Charles Frank "Chuck" Mangione is an American flugelhorn player, trumpeter
and composer. After a stint with drummer Art Blakey's
band and co-leading the Jazz Brothers with his sibling Gap, Chuck achieved
international success in 1977 with his jazz-pop single, "Feels So Good."
Mangione has released more than thirty albums since 1960.
Early life and career Born and raised in Rochester, New York,
Mangione and his pianist brother Gap led the Jazz Brothers group which recorded
three albums for Riverside Records. He attended the Eastman School of Music
from 1958 to 1963, and afterwards joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers, for which
he filled the trumpet chair previously held by greats such as Clifford Brown,
Freddie Hubbard, Kenny Dorham, Bill Hardman, and Lee Morgan.
In the late 1960s, Mangione was a member of the band The National Gallery, which
in 1968 released the album Performing Musical Interpretations of the Paintings
of Paul Klee. Mangione served as director of the Eastman jazz ensemble
from 1968 to 1972, and in 1970, he returned to recording with the album
Friends and Love, recorded in concert with the Rochester Philharmonic
Orchestra and numerous guest performers. Mangione's quartet with saxophonist
Gerry Niewood was a popular concert and recording act throughout the 1970s.
"Bellavia," recorded during this collaboration, won Mangione his first
Grammy Award in 1977 in the category Best Instrumental Composition.
Mangione's composition "Chase the Clouds Away" was used at the 1976 Summer
Olympics, held in Montreal, Quebec, with a later composition, "Give It All You
Got," being used as the theme to the 1980 Winter Olympic Games, held in Lake
Placid, New York. He performed it live at the closing ceremonies, which were
televised globally. In 1978 Mangione composed the soundtrack for the film The
Children of Sanchez starring Anthony Quinn. This album won him his second
Grammy, in the category Best Pop Instrumental performance in 1979 and the
title song, almost 15 minutes long in full version and featuring a wind
section theme. In 1981 Mangione composed/performed the theme for The
Cannonball Run starring Burt Reynolds and many more.
In addition to his quartet with Niewood, Mangione also had much success with his
later-'70s ensemble, including Mangione on flugelhorn and keyboard, Chris Vadala
on saxophones and flutes, Grant Geissman on guitars, Charles Meeks on bass and
James Bradley Jr. on drums. This version of Mangione's band recorded and toured
behind the hit studio albums "Feels So Good" and "Fun and Games," as well as
the "Children of Sanchez" film soundtrack recordings, and were some of
the musicians who played on various songs as part of Mangione's 1980
"Tarantella" benefit concert. The band was also featured, along with a
70-piece orchestra, on the live album "An Evening of Magic," which was
recorded at the Hollywood Bowl on July 16, 1978, at the height of Mangione's
success from "Feels So Good." Performances of material new and old
included versions of "Main Squeeze," “Hill Where the Lord Hides" and "Chase
the Clouds Away." Mangione opened and closed the show with "Feels So Good" and
its "Reprise" version. "B'Bye" featured a string arrangement from Bill
Reichenbach. The horns were arranged by frequent collaborator Jeff Tyzik, who
also played trumpet in the horn section that night. Mangione also played
material from the just-released "Children of Sanchez" soundtrack album,
which made its West Coast concert debut. The liner notes from the album describe
the frenzy in which the performance was put together. Unable to set up on stage
the day before, Mangione and his crew had only the day of show to set up
lights, sound and recording gear. He had only nine hours the day before to
rehearse at A&M studios with the orchestra's musicians and was never able
to run through the entire set list once in its entirety. He and the band stayed
at a hotel up the street from the Bowl to make sure they wouldn't miss the
performance due to snarled traffic pouring in as showtime neared.
Nevertheless, the show went off without a hitch.
In December 1980, Mangione held a benefit concert in the American Hotel
Ballroom in Rochester to benefit the victims of an earthquake in Italy. The
nine-hour concert included jazz luminaries such as Chick Corea, Steve
Gadd and Dizzy Gillespie, among a host of other session and concert greats.
