Chuck Mangione, a flugelhorn player and composer whose early work shaped the ongoing legacy of swing, passed away on July 22nd. He was 84. Born in Rochester, New York, and a graduate of the Eastman School of Music, he joined Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers in the early 1960s, playing trumpet alongside Freddie Hubbard and Lee Morgan. His contributions to albums like Jazz Brother (1960) and Friends and Love (1970) blended hard bop with swing elements. Mangione’s lyrical style resonated with some traditional jazz audiences before his later crossover work made him a household name.
Leading the Chuck Mangione Quartet, he recorded for Riverside and Mercury, becoming a smooth jazz and jazz fusion star. His work with the Eastman Jazz Ensemble, tied to his Rochester upbringing, supported jazz education.
Joe Bebco is the Associate Editor of The Syncopated Times and Webmaster of SyncopatedTimes.com
