Biography
Johnny Mandel's renown stems from a jazz approach defined by buoyant swing and refined elegance. His foundation lay in early stints as a trumpeter and trombonist within big bands, from which he advanced to become a leading composer and arranger of motion pictures in Hollywood beginning in the late 1950s. Contemporaries including Michel Legrand, Lalo Schifrin, Burt Bacharach, and Henry Mancini joined him in shaping the sonic identity of film scores across the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s by fusing orchestral jazz, traditional pop, mood music, adult contemporary, and improvisational small-group jazz into a singular, melodic voice. A Grammy nomination arrived for his debut film score to 1958's I Want to Live!, while the song "The Shadow of Your Smile" from the 1965 release The Sandpiper earned both an Oscar and a Grammy. Widespread recognition also followed his composition of "Suicide Is Painless," the theme for director Robert Altman's 1970 film M*A*S*H and its long-running television series. Continued film assignments did not diminish his demand in popular music, where high-profile credits encompassed arrangements for Natalie Cole's 1991 Grammy-winning album Unforgettable: With Love, Diana Krall's 1999 Grammy-winning album When I Look in Your Eyes, Barbra Streisand's 2009 Billboard 200-topping Love Is the Answer, and Paul McCartney's 2012 standards album Kisses on the Bottom.
John Alfred Mandel entered the world in 1925 in Manhattan. Raised in a Jewish household, he had a father who ran a garment manufacturing firm and a mother who once aspired to opera. At roughly age five she recognized his perfect pitch, prompting piano lessons. The family relocated to Los Angeles in 1934 amid the Great Depression, after which the father's business failed; he died two years later, prompting Mandel's mother to return the household to Manhattan. There the youth took up trumpet and, by age 13, began attempting his own arrangements. A scholarship to the New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson followed high school, where bandleader Van Alexander instructed him in arranging; gigs included a 1943 appearance with violinist Joe Venuti. After graduating in 1944 he joined Billie Rogers' band, added trombone, and performed with Boyd Raeburn's ensemble alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Pettiford. Further studies took place at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School before he played and arranged for Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, Elliot Lawrence, Georgie Auld, and Chubby Jackson. Recognition for original work grew with pieces such as 1948's "Not Really the Blues" for Woody Herman & His Second Herd and "Hershey Bar" together with "Pot Luck" for Stan Getz in the early 1950s. Early in that decade he also served two years with the Count Basie Orchestra, supplying "Straight Life" and "Low Life."
Mandel settled in Los Angeles in 1953, briefly playing bass trombone with Zoot Sims and handling Las Vegas floor shows before concentrating on composition and arranging. Pianist/composer André Previn's endorsement led director Robert Wise to engage him for the 1958 drama I Want to Live!, drawn from the life of convicted criminal Barbara Graham (portrayed by Susan Hayward). To bring his swinging, sophisticated jazz sensibility to the screen, Mandel recruited baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan plus leading West Coast players including trumpeter Art Farmer, trumpeter Jack Sheldon, trombonist Frank Rosolino, reed player Bill Holman, bassist Red Mitchell, and drummer Shelly Manne. The resulting album achieved breakthrough success and a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast From a Motion Picture or Television; Mulligan and Farmer subsequently issued their own version, likewise titled I Want to Live.
Through the early 1960s Mandel divided time between film and arrangements for Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, and Andy Williams. Scores included 1960's The 3rd Voice, 1961's The Lawbreakers, and 1964's The Americanization of Emily, the last featuring the title song "Emily" written with lyricist Johnny Mercer. Greater visibility arrived with the score for Vincente Minnelli's 1965 drama The Sandpiper, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Its central romantic theme, "The Shadow of Your Smile," with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, captured the 1965 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the 1966 Grammy for Song of the Year. Success led to collaboration with Tony Bennett on 1966's The Movie Song Album, which included an arrangement of "The Shadow of Your Smile." Further notable soundtracks of the decade comprised 1966's Harper, 1967's Point Blank, 1968's Pretty Poison, and 1969's That Cold Day in the Park.
For Robert Altman's 1970 Korean War comedy M*A*S*H, Mandel supplied the score and theme "Suicide Is Painless," whose lyrics were written by the director's then-14-year-old son Mike Altman. Five Oscar nominations followed, and the ensuing television series that ran from 1972 to 1983 cemented the song's status among Mandel's most familiar works. Film assignments continued through the 1970s on titles such as 1973's The Last Detail, 1975's Escape from Witch Mountain, 1976's Freaky Friday, and 1979's Being There. He rejoined Peggy Lee for her 1975 album Mirrors and provided string arrangements for Michael Jackson's Off the Wall and Rickie Lee Jones' self-titled debut, both released in 1979.
The 1980s brought scores for the 1980 Chevy Chase comedy Caddyshack, the 1982 Paul Newman thriller The Verdict, and the 1982 murder comedy Deathtrap. Studio arranging yielded a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal on "Velas" from Quincy Jones' 1981 album The Dude, with additional dates for the Brothers Johnson, Earl Klugh, Lee Ritenour, Steely Dan, and Don Felder. Saxophonist Zoot Sims honored Mandel in 1984 with Quietly: Zoot Sims Plays Johnny Mandel.
Fresh recognition arrived via arrangements for Natalie Cole's 1991 album Unforgettable: With Love, which earned a Grammy. Another Grammy followed in 1992 for work on Shirley Horn's Here's to Life. An honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music was conferred in 1993. Further contributions went to Diana Krall's 1999 Grammy-winning album When I Look in Your Eyes, Tony Bennett's 2004 album The Art of Romance, and Barbra Streisand's 2009 album Love Is the Answer.
