Tributes have been pouring in for Chuck Mangione since the jazz great’s July 22 death was announced by his family.
The prolific composer and virtuoso flugelhorn player, who died in his sleep at age 84 in his Rochester home, achieved international fame in the late 1970s with the hit single “Feels So Good” and engaged an entirely new audience decades later with a role as himself on TV’s “King of the Hill.”
Scott Mayo, a Henrietta native and renowned horn player and, like Mangione, a Rochester Music Hall of Fame inductee, wrote:
“A huge music legend has left us. The great Chuck Mangione is gone. It’s hard to find the words to accurately describe what it was like growing up in Rochester and having a home-grown jazz musician getting heavy airplay on pop radio all over the world. I remember watching him on ‘The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson’ and thinking, ‘Wow, he’s from here!’ …“I had the honor of meeting and recording with him when I was a senior in high school and I’ll never forget how kind and encouraging he was to my musical journey and wherever it was going to take me,” wrote Mayo, who lives in Los Angeles and has recorded with the some of the biggest names in the music industry, including Beyonce and Paul McCartney.
Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra Principal Pops Conductor Jeff Tyzik was a freshman at the Eastman School of Music in 1969 and played lead trumpet for the jazz ensemble that Mangione, a class of 1963 graduate, directed.
“In the spring of 1970, I attended the groundbreaking Friends & Love … A Chuck Mangione Concert, which Chuck composed and performed,” Tyzik wrote. “It featured guests including Don Potter, Bat McGrath, Steve Gadd, Gerry Niewood, Lew Soloff, Tony Levin and Gap Mangione, as well as the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. That experience forever changed my life. Chuck’s unique approach to composing music for orchestra included jazz, pop, Latin and classical elements — and it was an inspiration for my own pursuit of a life in music.”
Drummer Steve Gadd, another Rochester-bred music legend, posted a photo to Facebook of Mangione playing his horn with the words “Chuck Mangione: 1940-2025” and a horn emoji.
In a statement, Rochester Mayor Malik Evans asked the community to join him in offering a thought or prayer for the Mangione family.
“Beyond his well-deserved accolades as a musician, Chuck and his family epitomized the strength, resilience and compassion that the people of Rochester are so well known for,” he said.
Evans talked about the grocery store that Mangione’s parents once operated on Martin Street in northeast Rochester.
“As the demographic and economic conditions of the neighborhood evolved, the Mangione family remained committed to their customers and the invaluable service their store provided to the community.
“Famously, Mangione’s Grocery opened for business every day during the Riots of July 1964 because they knew the people of the neighborhood needed food and drink regardless of the turbulent conditions on the streets outside. Mangione’s Grocery was among the businesses in the area that were not looted or burned during the riots, which is a testament to the mutual admiration and respect shared between the Mangione family and their community.
“The many virtues of this upbringing deeply resonate in the music that Chuck Mangione composed and performed on the world stage. We in Rochester are truly fortunate to hear the underlying beauty of our city in those notes that will forever be Chuck Mangione’s legacy.”
Mangione also is being remembered in the wider world.
Herb Alpert, a trumpeter and songwriter who led Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass during the 1960s, posted a photo of the “Feels So Good” album cover to his social media accounts with three heart emojis.
The X account of New York City’s legendary Blue Note jazz club tweeted: “We are deeply saddened by the passing of the legendary Chuck Mangione. Our history with Chuck dates back to the very early years of the Blue Note. His music brought joy, soul, and heart to every stage he graced and we are honored to have been one of them. Rest in peace, maestro.”
Comedian Rob Schneider (who has an interesting Rochester connection) wrote on X: “Everybody, I mean everybody LOVED ‘Feels so Good’ by the incomparable Chuck Mangione. A feel too good tune by a flugel horn player being a top 5 pop hit is the musical equivalent of four grand slam home runs in the same game. Undeniably cool and such an inspiration. God bless”
And Eric Alper, a SiriusXM radio host, tweeted, “His music made jazz joyful, hearts lighter, and even King of the Hill cooler. Rest easy, Chuck — your melodies will play on forever.”
Reporter Marcia Greenwood covers general assignments and has an interest in retail news. Send story tips to mgreenwo@rocheste.gannett.com. Follow her on X @MarciaGreenwood.
This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Chuck Mangione remembered: Tributes pour in after jazz icon’s death
Reporting by Marcia Greenwood, Rochester Democrat and Chronicle / Rochester Democrat and Chronicle
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