I vividly remember sitting in my freshman year dormitory at Manhattan School of Music in the early aughts with my trumpet playing roommate, listening with bewildered amusement to the œuvre of Chuck Mangione. It wasn’t until he died today that I heard him associated with the words “smooth jazz” in the NY Times obit. There is something instantly recognizable about smooth jazz — when you hear it, you know it, and this ain’t it. Mangione’s tunes seem to occupy a weird liminal space all of his own. Some trippy fusion elements, but also a certain innocence to the melodies, whose vanilla components contain a certain magic that is usually associated with amateurs.

Mainly the titles were what stuck out to me at first. What kind of genius writes a song titled “Hill where the Lord Hides” And what the hell does that even mean. “Feels so good?” Yes. There’s something nerdy and low tech about the songs, which almost seem to break the fourth wall with the blemishes, note cracks, and outright rhythmic goof-ups that Mangione lets stand loud and proud on the final masters.

His sidemen were amazing musicians, and among the personnel of his original quartet was the saxophonist/flutist Gerry Niewood, a genius artist who was a beloved member of the community I grew up in. I went to high school with Gerry’s daughter Liz, and had the pleasure of hearing him play live several times at a jazz camp on the campus of Montclair State University. Tragically, Gerry passed in 2009 in a commercial airline accident in Buffalo, NY.

It must be said that Mangione’s early work with his quartet (with which he earned his first Grammy win) is creative, expressive, and far more than “jazz flavored.” Mangione can play a mean solo, and it is interesting that the edge, control, and yes, even elegance he has on these early recordings is nowhere to be seen in the pop hits. It almost sounds as though he bumbles his way through the later recordings, though they are certainly perfect the way they are.

Mangione was the people’s champ of jazz-pop. Listening to his music makes you feel like anyone could do it, if you have the guts to be yourself.