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BitsBlog After Hours: Chuck Mangione – Hill Where The Lord Hides – From FRIENDS And LOVE

Oh, wow.  I NEVER knew this film existed.
I”ve raved for years about the “Friends and Love” concert, held 42 years ago this month, at the Eastman Theater in my home town of Rochester NY… what a concert… but never knew this film existed until about ten minutes ago.

This was the concert that started Chuck Mangione’s career. He was invited to conduct the event and was basically given full rein on the affair.  He composed everything in the concert, arranged it.  And then performed it, in front of a standing room only crowd of around 3600 people. 

That’s Chuck up front, of course. Steve Gadd on drums, Don Potter, who is, along with Bat McGrath, were a duo that were something of a Rochester legend on guitar, and of course, the? Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra. GERRY NIEWOOD doing that fabulous solo, on his soprano saxophone, (Niewood was one of Chuck’s band that died trying to land at the Buffalo airport [1]) as well as Tony Levin who has been on everyone’s LP at one time or another, on Electric Bass and Marvin Stamm on trumpet.

This was pretty much a defining moment for modern jazz.  And I wonder, in retrospect, if the people involved knew it at that time.