Chuck Mangione - Feels so Good


I heard this song today for the first time in maybe decades. It was the studio version which I always loved because they weren't rushed by network television to cut the song from around 10 minutes to 4 minutes as they did for the Grammy Awards in '77.

The reason I bring up this soft jazz musician as I do really think he was a good flugel horn player. Feels so Good came out right when I was forced by my parents to take up the trumpet. I wanted to play sax or drums so when Chuck released this record, I had a change of heart. He was born and raised in my home town which was a big deal when Feels so Good was released. The song was played constantly on the radio and most young kids and their parents loved it.

Anyone familiar with Chuck Mangione?
donjr
Yeah, I have a pretty good collection of Chuck Mangione, some non-released vinyl and some very old stuff too. Nice guy, nice family. I listen to him often. Last time I met him was about 30 years ago, I still picture this youngish ball of energy and joy. A lot like his music.
I always remember my sister telling me she was so excited to see him in concert and what a drool boring experience it turned out to be (maybe 35 years ago). She was a typical pop music lover and was misled by someone I imagine.

I have a few of his albums and think they are OK

he has a brother named Gap who had some success as well

fwiw
He can definitely play that horn. OK, a lot of the music he plays is lightweight, but that man got some skills! I saw him on a freezing cold night in Akron, Ohio ca 1977 and he made a long, uncomfortable road trip from Ann Arbor worth the effort.

Ah,....college memories.
I also liked Soft with the female vocalist on his Chase The Clouds Away album. Have the CDs but wish my old records were in better shape
Agree about Mangione. Good player and composer with his own sound.
While he can fairly be categorized as a "soft-jazz" artist, he is
one of the few artists in that genre that has a feel-good sound without the
all-too-common "Look how hip I am!" quality that many soft or
smooth jazz "artists" exude. There is an element of sincerity in
his sound and his bands have always been top-notch. Of special note was
the presence of Gerry Niewood on saxophone/flute on his earlier records,
until the tragic airplane accident (on the way to a concert) that killed two
band members a couple of years ago. Gerry's soprano solo on "Land
Of Make Believe" is one of those solos that young saxophone players
study as models in this genre; beautiful playing without the usual pop-jazz
saxophone affectations.

v=WtRxKRS0r8g>http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=WtRxKRS0r8g