 Throughout the 1970s,
Chuck Mangione was a celebrity. His purposely
lightweight music was melodic pop that was upbeat,
optimistic and sometimes uplifting.
Chuck Mangione's records were big sellers yet few of his fans
from the era knew that his original goal was to be a
bebopper. His father had often taken
Chuck and his older brother
Gap (a keyboardist) out to see jazz concerts and
Dizzy Gillespie was a family friend. While
Chuck Mangione studied at the Eastman School, the two Mangiones
co-led a bop quintet called the
Jazz Brothers that recorded several albums for Jazzland,
often with
Sal Nistico on tenor.
Chuck Mangione played with the big bands of
Woody Herman and
Maynard Ferguson (both in 1965) and
Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers (1965-67). In 1968, now
sticking mostly to his soft-toned flugelhorn,
Chuck Mangione formed a quartet that also featured
Gerry Niewood on tenor and soprano. They cut a fine set
for Mercury in 1972 but otherwise
Chuck Mangione's recordings in the 1970s generally used large
orchestras and vocalists (including
Esther Satterfield), putting the emphasis on lightweight
melodies such as "Hill Where the Lord Hides," "Land of Make
Believe," "Chase the Clouds Away" and the huge 1977 hit
(featuring guitarist
Grant Geissman) "Feels So Good." After a recorded 1978
Hollywood Bowl concert that summed up his pop years and a
1980 two-LP set that alternated pop and bop (with guest
Dizzy Gillespie),
Chuck Mangione gradually faded out of the music scene. In the
1970s
Chuck Mangione recorded for Mercury and A&M; in the
1980s he had a couple of very forgettable Columbia albums
and had not been heard from in the '90s until a 1997
comeback tour found him in good form, having a reunion with
his "Feels So Good" band. The Feeling's Back followed in
1999. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
Contact Grabow for more information or
to book
Chuck Mangione for your next corporate or private event.
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