As a bandleader, Rich Willey has presented music at functions and events with a quartet, quintet, sextet, septet, octet, nonet, dectet and even a sixteen-piece big band. Rich’s jazz bands are versatile, playing latin, swing, dixieland, or bebop styles and employ some of the best players in the Asheville and Western North Carolina region.
As both a player and composer, Rich Willey is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. His trumpet and bass trumpet playing draw upon the wellspring of bebop with a contemporary freshness; brash and forceful, but also lyrical and warm. His compositions and arrangements are thoughtful and substantial, yet always accessible and listenable, combining a solid sense of swing with an overriding concern for melody.
Rich was active on the New York scene in the 1980s to the mid 1990s, handling a wide range of Latin and jazz gigs, most notably backing up legendary vocalist Mel Tormé. He is the author of The Ultimate Collection of Jazz Duets, Jazz Improv Materials Handbook Complete — a melodic approach to jazz improvisation, The Melody Lingers On — 24 Melodic Jazz Solos, The Ultimate Blues Workout, We’re Talkin’ Bebop — a melodic approach for developing a bebop-style jazz vocabulary, Trumpeter’s Guides to Major and Minor II-V-Is, Rhythm Madness, Scale Force, Variations on Clarke’s Second Study Vols. 1 and 2, Upside-Down Scales for Improvisation, and a trumpet method book FocalPoint — a centered approach to embouchure development (Boptism Music Publishing).
Rich has a B.A. in music education from the University of South Florida. He finished his M.M. in jazz performance in 2001 at the renowned Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Byron Stripling and Mike Abene. Rich spent the fall of 2001 on tour playing second trumpet — the challenging “jazz chair” — with trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau.
Rich and his quintet recorded Gone With the Piggies (Consolidated Artists Productions CAP962) in 2001, a striking collection of brilliantly conceived and impeccably performed tracks, including four of his own distinctive compositions. 2001 also saw the formation of the partnership between Rich Willey and Bob Bernotas and their new company, Boptism Music Publishing.
Since 2002 Rich has toured with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. A resident of Candler, NC, he teaches at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, taught at Limestone College (Gaffney, SC) for two years, and also directed the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble for two years. In addition to being on the music faculty at UNC-Asheville, Rich is also on the music faculty at Clemson University in Clemson, SC, was the director of the historic first jazz bands at Brevard Music Center, Brevard, NC, and is also the conductor of the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble.
Rich has performed with many great musicians (in no particular order): Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau, Hank Mobley, Johnny Coles, Bob Haggart, John Hart, Tim Hagans, Lionel Hampton, Bootsie Barnes, Larry McKenna, John Swana, Mike Natale, Jack Petersen, Don Paterson, Bob Belden, Bob Mintzer, Ernie Watts, Paquito D’Rivera, Kenny Soderblom, John LaPorta, Ted Rosenthal, Larry Camp, Jeff Rupert, The Clayton Brothers, Andy Fusco, Ray Vega, John Lamb, Johnny Varro, Bill Conti, Kenny Drew Jr., Bobby Rosengarden, Jon Gordon, Conrad Herwig, Jerry Jerome, Lou Stellute, John Colianni, Joel Frahm, William Evans, Chris Potter, Greg Gisbert, Scott Wendholt, Brad Mehldau, Joe Farnsworth, John Webber, John Samorian, Danny Gatton, Cecil Bridgewater, Claudio Roditi, Dave Trigg, Dave Stahl, Frank Greene, Tony Berrerro, John DiMartino, Bobby Sanabria, Gary Morgan (PanAmericana Big Band), Jack Wilkins, Dave Riekenberg, Carlos Santos, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Bogus Pomp (Zappa tribute band), Dick Hafer, Chip McNeill, Harry Allen, Ron McClure, Mel Tormé, Jerry Weldon, Adam Brenner, Dave Schumacher, Scott Robinson, Bob Milliken, Don Lamond, Jim Snidero, Jon Owens, Danny Stiles, Bill Mobley, Pete Malinverni, Ed Palermo Big Band, John Walsh, Steve Kirby, John Benitez, Rick Simerly, John Eckert, Chuck Owen, John Simon, Andy Gravish, Bill Moring, Doug Weiss, Randy Eckert, Lynne Arielle, Tim Newman, Debby Boone, Cab Calloway Orchestra, Natalie Cole, Kevin Mahogany, Clay Aiken, The Temptations, Martin Short, Terry Vosbein, Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill, John Bunch, Derek Smith, Bobby Shew, Rufus Reid, James Moody, Jon Hendrix, Junior Mance, Eddie McFadden, Ira Sullivan, Duffy Jackson, the Cab Calloway Orchestra, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra directed by Bill Tole, etc. Tours (in 2002 and 2004-present) with Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under direction of Buddy Morrow, playing 2nd (jazz) trumpet. Played with Tommy Dorsey Orchestra at 2005 Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. Played trumpet on the Delta Queen Riverboat in 2003. Rich has also played with many, many other musicians that nobody has ever heard of. ;-)
As both a player and composer, Rich Willey is firmly rooted in the jazz tradition. His trumpet and bass trumpet playing draw upon the wellspring of bebop with a contemporary freshness; brash and forceful, but also lyrical and warm. His compositions and arrangements are thoughtful and substantial, yet always accessible and listenable, combining a solid sense of swing with an overriding concern for melody.
