Gap Mangione Recordings

Gap Mangione calls his new big band CD Stolen Moments, after the classic Oliver Nelson composition reworked therein. Indeed, all the tunes in this wonderful new disc have their origins elsewhere.

They come from recordings by Nelson, the Beatles, Eddie Floyd, Henry Mancini, the Turtles, Nat King Cole, Simon & Garfunkel, and Cannonball Adderley from the 60’s. And, just for good measure, Gap finds new approaches to a couple of tracks from his own earlier recordings.

Thanks to what Gap’s imaginative, swinging musicians do with this first-class material, you’ll realize the songs have all been marvelously reinvented as Mangione Moments. Gap Mangione’s considerable skill as an arranger, a band leader and a pianist are amply on display.

Not many musicians can make straight-ahead jazz by Oliver Nelson and Jimmy Heath coexist so delightfully with Stax soul music, a Simon & Garfunkel folk song and a Henry Mancini ballad. And the Beatles haven’t had such a bountiful big band boost since Count Basie took on the Fab Four’s music in the 1960s.

Then again, Gap Mangione is the guy who put the swing in our nation’s pastime with “Take Me Out to the Ballgame’’ in Planet Gap.
To tackle such diverse material, you need skillful musicians who are capable with good music of all sorts -- and who have the ability to put their own signatures on it.

That’s true of the members of Gap’s hard-driving big band, as well as the handful of guest artists who elevate the game even further with their unique skills. Nearly all have been part of Mangione music, on and off, for many years.

Two of the best who return for Stolen Moments are drummer Steve Gadd and bassist Tony Levin. Gap was one of the first to employ their skill as his rhythm section in Rochester in the 1960s and was one of the first to record them on his recently reissued 1968 disc: Diana in the Autumn Wind.

Since then, Gadd has gone on to be the bedrock for music by Paul Simon, Eric Clapton, and Frank Sinatra -- just about any musical giant looking for exquisite taste, time and talent. Ditto Tony Levin who has been a backbone for Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, Gary Burton and many others. Levin put the crown on King Crimson.

Here Gadd and Levin anchor a wide variety of musical styles -- swing, rock, soul and ballads -- with astonishing skill. (And Gadd gets to re-imagine Ringo Starr’s only Beatle drum solo on “The End.’’)

Gap has also long been aware of the talents of saxophonists Joe Romano and Gerry Niewood and guitarist Grant Geissman.
Romano has frequently been part of Gap and Chuck Mangione’s music for decades. Niewood has shared friendship and musicianship with both Gap and Chuck Mangione since childhood and Grant has contributed mightily to some of Chuck’s best music.

On Stolen Moments, check out Niewood’s fabulous tenor solo on “Happy Together,’’ his sinuous soprano work on “The Fool on the Hill,’’ and his roaring alto romp on the swinging “Big P.” Romano, meanwhile, adds bebop fire to “The Gap’’ and sets the mood for vocalist Cindy Miller on “The Need to Be.’’

Geissman is a major contributor, using his guitar skills to caress “And I Love Her,” and “Something,” and to add muscle to “The End” and groove to “The Gap Theme.”

Gap’s loyalty to talented longtime friends extends beyond the bandstand. Once again, the fantastic artwork of longtime friend, Ramon Santiago (1943-2001), graces the cover of his new CD as it did on Planet Gap and Ardis.

Regulars in Gap’s Big Band shine through in the ensemble passages and as soloists. Trumpeter Jeff Jarvis and saxophonist Andy Weinzler, are swingers par excellence, Dan Schmitt excels at the harder-edged rock & soul vocal and Cindy Miller gives rich passion to “The Need to Be,’’ and bright, spirited swing to the Nat Cole gem, “Dance Ballerina Dance.’’

Bringing all the album’s diverse elements together is leader Gap Mangione. His considerable skill as an arranger has never before been so apparent. Check out the funky horn framework for “Happy Together,’’ the unique combination of flavors on “The Fool on the Hill,’’ the reggae-like bounce of the playful “With a Little Help from My Friends,’’ and the up-tempo bebop energy of “Big P.’’

Gap the pianist is also on display -- listen to the way he builds his performance of “And I Love Her,’’ starting with graceful simplicity and then gradually adding layers of rhythm and harmonics, finishing up with a witty coda: the briefest of fadeout quotes from “Camptown Races.”

Then there’s his rip-roaring romp through “Big P,’’ a clear indication of Gap’s vigorous mainstream jazz roots.

Gap Mangione’s Stolen Moments shines the spotlight on the joyful delights of big band music Mangione style, performed with great imagination and musicianship by a group of world-class players.