Roger Walls
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I Started off in Wichita Kansas ,studied trumpet with Walter Myers ( New York Brass ) Trp Prof. WSU and Cliff Sproul (lead with Less Brn BB) Played mostly classical but also played in the Boing Big Band. Started playing jazz and rock around town. Joined The Fabulous Apostles and then Central Standard Time. Toured all over the midwest and back east and Canada . The band broke up in St. Paul Min. I Refused an Aud. for Bill Chasse in Chicago for personal reasons . Unfortunately Bill and the band were killed in a plane crash, one year later. Drove my 59 Volvo to LA started playing around town and subbed for Ron King and other Trp Players (lot's of BB reh. at the union on Sunset Blv.) Started Reh.and playing with Derall Dragan (beforeCaptain & Tennial) wasn't getting nowhere so quit. Joined Horace Heidt Sr. & Jr. (Had to play bass and sing backup's to get the job) Was their featured trp later. Played almost every city & Drake & Sheariton's in the country. Quit in Kansas City at the Moulbach Hotel , called Mr Heidt Sr. & said that's it with his son. He said come back to Shearman Oaks and I can fix you with Laurence Welk - I refused again because of my new wife wanted to go home to Quebec . Started working in Montreal and found a complete new career playing French Stars. The studio scene was great - I could do 3 beer jingles(there used to be about 30 studio's in town I probably did 300 albums) a tv show and a jazz gig in the same day . I was the only one in town that had high chops because of my rock and good teachers so I got all the big shows such as Cab Calloway - Sherley Mclain - Al Martino - Paul Anka - Tom Jones - Michel Legrand - Aritha Franklin - Donna Summers - Whitney Houston - Tony Bennet - George Burns - Petula Clark - Englebert Humperdink -Dean Martin- Diana Ross - Joan Rivers - Dionne Warwick -New Star Renne Olstead- TV Special & DVD with Michael Feinstein & Rosemary Clooney with D. Ellington Orch. Featured on Paris TV - Tapis Rouge - Garou . Played lead one night with the Gene Krupa B Band and also lead with Loui Bellson (played a double bass drm solo wow at his age) at Yamaha clinic in Ottawa Shows -Cat's - Beatlemania - Kiss of the Spider Women with Chita Revera- Annie with Nell Carter- Cage Aux Folies - Films like Bethune - Aviator - Ronald Reagon (his wife stopped the distribution) Sonny Stitt (Big Band Prison Tour's) We had a french TV show "Apre Mo Lise" that featured one night a week Jazz stars like Cannonball & Nat Aderly - Sonny Rollands - Phil Woods - Roland Kirk - In the seventy's people would drive from NY to Montreal just to go to the night life and Jazz clbs. like Rockheads Paridise ( Played there with the Ink Spot's and 4 Tops Drifters ect.) In Concert - Rising Sun - ( Jammed with Freddie Hubbard & he wanted to buy my Calicchio ) Grand Cafe (my Funk Band) Had to open up Twigg Music one night so Chet Baker could get a trp and mouthpiece s (probably hawked his before plane) for the Union 406 club. Jerry Lewis would come up and do the Muscular telothons and we had a huge orch. Backed Andy Gibb and once Jame's Brown came and was late and said we have 15 min. before air but you guy's know I feel Good & Living in America we'll fake it !! He had a cassette so we took a walkman (they just came out) went into the bathroom - I wrote out the horn charts - Collin did the rhythm wrote some string pads (full Orch) found a zerox (the old one's) and rolled out about 50 page's tried them once and then camera (I found the video of this - will put it up later) Toured across Canada with several bands like Swing Dynamique's and Dennis Christianson Big Band - Did t four albums with Denny - one with Pepper Adams - played lead (Yamaha Clinics) --Joined the Duke Ellington Orch in NY ( Mercer Ellington) Toured the State's and the world for a few years playing most of the major jazz venues and festivals in Brazil - Japan and most of Europe - Played Carnegie Hall For Ella Fitz. & Ellington BB with Max Roach- Joined a Quebec singer named Garou and again toured a few years all around Europe and Quebec. I was very fortunate to have such a good chance to do what I have done. I was the new kid on the block and now I'm considered the old man of town and all my student's are great and I'm very proud of them.