Rich was active on the New York scene in the 1980s to the mid 1990s, handling a wide range of Latin and jazz gigs, most notably backing up legendary vocalist Mel Tormé. He is the author of The Ultimate Collection of Jazz Duets, Jazz Improv Materials Handbook Complete — a melodic approach to jazz improvisation, The Melody Lingers On — 24 Melodic Jazz Solos, The Ultimate Blues Workout, We’re Talkin’ Bebop — a melodic approach for developing a bebop-style jazz vocabulary, Trumpeter’s Guides to Major and Minor II-V-Is, Rhythm Madness, Scale Force, Variations on Clarke’s Second Study Vols. 1 and 2, Upside-Down Scales for Improvisation, and a trumpet method book FocalPoint — a centered approach to embouchure development (Boptism Music Publishing).
Rich has a B.A. in music education from the University of South Florida. He finished his M.M. in jazz performance in 2001 at the renowned Manhattan School of Music, where he studied with Byron Stripling and Mike Abene. Rich spent the fall of 2001 on tour playing second trumpet — the challenging “jazz chair” — with trumpet legend Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau.
Rich and his quintet recorded Gone With the Piggies (Consolidated Artists Productions CAP962) in 2001, a striking collection of brilliantly conceived and impeccably performed tracks, including four of his own distinctive compositions. 2001 also saw the formation of the partnership between Rich Willey and Bob Bernotas and their new company, Boptism Music Publishing.
Since 2002 Rich has toured with the Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under the direction of Buddy Morrow. A resident of Candler, NC, he teaches at the University of North Carolina at Asheville, taught at Limestone College (Gaffney, SC) for two years, and also directed the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble for two years. In addition to being on the music faculty at UNC-Asheville, Rich is also on the music faculty at Clemson University in Clemson, SC, was the director of the historic first jazz bands at Brevard Music Center, Brevard, NC, and is also the conductor of the Spartanburg Jazz Ensemble.
