Grammy-Winning Jazz Musician Chuck Mangione, Known for 1977 Hit ‘Feels So Good,’ Dies at 84

The gifted flugelhorn player died on July 22 at his home in Rochester, New York.

Chuck Mangione performs during the Playboy Jazz Festival in Los Angeles, In this June 18, 2006 file photo, AP Photo/Lucas Jackson, file

Grammy-winning musician Chuck Mangione, famed for his late 1970s pop-jazz crossover hit “Feels So Good,” died on Tuesday at his home in Rochester, New York. He was 84.

The jazz luminary, revered for his smooth flugelhorn-infused instrumental tunes, died peacefully in his sleep, according to his online obituary.

Born on Nov. 29, 1940, to Italian parents, the New York native and diehard Yankees fan became enamored with the melodic thrums of jazz at an early age. He and his brother, Gap, grew up listening to the sounds of their dad’s jazz album collection, regularly accompanying their father to various jazz clubs throughout Rochester.

Mangione and his brother soon found themselves on stage, performing under the moniker the Jazz Brothers. They also released several albums, including “Hey Baby!” (1961) and “Spring Fever” (1961), all while Mangione was attending the University of Rochester’s Eastman School of Music. It was there that his passion for playing the flugelhorn was born.

“I grew up playing the trumpet; then about 1963, some people at Eastman School started writing music in the Miles Davis–Gil Evans context, for which they needed someone to play flugelhorn,” Mangione shared in a 1972 interview with British journalist and jazz aficionado Les Tomkins.

“I had never even seen one before, but as soon as I picked it up, I felt very good with it, and very close to it.”

After earning a bachelor’s degree in music education, Mangione headed to New York City to join bandleader Art Blakey’s Jazz Messengers group as a trumpeter. Upon returning to Rochester, he led Eastman’s jazz ensemble, later receiving an honorary doctorate from the music school.

In 1970, Mangione was invited to conduct a concert with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra, which was recorded live. The sold-out “Friends And Love” show was a huge success, with his song “Hill Where the Lord Hides” earning him his first Grammy nomination. He also landed a record deal with Mercury Records.

Mangione released more than 30 albums throughout his decades-long career, among them “Land of Make Believe” (1973), “Chase the Clouds Away” (1975), and “Feels So Good” (1977).

He took home his first Grammy Award for his 1975 album “Bellavia.” The record, titled after his mother’s maiden name, was a tribute to his parents.

“All the music in this album is seasoned with a spirit much like the festive feelings that have touched everyone who has known my parents,” he wrote in the album’s liner notes at the time.

“Since I find it impossible (although they wouldn’t) to have you travel to their home for Mom’s spaghetti sauce and Dad’s home-made Italian sausage, I offer instead this music as a way of introducing them to you. Perhaps, as you listen, your own carousel or gondola will take you on a ride that stops at their doorstep. It’s the nicest place I know.”

Mangione is survived by his daughters, Nancy Mangione-Piraino and Diana Smith, his brother, Gap Mangione, his sister, Josephine Shank, several grandchildren, and other extended family members.