A ‘Feel So Good’ Night With Mangione

Chuck Mangione identifies Dizzy Gillespie as a primary source of musical inspiration. And there were moments in the veteran trumpeter-composer’s opening set at the Jazz Bakery Tuesday night when his soloing did indeed seem to resonate with the memory of Dizzy.

But Gillespie’s influence was present in another, less tangible, but no less impactful sense. And that was in Mangione’s capacity to put together--as Gillespie always did--a program of music with the kind of dramatic force that reaches out and captivates an audience. The Bakery was only about two-thirds full, but the cheers, the enthusiasm, the sheer energy generated by the audience receptivity made the room feel as though it was jam-packed with listeners.

Mangione contributed to that receptivity even before he began to play, entering from the rear of the Bakery while his band eased into a floating, bossa nova vamp, and shaking hands with members of the audience as he worked his way toward the stage. When he finally raised his fluegelhorn and dipped into the first soulful notes of “Manha de Carnival,” his listeners erupted with instant applause.

Performing with almost all the members of the band that created his huge 1978 hit, “Feel So Good,” Mangione was clearly having the time of his life. The burnout that he has described as the cause of his three-year hiatus from music in the early ‘90s was nowhere to be seen. And, if he seemed a bit uncertain in some of his trumpet passages, his fluegelhorn--his primary instrument for years--sounded as sweet and mellow as ever.

Perhaps most important of all, not a single number was performed as a throwaway or a time filler, and every piece was highlighted by a concern for musical detail: sudden, dramatic shifts of dynamics from very loud to very soft; improvisations that were integrated parts of the overall compositions; a sense of drama--especially in an introspective rendering of “Amazing Grace” and an atmospheric version of “Children of Sanchez”--that enriched the interpretations.

Among the players, woodwind specialist Gerry Niewood’s superb flute tone and romping saxophone solos underscored the fact that he continues to be one of the underrated jazz men of his generation. The balance of the ensemble--guitarist Grant Geissman, bassist Charles Meeks, percussionist Ray Martinez and drummer James Bradley Jr.--all from the original “Feels So Good” band, played with spirit and vitality.

* The Chuck Mangione Sextet at the Jazz Bakery through Sunday. 3233 Helms Ave., (310) 271-9039. $18 admission tonight, $20 admission Friday and Saturday, 8:30 p.m., and Sunday, 8 p.m.; $16 admission tonight at 10:15, $18 admission Friday and Saturday, 10:15 p.m., and Sunday 4 p.m.; special price for kids, $5, Sunday, 4 p.m.