny Berigan solos.
A big thrill is to be able to play with Bill Hart, who plays the jazz book. Bill is a terrific player who played with the Dorsey band under Sam Donahue
Another highlight is becoming friends with Mike Williams, the long time and current lead player of the Basie band. A truly amazing player.

I have been married for 18 years to Karen, an excellent organist, and piano player. We met when she auditioned for the keyboard job in one of my bands. One of the thrills of my life was to be able to purchase a new August Forster grand piano for her.

I am also grateful for the TrumpetMaster website, and have made many friends “online” through this forum. And I’d like to say “Thank you” to all of you who send me emails and PMs.

This is truly a great site for learning about the trumpet.
I have gleaned more from this site in the last nine months than I have learned in the past 40+ years. There is so much to be learned from all of you.

Chuck Willard

tpter1 · 02-20-2006, 10:19 PM

Ditto.

Clarence · 02-20-2006, 11:39 PM

Now i thought was really Kewl!

Clarence · 02-21-2006, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Clarence

Now i thought that was really Kewl!

dow30 · 02-21-2006, 07:16 PM

Hi Chuck,

Enjoyed reading the post. Thought the name was familiar, couldn't remember from where. My Uncle Billy Lynch had a top fuel dragster. Al Segrini the pilot. I Love any kind of racing.

Am new to the trumpet. Spent all my life riding horses, which I still do but didn't realize that that probably was not the greatest career patch. Although as you know, when the racing bug bites you, it's hard to shake loose.

I agree, this site is great, especially for someone like me who is learning. Lots of info from very knowledgable people. Your band sounds sounds like a blast! Good Luck and Enjoy! Nice to meet you.

Kim Doran
Photo of dragster(hope link works ok!) Enlishtown NJ,
http://photobucket.com/albums/d73/dow30glass/Personal/

rjzeller · 03-22-2006, 01:18 AM

Don't know how I missed this thread, but nice to see a little background on ye, Chuck.

enjoyed the read....

the chief · 06-15-2006, 01:05 PM

Cool post Chuck. It's cool that you can play good lead trumpet with a lung injury. Does it affect your playing?

Bruce Lee · 06-16-2006, 10:24 AM

Welcome to the TrumpetMaster website, ya whippersnapper!

Yeah, Chuck can play the trumpet... which is soon to be the Eclipse Medium Solar

And, he won the relationship lottery when he hooked up with Karen!
Hi, Karen!

How DID this thread become buried? OHHHHHHHHHHH.... Eclipse Contest!

See ya around, Chuck!
Bruce

NickD · 06-16-2006, 12:20 PM

Hey Chuck! It was great meeting you at the ITG!

Ah 1953! Now THAT was a good year!

Nick

Liad Bar-EL · 09-27-2006, 08:13 AM

Hi Chuck,

After reading your bib, I feel that I've known you all my life. Great story!

You seem to be a man of self determination and you have a great drive to succeed……..A medical disability (work related lung damage) and you are building up your lungs by successfully playing the trumpet. Your front tooth came out and you got that fixed through a very long and arduous and successful effort.

It's really good to know you Chuck and hope we can share more life experiences and jokes in the future.

Liad Bar-EL

02-19-2006, 04:30 PM	#1 (permalink)
Solar Bell Moderator Fortissimo User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Metro Detroit Brand: Eclipse Posts: 3,760	A little bit of Chuck on the side... I am Chuck Willard. I am 53 years old and have been playing trumpet about 45+ years. I play a Lawler C7 trumpet in satin gold finish. I use a GR mouthpiece which Gary made for me and is basically a Jet Tone Bill Chase, reverse engineered. I’ve played it for about 3 years and before that a Jet Tone Bill Chase for over 20 years. I played a Courtois 708 Sonic for many years before purchasing my first Schilke, a B1. The B1 was followed by a B6. I guess I am too rough on the lightweight Schilkes as I had lead pipe bending problems with each. The Lawler is a very good horn, the equal or better of the Schilkes in every way. In my opinion. I have done a little of everything in my life. I was a competitive swimmer and speed skater through my teens. The problem was that the other boys grew much taller than I did. I also was a pretty decent amateur boxer. I was very heavily into drag racing through the 60’s and early 70’s, racing a sponsored car in the “Pro Stock” class. That was a gas. I am retired from my occupation as a tool maker due to a medical disability. (work related lung damage) My father was a prominent trumpet player/band leader in the Detroit area and being his son I was able to meet and hear most of the great musicians that came through Detroit. I attended Cass Tech High School in Detroit and won scholarships to Interlochen and the University of Michigan. Armed with letters of introduction from Chuck Peterson and Manny Klein, I landed a (very short-lived) spot in the US Navy band. For the last five years I have been the lead player in a very busy swing band in the Detroit area. We are a fifteen piece (6 brass) band with a great vocalist and do transcriptions of the best of the swing era big bands; Tommy Dorsey, Count Basie, Harry James, Jimmie Lunceford, Benny Goodman, Chick Webb, etc. I do all the Harry James and Bunny Berigan solos. A big thrill is to be able to play with Bill Hart, who plays the jazz book. Bill is a terrific player who played with the Dorsey band under Sam Donahue Another highlight is becoming friends with Mike Williams, the long time and current lead player of the Basie band. A truly amazing player. I have been married for 18 years to Karen, an excellent organist, and piano player. We met when she auditioned for the keyboard job in one of my bands. One of the thrills of my life was to be able to purchase a new August Forster grand piano for her. I am also grateful for the TrumpetMaster website, and have made many friends “online” through this forum. And I’d like to say “Thank you” to all of you who send me emails and PMs. This is truly a great site for learning about the trumpet. I have gleaned more from this site in the last nine months than I have learned in the past 40+ years. There is so much to be learned from all of you. Chuck Willard
	__________________ Chuck Willard *The Willard of Oz* "Don't be afraid to see what you see." Ronald Reagan

