Johnny Mandel

John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925Template:SpndJune 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Bennett, Diane Schuur and Shirley Horn. He won five Grammy Awards, from 17 nominations; his first nomination was for his debut film score for the multi-nominated 1958 film I Want to Live!

Early life

Mandel was born in the borough of Manhattan in New York City on November 23, 1925.<ref name=NYT>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="Grove">Template:Citation</ref> His father, Alfred, was a garment manufacturer who ran Mandel & Cash; his mother, Hannah (Hart-Rubin), had aimed to be an opera singer<ref name=NYT/> and discovered her son had perfect pitch at the age of five.<ref name="ascap">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> His family was Jewish.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> They moved to Los Angeles in 1934, after his father's business collapsed during the Great Depression.<ref name=NYT/> Mandel was given piano lessons, but switched to the trumpet and later the trombone.<ref name=ascap/>

Career

Mandel studied at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School. In 1943, he played the trumpet with jazz violinist Joe Venuti. The following year, he worked with Billy Rogers and played trombone in the bands of Boyd Raeburn, Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, Georgie Auld and Chubby Jackson. In 1949 he accompanied the singer June Christy in the orchestra of Bob Cooper. From 1951 until 1953 he played and arranged music in Elliot Lawrence's orchestra, and in 1953 with Count Basie.<ref name=Blistein>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=BBC>Template:Cite news</ref> He subsequently resided in Los Angeles, where he played the bass trumpet for Zoot Sims.<ref name=NEA>Template:Cite web</ref>

A 1944 Band graduate of New York Military Academy, in Cornwall-on-Hudson, New York,<ref name=NYT/> he wrote jazz compositions including "Not Really the Blues" for Woody Herman in 1949, "Hershey Bar" (1950) and "Pot Luck" (1953) for Stan Getz, "Straight Life" (1953) and "Low Life" (1956) for Count Basie, as well as "Tommyhawk" (1954) for Chet Baker.<ref name=Greiving>Template:Cite news</ref><ref name=Hischak>Template:Cite book</ref>

Mandel composed, conducted and arranged the music for numerous movie sound tracks. His earliest credited contribution was to I Want to Live! in 1958,<ref name=Hischak/> which was nominated for three Grammy Awards.<ref name=Grammys>Template:Cite web</ref> His other compositions include "Suicide Is Painless"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (theme song for the movie and TV series M*A*S*H), "Close Enough for Love", "Emily" and "A Time for Love" (nominated for an Academy Award). "Emily" was a favorite of pianist Bill Evans and alto saxophonist Paul Desmond, both of whom included it in live performances until they died, and Evans included it in a duo recording with Tony Bennett. Mandel wrote numerous film scores, including the score of The Sandpiper. The love theme for that film, "The Shadow of Your Smile", which he co-wrote with Paul Francis Webster, won the 1965 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1966.<ref name=Grammys/>

Mandel performed an interpretation of Erik Satie's "Gnossiennes #4 and #5" on the piano for the film Being There (1979).<ref name=Hischak/><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

He won the Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) in 1981 for Quincy Jones's song Velas, and again in 1991 for Natalie Cole and Nat King Cole's "Unforgettable", and one year later once more for Shirley Horn's album Here's to Life.<ref name=Grammys/>

In 2004, Mandel arranged Tony Bennett's album The Art of Romance. Bennett and Mandel had collaborated before on Bennett's The Movie Song Album (1966),<ref name=NEA/> for which Mandel arranged and conducted his songs "Emily" and "The Shadow of Your Smile",<ref name="Discogs The Movie Song Album"/> and was also the album's musical director.<ref name=NEA/>

Johnny Mandel, A Man and His Music, featuring The DIVA Jazz Orchestra and vocalist Ann Hampton Callaway was recorded live at Jazz at Lincoln Center's Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola in May 2010, and released by Arbors Records in March 2011.<ref name=diva>DIVA: Sherrie Maricle. Retrieved February 10, 2014.</ref>

In 2012, he worked on one of Paul McCartney's most recent songs at the time, "My Valentine". He provided the song with a new and original arrangement. It appeared on McCartney's expanded version of his album Kisses on the Bottom in November of that year.

Personal life, death and honors

Mandel married Lois Lee in 1959,<ref>California, Marriage Index, 1949–1959, a subscription site. Retrieved February 26, 2014.</ref> and Martha Blanner in 1972,<ref>California, Marriage Index, 1960–1985, a subscription site. Retrieved February 26, 2014.</ref> and had a daughter, Marissa, born in 1976.<ref name=gale>Template:Cite book</ref> Mandel was also the cousin of fellow film composer Miles Goodman.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mandel was awarded an honorary doctorate from Berklee College of Music in 1993.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was inducted to the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2010.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> He was a recipient of the 2011 NEA Jazz Masters Award.<ref name="jm_2011">Template:Cite web</ref> He subsequently received The Grammy Trustees Award in 2018,<ref name=Blistein/> which is awarded by The Recording Academy to "individuals who, during their careers in music, have made significant contributions, other than performance, to the field of recording".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Mandel died on June 29, 2020, at his home in Ojai, California.<ref name="nyt">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> He was 94, and suffered from a heart ailment.<ref name=Greiving/>