Rich has performed with many great musicians (in no particular order): Maynard Ferguson’s Big Bop Nouveau, Hank Mobley, Johnny Coles, Bob Haggart, John Hart, Tim Hagans, Lionel Hampton, Bootsie Barnes, Larry McKenna, John Swana, Mike Natale, Jack Petersen, Don Paterson, Bob Belden, Bob Mintzer, Ernie Watts, Paquito D’Rivera, Kenny Soderblom, John LaPorta, Ted Rosenthal, Larry Camp, Jeff Rupert, The Clayton Brothers, Andy Fusco, Ray Vega, John Lamb, Johnny Varro, Bill Conti, Kenny Drew Jr., Bobby Rosengarden, Jon Gordon, Conrad Herwig, Jerry Jerome, Lou Stellute, John Colianni, Joel Frahm, William Evans, Chris Potter, Greg Gisbert, Scott Wendholt, Brad Mehldau, Joe Farnsworth, John Webber, John Samorian, Danny Gatton, Cecil Bridgewater, Claudio Roditi, Dave Trigg, Dave Stahl, Frank Greene, Tony Berrerro, John DiMartino, Bobby Sanabria, Gary Morgan (PanAmericana Big Band), Jack Wilkins, Dave Riekenberg, Carlos Santos, Napoleon Murphy Brock, Bogus Pomp (Zappa tribute band), Dick Hafer, Chip McNeill, Harry Allen, Ron McClure, Mel Tormé, Jerry Weldon, Adam Brenner, Dave Schumacher, Scott Robinson, Bob Milliken, Don Lamond, Jim Snidero, Jon Owens, Danny Stiles, Bill Mobley, Pete Malinverni, Ed Palermo Big Band, John Walsh, Steve Kirby, John Benitez, Rick Simerly, John Eckert, Chuck Owen, John Simon, Andy Gravish, Bill Moring, Doug Weiss, Randy Eckert, Lynne Arielle, Tim Newman, Debby Boone, Cab Calloway Orchestra, Natalie Cole, Kevin Mahogany, Clay Aiken, The Temptations, Martin Short, Terry Vosbein, Knoxville Jazz Orchestra, Arturo O’Farrill, John Bunch, Derek Smith, Bobby Shew, Rufus Reid, James Moody, Jon Hendrix, Junior Mance, Eddie McFadden, Ira Sullivan, Duffy Jackson, the Cab Calloway Orchestra, the Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra directed by Bill Tole, etc. Tours (in 2002 and 2004-present) with Tommy Dorsey Orchestra under direction of Buddy Morrow, playing 2nd (jazz) trumpet. Played with Tommy Dorsey Orchestra at 2005 Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C. Played trumpet on the Delta Queen Riverboat in 2003. Rich has also played with many, many other musicians that nobody has ever heard of. ;-)
Discography
Here is a list of some of the recordings with Rich playing trumpet or bass trumpet or valve trombone or all three:
North Texas State Jazz Singers, Fantabulous, NTSU Records
Mel Tormé: The Great American Songbook, TelArc Records
University of South Florida Jazz Ensemble, Suncoast ‘97, Arts USF
Seven Mary Three, Rock Crown, Atlantic Records
Boptism, New York Debut, Boptism
Julie Bluestone, Songs For My Mother, BlueStorm Records
Rich Willey & Boptism, Boptism Music
The Rich Willey Quintet, Gone With The Piggies, Consolidated Artists Productions
David Cody, Earnhardt the Tribute, Cow Skeleton Records
Stephanie’s Id, Grus Americanus, Nine Mile Records
La Epoca, The Palladium Era (soundtrack), Meriseph Productions
The Avett Brothers, I And Love And You, Sony Music Distribution (bonus track on LP release)
Paul Babelay, My Vibe, Good Vibes Records
Terry Vosbein, Progressive Jazz 2009, Max Frank Music
Flogging Molly, The Speed of Darkness, Borstal Beat Records
Terry Vosbein, Fleet Street, Max Frank Music
Bogus Pomp, A Pungent Steaming Affair, Bogus Records
La Epoca, Lost Rhythms in Salsa (soundtrack), Meriseph Productions
RheaKesha Vaughn & The 23rd Psalms, Overflow, zMixed Records
First Christian Church, Sounds of the Season, Charles Goodwin Ensemble, FCC Records
Harmony, Restore Me, Harmony Ministries Records
Lucinda Moore, Blessed, Broken & Given, Tyscott Records
Mosely & Johnson Blues Band, The Whole World Has Still Got The Blues, Malaco Records
The woman behind the man
Here’s Rich’s fantastic wife Janet, the ultimate musician’s wife. She goes to gigs with him and listens to the music and doesn’t sit there talking during the entire gig (!). She enjoys hanging out with the musicians and treats them like family. She takes pictures on gigs and even emails them to the other musicians. She gives her very helpful opinion on arrangements while Rich is obsessing over them. She proofreads books and helps with design decisions, plus she is the shipping department of Boptism Music Publishing. She’s 100% supportive of Rich’s musical endeavors and she thoroughly enjoys the life of the musician’s wife. She’s darned near perfect in every way! Oh, and those are their Australian Cattle Dogs Molly and Charlie (who is their only “son” although they do have four human daughters).