Soon thereafter, A&M released "Tarantella," named for the Italian
traditional dance, a vinyl album of some of the concert's exceptional moments,
which has yet to resurface on CD. A 1980 issue of Current Biography called
"Feels So Good" the most recognized tune since "Michelle" by The Beatles. He
raised over $50,000 for St. John's Nursing Home at his 60th Birthday Bash
Concert, held at Rochester's Eastman Theatre and played a few bars of "Feels
So Good. Mangione's Mercury and A&M releases are
now managed by Verve Records, which manages the portion of Universal Music
Group's jazz catalog that once belonged to PolyGram, the previous parent of all
three labels. Relatives
Chuck Mangione's relatives include his uncle Jerre Mangione who was an American
writer and scholar of the Italian-American experience. His brother
is Gaspare Mangione, with whom he played jazz in Rochester, New York. They
recorded as the Jazz Brothers. Later, and into this decade, they played,
recorded and toured together, mainly in Chuck's large, orchestral concerts.
Chuck has also made guest appearances with Gap's big band.
Acting career and television appearances In addition to music, Chuck Mangione had
a recurring voice-acting role on the animated television series King of the
Hill. In it he portrays himself as a celebrity spokesman for Mega Lo Mart,
although his animated form appears much younger than his current age, more
closely resembling how he looked in the late 1970s, always wearing the white and
red shirt from the cover of his "Feels So Good" album.
The first episode of King of the Hill featuring Mangione originally aired on
February 16, 1997. The episode featured an original score specifically recorded
for the occasion. He continued to appear in episodes, a total of ten more up
until 2003. In the context of the series, Chuck chafes under an oppressive
spokesperson contract with Mega Lo Mart. He eventually goes into hiding inside
their Arlen, Texas store where he is discovered by Dale Gribble in the
episode "Mega-Lo Dale". After a long hiatus, the character of Chuck Mangione
returned in a later episode titled "Lucky's Wedding Suit", in May 2007. A
recurring joke is that whatever tune he plays on his flugelhorn inevitably
shifts into "Feels So Good" after a few bars. The series finale in 2009 included
Chuck Mangione one last time, playing the National Anthem which of course
segued into "Feels So Good". After the Mega Lo Mart blows up, Chuck states
during a group therapy session that "Every song I play now sounds like
'Feels So Good'." In homage to the series, Mangione's album Everything For
Love contains a track titled Peggy Hill. Chuck was a guest in 1983 at the Drum
Corps International World Championships in Miami where he can be seen giving his
thoughts on the performances. In the Magnum, P.I. episode "Paradise
Blues," Chuck Mangione portrays a fellow night club act along with TC's former
girlfriend. Chuck performs two singles and has lines near the end of the show.
On July 4, 1983, Chuck Mangione was in attendance as the New York Yankees
played the Boston Red Sox at Yankee Stadium. After playing the national
anthem on the flugelhorn, Mangione, a Yankees fan, joined Phil Rizzuto and
Bill White in the broadcast booth. Mangione gave his thoughts on the Yankee
players and played a few bars of "Feels So Good." Yankee pitcher Dave Righetti
threw a no-hitter, defeating the Red Sox 4–0.
In 1988, Mangione appeared on the hit family TV show: Sharon, Lois & Bram's
Elephant Show as "Little Boy Blue". Mangione's band
Two members of the band, Gerry Niewood and Coleman Mellett, were among those
killed when Continental Airlines Flight 3407 crashed into a Buffalo, New York,
area house on February 12, 2009. In a statement Mangione said: "I'm in shock
over the horrible, heartbreaking tragedy."
Discography The Jazz Brothers
Hey Baby! Spring Fever
Recuerdo Friends and Love...A Chuck Mangione
Concert Together: A New Chuck Mangione Concert
Chuck Mangione Quartet Alive!
Land of Make Believe Bellavia
Chase the Clouds Away Encore
Main Squeeze Feels So Good
An Evening of Magic, Live at the Hollywood Bowl
70 Miles Young Children of Sanchez
Fun and Games Tarantella
Love Notes Journey to a Rainbow
Disguise Save Tonight for Me Columbia Records,
1986) Live at the Village Gate
Eyes of the Veiled Temptress Encore: Mangione Concerts
Live at the Village Gate, Vol. 2 The Feeling's Back
Everything for Love Do You Ever Think About Me
Long Hair Soulful With Art Blakey
Hold On, I'm Coming Buttercorn Lady
References External links
Chuck Mangione official website Chuck Mangione at AllMusic.com
Mangione Magic – The Music of Chuck Mangione
Chuck Mangione Music Biography – Discography