Selected works

Compositions

• "A Christmas Love Song" (lyrics by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman)<ref name="Discogs Manhattan Transfer">Template:Cite web</ref>
• "Close Enough for Love" (lyrics by Paul Williams)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "Emily" (lyrics by Johnny Mercer)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "Little Did I Dream" (lyrics by David Frishberg)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "The Shadow of Your Smile" (lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "Suicide Is Painless" (lyrics by Mike Altman)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams" (lyrics by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "A Time for Love" (lyrics by Paul Francis Webster)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "Where Do You Start?" (lyrics by Alan Bergman & Marilyn Bergman)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "You Are There" (lyrics by Dave Frishberg)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• "The Moon Song" (aka "Solitary Moon")<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Arrangements

• 1956: Hoagy Sings Carmichael by Hoagy Carmichael<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1960 Jo + Jazz by Jo Stafford
• 1960: Ring-a-Ding-Ding! by Frank Sinatra<ref name=NEA/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1962: I Dig the Duke! I Dig the Count! by Mel Tormé<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1966: "Emily" and "The Shadow of Your Smile" from The Movie Song Album by Tony Bennett<ref name="Discogs The Movie Song Album">Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1975: "Mirrors" by Peggy Lee<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1979: "Coolsville" and "Company" from Rickie Lee Jones by Rickie Lee Jones<ref name=NEA/>
• 1981: "Velas" from The Dude by Quincy Jones<ref name=NEA/>
• 1991: "Mona Lisa", "Smile", "Lush Life", "That Sunday That Summer", "Too Young", "Our Love is Here to Stay", "Unforgettable" from Unforgettable... with Love by Natalie Cole<ref name=NEA/>
• 1992: Here's to Life by Shirley Horn<ref name=NEA/>
• 1992: "God Bless the Child" and "Body and Soul" from In Tribute by Diane Schuur<ref name=NEA/>
• 1992: The Christmas Album by Manhattan Transfer<ref name="Discogs Manhattan Transfer"/>
• 1993: "Will You Be There" by Michael Jackson
• 1995: Pearls by David Sanborn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1999: When I Look in Your Eyes by Diana Krall<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2001: You're My Thrill by Shirley Horn<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2003: "Summer Wind" ,"That's All (1952 song)" by Michael Buble
• 2004: The Art of Romance by Tony Bennett<ref name=Billboard1>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
• 2009: Love Is the Answer by Barbra Streisand<ref name=Billboard1/>

Filmography

Johnny Mandel composed and/or arranged music for the following motion pictures or television programs: Template:Div col

• 1958: I Want to Live!<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1960: The 3rd Voice<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1961: The Lawbreakers<ref name=Craggs>Template:Cite book</ref>
• 1963: Drums of Africa<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1964: The Americanization of Emily<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1965: The Sandpiper<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1965: Mister Roberts (TV series; 1 episode)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1966: Harper<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1966: An American Dream<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1966: The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1966: Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre (TV series; 2 episodes)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1967: Point Blank<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1968: Pretty Poison<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1969: Heaven with a Gun<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1969: That Cold Day in the Park<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1969: Some Kind of a Nut<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1970: M*A*S*H<ref name=NEA/>
• 1970: The Man Who Had Power Over Women<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1972: M*A*S*H (TV series)<ref name=NEA/>
• 1972: Journey Through Rosebud<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1972: Molly and Lawless John<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1973: The Last Detail<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1973: Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1974: W<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1975: Escape to Witch Mountain<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1976: Freaky Friday<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1976: The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1979: Agatha<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1979: Being There<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1979: The Baltimore Bullet<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1980: Too Close for Comfort (TV series; 2 episodes)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1980: Caddyshack<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1982: Deathtrap<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1982: Lookin' to Get Out<ref name=Craggs/>
• 1982: The Verdict<ref name=Hischak/>
• 1986: Amazing Stories (TV series; 1 episode)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1989: Brenda Starr<ref name=Craggs/>

Discography

• 1953: Dance Session with Count Basie (Clef)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1966: Quietly There, Bill Perkins Quintet (Riverside)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 1958: A Sure Thing: David Allen Sings Jerome Kern (Pacific Jazz)<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
• 2011: Johnny Mandel, A Man and His Music, with The DIVA Jazz Orchestra and Ann Hampton Callaway (Arbors)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

See also

• List of jazz arrangers
• List of music arrangers

External links

• Template:AllMusic
• Template:Discogs artist
• Template:IMDb name
• Template:Shof
• Interview with Marc Myers at JazzWax
• Alumni of Distinction at New York Military Academy archives page
• NAMM Oral History Interview August 26, 2009