May 11, 2001

Jazz Icon Chuck Mangione to Perform at Ramapo College of New Jersey

(Mahwah) – Jazz performer, composer and conductor Chuck Mangione will bring his signature flugelhorn to the Sharp Theater at Ramapo College of New Jersey Sunday, June 3 at 7 p.m. Also scheduled are a 5 p.m. dinner/reception and an after-the-performance dessert with the artist.

Mangione, the composer of Feels So Good, Grammy Award-winners Children of Sanchez and Bellavia, and Emmy Award-winner Give It All You Got (composed for the 1980 Winter Olympics), first attracted attention with his older brother Gap in the Jazz Brothers, a mainstream jazz band. Chuck played the trumpet alongside the keyboard of Gap. After graduating from the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, Chuck joined Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers, assuming the trumpet chair that had previously belonged to Clifford Brown, Lee Morgan and Freddie Hubbard.

Upon returning to the Eastman School as director of its jazz ensemble, Mangione and the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra performed the "Friends and Love" concert that led to his major record label debut on Mercury Records and his first Grammy nomination (in 1970). Then came Land of Make Believe, a Grammy nominee, and Chase the Clouds Away and Bellavia, named in honor of his mother. In addition to the Grammy Award, Children of Sanchez, a double-album soundtrack won a Golden Globe Award.

The ‘80s were exceptionally full years for Mangione, with the release of Love Notes, Journey to a Rainbow, Disguise and Save Tonight for Me. He was a featured performer and conductor with symphony orchestras around the country and on numerous television programs. He finished out the decade with two live albums including Chuck Mangione Live at the Village Gate. After a brief respite, he returned to recording, nightclub performances and orchestra concerts. A major goal was the establishment of a $1 million endowment fund in honor of his father, Papa Mangione, and Dizzy Gillespie at the Rochester School of the Arts. He recently was caricatured on the Fox TV show, King of the Hill, and scored the music for one episode. His Cat in the Hat matinees for children have drawn standing room only audiences and raves from critics, parents and kids.

Tickets for the June 3 concert are $45 for orchestra seating and $40 for the balcony. Tickets for dinner, the performance and dessert with the performer are $100. For further information and to purchase tickets contact Lucille O’Connor at (201) 684-7613.

This concert is third in the 2001 Performing Arts Series offered by the Ramapo College Foundation and sponsored by The CIT Group.