Read Part 1.
Mandel continued to be an in-demand arranger in addition to his ever-increasing film scores work. Among the scores he wrote are The Sandpiper, The Americanization of Emily, The Russians are Coming the Russians are Coming, Harper, Point Blank, Escape to Witch Mountain, The Last Detail, and of course, M*A*S*H. He was surprised that the theme from that movie became the biggest song in his catalog.
Gerry Mulligan specifically asked Mandel to arrange music from I Want to Live for his Concert Jazz Band. Mandel told me he was surprised, but was happy to oblige. Here’s Black Nightgown from a live performance in Zurich.
- For Sarah Vaughan and the Count Basie Band without the Count, he arranged Missing You.
- For Jo Stafford and an all-star aggregation, he arranged Midnight Sun for one of her finest albums.
- For Mel Torme, he arranged Duke Ellington’s Reminiscing in Tempo.
- For Peggy Lee, he arranged his song from “The Russians are Coming the Russians are Coming,” The Shining Sea, which is cited as one of Lee’s greatest recordings.
- He also arranged the song for Tony Bennett.
- Kenny Colman was an excellent Canadian singer respected by many music professionals and audiences all over the world. His album with Mandel is now a hard-to-find item. This is Where Do You Start.
- I can’t leave out Shirley Horn’s incredible recording of Here’s to Life.
- For Earl Klugh, he did the string background for Autumn Song.
- He was a big fan of Diana Krall. This is When I Look in Your Eyes.
- For Barry Manilow’s tribute album to Frank Sinatra, he arranged I’ve Got the World on a String.
So many of his fans hoped that he would lead a big band late in life. He finally did a concert with DIVA, and it was issued as an album. When he wrote Not Really the Blues for Woody Herman, he complained that when they recorded it, it was not at the proper tempo. He set the record straight at the concert.
I have wonderful memories of John, editing and restoring his arrangement for Buddy Rich of The Song is You, which I hope will be available one day; he was particularly proud of it and very happy that this was done. He was mellow, gracious, and generous with his time and his wisdom.
He left us in 2020.
[Ed. note: Johnny Mandel presented a wonderful ASMAC masterclass in 2010. ]
