Chuck Mangione: Friend For Lovers

This article first appeared on All About Jazz in September 2000.

Chuck Mangione is best known as the trumpet player and composer of that ubiquitous tune, which taught millions worldwide that music "Feels So Good."

But Chuck Mangione boasts serious Jazz chops: Before flying solo, he cut his teeth in the Woody Herman and Maynard Ferguson big bands and in Art Blakey & The Jazz Messengers, where he assumed the trumpet chair previously occupied by Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Kenny Dorham. Dizzy Gillespie recommended the young Mangione to Blakey, kind of like Whitey Ford recommending a rookie pitcher to Joe Torre.

After a self-imposed commercial exile, Mangione recently returned with The Feeling's Back, a masterpiece of straight-up and Brazilian Jazz both romantic and robust. The set includes the Brazilian classic "Mahna De Carnival" and "Leonardo's Lady," who Mangione gently introduces like Miles Davis in soft Spanish threads. Music is so incredible—the power of music—it's almost overwhelming sometimes," Mangione enthuses. People listen to music when they're up, people listen to music when they're not feeling good. When the president walks in, they play music. You go to any religious service, they play music. They play music at weddings, they play music at funerals. Music is an incredible thing.

All About Jazz: A lot of different strains that you've explored before came together in The Feeling's Back. What do you like most about it?

Chuck Mangione: Did you record what you just said? That sounds like a good answer! I hadn't made a record that was available for about ten years. I had gotten a lot of calls from different companies: Oh, yeah, Chuck, you started that "smooth jazz" sound and we'd love to have you. Here's what we'd like to do: We'd like the tempo to be like this and it's got to have this sound, and a juggler and three elephants, and... I was not excited about that.

I got a call from David (Chesky) to talk about a concept. The immediate concept got me excited because he said we'd like to record an album that has a Brazilian feel, we'll do some Brazilian compositions and some of yours—and right away, that excited me. Brazilian music has many of the ingredients that I strive for in my own music: Strong melodies and a disciplined but intense rhythmic concept, and interesting harmonies. I've always loved that music.

Then I loved the fact that we were actually recording live. When you put one microphone in the middle of everybody, there aren't too many options to fix anything later. So it brings out an honesty in the music that's rarely found in the studio but usually found in live performance.

AAJ: Do you approach playing trumpet differently from playing flugelhorn?

CM: The instruments demand that you approach them differently. The trumpet, the more you give it, the more you're gonna get. Trumpet players who pick up flugelhorns fatigue real fast because they overblow the horn. It's more controlled—it's only gonna go so loud and after that you're defeating the purpose of what it is.

AAJ: What is your impression of the late Art Farmer?

CM: Art Farmer is my hero on the flugelhorn. He was the finest flugelhorn player. I loved the things he did with Gerry Mulligan, I heard him live, I heard him with the Jazztet. About a month ago I got a fax from my brother saying that Art Farmer was very ill, that he was in a nursing home. I went to the nursing home and saw Art. We talked a little bit about old, old times, when we first met and different things along the way. I gave him the new CD, and he said "Put it on." Then he said, Turn it up real loud so they think it's me playing!

I said, You wanna play some?... because I saw he had his horn. Then he started playing "The Way You Look Tonight."Just the two of us, we played, and when we were done I said, Man, I don't think I've played that song in thirty years. He said, That's a good song to play when you haven't played it in thirty years.

AAJ: How is the Latin influence evident in your music?

CM: It's been the most natural thing in my music from the very beginning. I heard records like Dizzy's record with Chano Pozo way back and there were a lot of Jazz players who used the strong Latin influence, I think maybe I watched The Cisco Kid on TV forever... I don't know where it came from.

AAJ: What Dizzy Gillespie would you recommend to someone who's never heard any Jazz?

CM: I would hope that the person might have listened to some other things. If I had to introduce somebody to Jazz, I wouldn't pick Dizzy unless you could see him live, as a stepping stone. Because if you played it, the person would either love the hell out of it or think it's a lot of nothing. I don't think you find people who are going to listen to Bebop for the first time.

AAJ: Was Chet Baker an influence?

CM: Another one of those names that you always forget to mention when people ask you about influences—a guy who had a breathy airy sound in his horn, was never one to try to impress anybody with gymnastics or Look how I can play the horn. All that came out was wonderful music. A guy with simplicity in his playing, something I really admire.

You didn't ask me about Herb Alpert.

AAJ: What about Herb Alpert?

CM: First of all, he is not my favorite trumpet player. But I thank him every day for saving the trumpet from extinction because there was a period when there were two guitar players and a drummer, and that's what every band was—there were no brass instruments at all. So he brought the trumpet back into prominence. He also wrote me a letter and said that my recording of "Legend of the One Eyed Sailor" inspired him to start playing again.

AAJ: What vocalists and pianists have influenced you?

CM: Frank Sinatra, certainly, for phrasing. Billie Holiday, the Lady In Satin album. I was blessed to work with The Jazz Messengers when the two piano players were Keith Jarrett and Chick Corea. I consider Chick to be the greatest accompanist in the world; when you're playing with him, he'll put something down that flatters the hell out of whatever you did. If you just want to talk about somebody who swings piano, I'd pick Wynton Kelly.

AAJ: Who would be in your dream band?

CM: I would rather talk about, Who would you like to be involved with that you haven't been? The first person—this is probably as off the wall as anything you've heard—Bette Midler is someone that I adore musically and I would love to discuss some of the concepts that I have with her. I would love to do a ballad with just Chick and me.

AAJ: What is your favorite presentation for your music?

CM: Live. If I could bring everybody into my living room and get them that close to the music, that's my favorite format.

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