Chuck Mangione (1940-2025)

Chuck Mangione, a trumpeter, flugelhornist and keyboardist who, along with George Benson, and a few other jazz musicians, successfully crossed over to pop in the late 1970s and pioneered what became known as smooth jazz, died on July 22, He was 84.

Mangione, along with his brother, Gap, was born in Rochester, N.Y., a region with a significant Italian population that produced a sizable number of jazz greats. The Mangiones began their recording careers in a group they formed in 1960 called the Jazz Brothers.

This was no lightweight ensemble. They recorded three albums for Riverside that straddled funk, gospel, soul and jazz. The quintet featured Chuck Mangione (tp), Larry Combs (as), Sal Nistico (ts), Gap Mangione (p), Bill Saunders (b) and Roy McCurdy (d).

By 1966, after Riverside's financial collapse, the group had disbanded and Chuck moved on to play and record with Art Blakey. Chuck was in a series of low-key groups before he signed with Herb Alpert's A&M Records just as an easier date-night jazz sound was in demand by a growing number of young adults with newly purchased component stereo systems.

At the time, A&M was competing with Creed Taylor's CTI, but offering a smoother, more pop sound. Chuck's albums, Chase the Clouds Away and Feels So Good, were major sellers. The title track of the latter album had a disco beat and a wah-wah guitar and was a significant pop hit, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard 100 in 1978. The following year, Alpert had a No. 1 hit with his own smooth-jazz roller-disco entry, Rise.

In 1982, Chuck moved to Columbia and further expanded on his smooth approach. In the 1990s and 2000s, he recorded predominantly as a sideman.

Here are 15 of my favorite Chuck Mangione tracks:

Here's Girl of My Dreams in 1960...



Here's Hey Baby! in 1961...



Here's the title track from Spring Fever in 1961...



Here's Solar in 1962, with Sam Jones on bass...



Here's Chuck's Between Races, with Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, live  at the Lighthouse in Hermosa Beach, Ca., in January 1966...



Here's Chuck with Art Blakey playing Tom McIntosh's arrangement of Secret Agent Man in 1966...



Here's The Feel of a Vision from a concert album in Rochester, N.Y., in 1971...



Here's Floating, with Chuck on electric piano and Gerry Niewood on soprano saxophone, from The Chuck Mangione Quartet in 1972...



Here's Song of the New Moon in 1975



Here's Chuck on keyboard and flugelhorn playing Listen to the Wind in 1975...



Here's Doin' Everything With You in 1978...



Here's Steppin' Out in 1982...



Here's Josephine in 1984...



Here's Save Tonight for Me in 1986...



And here's Feels So Good in 1979...