In May 2010 Mandel appeared with the Diva Jazz Orchestra and singer Ann Hampton Callaway in the Lincoln Center concert The Man and His Music at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. That year the National Endowment for the Arts honored him and the Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted him. He returned to the studio in 2012 to conduct and arrange Paul McCartney's standards album Kisses on the Bottom. A lifetime tribute came in 2018 with the Grammy Trustees Award. Mandel died on June 29, 2020, at age 94 after a heart ailment.
John Alfred Mandel entered the world in 1925 in Manhattan. Raised in a Jewish household, he had a father who ran a garment manufacturing firm and a mother who once aspired to opera. At roughly age five she recognized his perfect pitch, prompting piano lessons. The family relocated to Los Angeles in 1934 amid the Great Depression, after which the father's business failed; he died two years later, prompting Mandel's mother to return the household to Manhattan. There the youth took up trumpet and, by age 13, began attempting his own arrangements. A scholarship to the New York Military Academy in Cornwall-on-Hudson followed high school, where bandleader Van Alexander instructed him in arranging; gigs included a 1943 appearance with violinist Joe Venuti. After graduating in 1944 he joined Billie Rogers' band, added trombone, and performed with Boyd Raeburn's ensemble alongside Dizzy Gillespie and Oscar Pettiford. Further studies took place at the Manhattan School of Music and the Juilliard School before he played and arranged for Jimmy Dorsey, Buddy Rich, Elliot Lawrence, Georgie Auld, and Chubby Jackson. Recognition for original work grew with pieces such as 1948's "Not Really the Blues" for Woody Herman & His Second Herd and "Hershey Bar" together with "Pot Luck" for Stan Getz in the early 1950s. Early in that decade he also served two years with the Count Basie Orchestra, supplying "Straight Life" and "Low Life."
Mandel settled in Los Angeles in 1953, briefly playing bass trombone with Zoot Sims and handling Las Vegas floor shows before concentrating on composition and arranging. Pianist/composer André Previn's endorsement led director Robert Wise to engage him for the 1958 drama I Want to Live!, drawn from the life of convicted criminal Barbara Graham (portrayed by Susan Hayward). To bring his swinging, sophisticated jazz sensibility to the screen, Mandel recruited baritone saxophonist Gerry Mulligan plus leading West Coast players including trumpeter Art Farmer, trumpeter Jack Sheldon, trombonist Frank Rosolino, reed player Bill Holman, bassist Red Mitchell, and drummer Shelly Manne. The resulting album achieved breakthrough success and a Grammy nomination for Best Soundtrack Album or Recording of Original Cast From a Motion Picture or Television; Mulligan and Farmer subsequently issued their own version, likewise titled I Want to Live.
Through the early 1960s Mandel divided time between film and arrangements for Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Mel Torme, and Andy Williams. Scores included 1960's The 3rd Voice, 1961's The Lawbreakers, and 1964's The Americanization of Emily, the last featuring the title song "Emily" written with lyricist Johnny Mercer. Greater visibility arrived with the score for Vincente Minnelli's 1965 drama The Sandpiper, starring Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor. Its central romantic theme, "The Shadow of Your Smile," with lyrics by Paul Francis Webster, captured the 1965 Academy Award for Best Original Song and the 1966 Grammy for Song of the Year. Success led to collaboration with Tony Bennett on 1966's The Movie Song Album, which included an arrangement of "The Shadow of Your Smile." Further notable soundtracks of the decade comprised 1966's Harper, 1967's Point Blank, 1968's Pretty Poison, and 1969's That Cold Day in the Park.
For Robert Altman's 1970 Korean War comedy M*A*S*H, Mandel supplied the score and theme "Suicide Is Painless," whose lyrics were written by the director's then-14-year-old son Mike Altman. Five Oscar nominations followed, and the ensuing television series that ran from 1972 to 1983 cemented the song's status among Mandel's most familiar works. Film assignments continued through the 1970s on titles such as 1973's The Last Detail, 1975's Escape from Witch Mountain, 1976's Freaky Friday, and 1979's Being There. He rejoined Peggy Lee for her 1975 album Mirrors and provided string arrangements for Michael Jackson's Off the Wall and Rickie Lee Jones' self-titled debut, both released in 1979.
The 1980s brought scores for the 1980 Chevy Chase comedy Caddyshack, the 1982 Paul Newman thriller The Verdict, and the 1982 murder comedy Deathtrap. Studio arranging yielded a Grammy for Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal on "Velas" from Quincy Jones' 1981 album The Dude, with additional dates for the Brothers Johnson, Earl Klugh, Lee Ritenour, Steely Dan, and Don Felder. Saxophonist Zoot Sims honored Mandel in 1984 with Quietly: Zoot Sims Plays Johnny Mandel.
Fresh recognition arrived via arrangements for Natalie Cole's 1991 album Unforgettable: With Love, which earned a Grammy. Another Grammy followed in 1992 for work on Shirley Horn's Here's to Life. An honorary doctorate of music from Berklee College of Music was conferred in 1993. Further contributions went to Diana Krall's 1999 Grammy-winning album When I Look in Your Eyes, Tony Bennett's 2004 album The Art of Romance, and Barbra Streisand's 2009 album Love Is the Answer.
In May 2010 Mandel appeared with the Diva Jazz Orchestra and singer Ann Hampton Callaway in the Lincoln Center concert The Man and His Music at Dizzy's Club Coca-Cola. That year the National Endowment for the Arts honored him and the Songwriters Hall of Fame inducted him. He returned to the studio in 2012 to conduct and arrange Paul McCartney's standards album Kisses on the Bottom. A lifetime tribute came in 2018 with the Grammy Trustees Award. Mandel died on June 29, 2020, at age 94 after a heart ailment.
Albums
