Chuck Mangione, Smooth Jazz Pioneer, Dies At 84
The flugelhorn player had a five-decade career that included two Grammy Awards.
Chuck Mangione, the world-renowned flugelhorn player, trumpeter, and composer, has died. His family confirmed the news in a statement on July 24, per Democrat & Chronicle. “Chuck’s love affair with music has been characterized by his boundless energy, unabashed enthusiasm, and pure joy that radiated from the stage,” the musician’s family writes. “His appreciation for his loyal worldwide fans was genuine as evidenced by how often he would sit at the edge of the stage after a concert for however long it took to sign autographs for the fans who stayed to meet him and the band.” He was 84 years old.
Best known for songs like “Feels So Good” and “Land Of Make Believe,” Mangione had a celebrated career of five decades. His musical skill brought him acclaim in the worlds of jazz and pop, and earned him two Grammys. Mangione also appeared in a number of television shows throughout his life, including a memorable string of King Of The Hill episodes. In turn, Mangione released a track called “Peggy Hill” on his 2000 album Everything For Love.
Born in Rochester, New York on November 29, 1940, Mangione graduated from the Eastman School Of Music before joining Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers. Around this time, he also led the Jazz Brothers with his brother Gap, who played piano. After working steadily throughout the 1960s, Mangione’s career really soared commercially in the 1970s. His track “Chase the Clouds Away” became the background music of the 1976 Summer Olympic Games in Montreal, and his piece “Bellavia” earned him his first Grammy. In 1977, he recorded “Feels So Good,” his most successful song that has since featured in series like The Big Bang Theory and Friends and the movie Doctor Strange. The track was also nominated for the Grammy for Record Of The Year in 1979. Mangione also received a Golden Globe nomination for his Children of Sanchez soundtrack in 1978.
In the 1980s, Mangione continued to tour extensively and also composed music for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York. He took a break from music in 1989, but was inspired to pick up the horn once more following the death of close collaborator Dizzy Gillespie in 1994. Although Mangione did not release an album after 2000, he remained a well-known musician throughout the final years of his life. In 2009, he donated memorabilia, including his iconic felt hat, to the Smithsonian. In 2012, he was inducted into the Rochester Music Hall Of Fame.