02-20-2006, 10:19 PM	#2 (permalink)
tpter1 Forte User Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Northern New York Brand: Lawler Posts: 2,309	Ditto.
	__________________ -Glenn "Roses have thorns; shining waters mud. Clouds and eclipses stain the moon and the sun; and history reeks of the wrongs we have done. After today, after today, consider me gone."- Sting

02-20-2006, 11:39 PM	#3 (permalink)
Clarence Mezzo Forte User Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: san diego Posts: 734	Now i thought was really Kewl!
	__________________ You heard it here 1st, in what ever u do if u buy the ticket u take the ride! Stage 1XH Bb Phaeton 2030 Bb Jupiter flugle 846bl black Kersting Pocket trumpet Stage1 MP schilke 11 MP Sdsytems LCM77 wireless Shure PGX wireless

02-21-2006, 07:16 PM	#5 (permalink)
dow30 Piano User Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: NY Posts: 305	Hi Chuck, Enjoyed reading the post. Thought the name was familiar, couldn't remember from where. My Uncle Billy Lynch had a top fuel dragster. Al Segrini the pilot. I Love any kind of racing. Am new to the trumpet. Spent all my life riding horses, which I still do but didn't realize that that probably was not the greatest career patch. Although as you know, when the racing bug bites you, it's hard to shake loose. I agree, this site is great, especially for someone like me who is learning. Lots of info from very knowledgable people. Your band sounds sounds like a blast! Good Luck and Enjoy! Nice to meet you. Kim Doran Photo of dragster(hope link works ok!) Enlishtown NJ, http://photobucket.com/albums/d73/dow30glass/Personal/
	__________________ dow30 Courage doesn't always roar, sometimes it's that little voice at the end of the day that says. "I'll try again tomorrow."

03-22-2006, 01:18 AM	#6 (permalink)
rjzeller Forte User Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Rochester, MN Brand: Getzen Posts: 1,212	Don't know how I missed this thread, but nice to see a little background on ye, Chuck. enjoyed the read....
	__________________ There are 10 kinds of people in the world: Those who understand binary and those who do not.

06-15-2006, 01:05 PM	#7 (permalink)
the chief Pianissimo User Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 61	Cool post Chuck. It's cool that you can play good lead trumpet with a lung injury. Does it affect your playing?

06-16-2006, 10:24 AM	#8 (permalink)
Bruce Lee Piano User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: HOUSTON, TEXAS Posts: 463	Welcome to the TrumpetMaster website, ya whippersnapper! Yeah, Chuck can play the trumpet... which is soon to be the Eclipse Medium Solar And, he won the relationship lottery when he hooked up with Karen! Hi, Karen! How DID this thread become buried? OHHHHHHHHHHH.... Eclipse Contest! See ya around, Chuck! Bruce
	__________________ brucelee@northernbrass.com ECLIPSE TRUMPETS - AUTHORIZED DEALER The "TEATRO", by Lee/McKinney GR Technologies/Northern Brass Mpc's - Dealer http://www.northernbrass.com (281) 485-1919

06-16-2006, 12:20 PM	#9 (permalink)
NickD Mezzo Forte User Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Chicago northern suburbs Posts: 820	Cool Chuck! Hey Chuck! It was great meeting you at the ITG! Ah 1953! Now THAT was a good year! Nick
	__________________ NickD "Free Online Lessons in Extreme Trumpet Playing" http://www.nickdrozdoff.com http://www.newyorktrumpetcompany.com/ http://www.myspace.com/nickdrozdoff

09-27-2006, 08:13 AM	#10 (permalink)
Liad Bar-EL Forte User Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Jerusalem, Israel Posts: 1,168	Hi Chuck, After reading your bib, I feel that I've known you all my life. Great story! You seem to be a man of self determination and you have a great drive to succeed……..A medical disability (work related lung damage) and you are building up your lungs by successfully playing the trumpet. Your front tooth came out and you got that fixed through a very long and arduous and successful effort. It's really good to know you Chuck and hope we can share more life experiences and jokes in the future. Liad Bar-EL

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