Gap Mangione

Gaspare "Gap" Mangione (pronounced: mændʒiˈoʊni, born July 31, 1938) is a jazz pianist, composer, arranger, and bandleader from Rochester, New York, United States.

Mangione was born and raised in Rochester; according to the Sicilian naming convention, he was named after his paternal grandfather Gaspare Mangione, who was born in Porto Empedocle, Sicily in 1883 and emigrated to the United States in 1906. Gap's younger brother is Grammy-winning flugelhornist Chuck Mangione. Members of a music-loving family, both Gap and Chuck took up instruments. In 1958, they started performing together as the Jazz Brothers, eventually recording three albums for Riverside Records.

In 1968, Gap Mangione released his first solo album, Diana in the Autumn Wind, featuring drummer Steve Gadd and bassist Tony Levin in their first recordings, and new compositions and arrangements by Chuck Mangione who conducted as well.

The 1970s brought more solo albums along with tours with his own group and many as featured soloist in his brother's orchestral performances.

In the 1980s, Mangione began to spend more time playing in and around Rochester and less time on the road. In 1990, he formed "The Big Band". Many major rappers and producers, including J Dilla, Madlib, J Rocc, Talib Kweli, Guerilla Black, Ghostface Killah, Slum Village and Chance the Rapper have sampled Gap's Diana in the Autumn Wind for their recent works.

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