Wingy Manone’s Grandson shares his Musical Memories

Like many of his musical peers, Joseph “Wingy” Manone had an enthrallingly eventful rise to fame; a rollercoaster railroad ride, documented in his 1948 book Trumpet on the Wing. But the rail-riding jazzman eventually settled down to have a family, living out his last days in Las Vegas, Nevada, with his children and grandchildren. We can hear Wingy’s take on a remarkable career, thanks to the biography he penned with Paul Vandervoort II. Now The Syncopated Times can bring you a fascinating insight into his personal life, thanks to the trumpeter’s grandson Jimmy Manone. Jimmy inherited Wingy’s passion for music; the multi-instrumentalist toured with several rock and funk groups in the 1990s, playing the Las Vegas strip as well as teaching guitar professionally, but later swapped full-time music for the steady paycheck of a digital engineer. Still, this did not dull the lifelong love of melody encouraged by his legendary grandad and he still gigs regularly near his Tuscon, Arizona, home. The younger Manone was just ten in 1982, when Wingy passed away, but spent his early life under the same roof as his famous grandfather. “He lived in our home,” said Jimmy, “or we lived in his, so I knew him quite well.” Wingy survived to the grand old age (in jazz circles) of 82. His last years were fairly typical, Jimmy recalls, often stopping in his room to watch the TV he loved so