Denise Mangiardi has two very different and rare talents. Not only is she an appealing jazz singer with a beautiful voice and a quietly expressive style, but she is also a very skilled classical composer. She has been consistently successful at combining those creative outlets together as can be heard on her ninth album as a leader, On The Brink. The singer, pianist and composer says of her latest project, “I specifically wanted to show off my string writing, so I decided to record an entire set of ballads. It is a total chill album and very dedicated to the sounds of strings.”

On The Brink features Denise singing two standards and a variety of originals. Her impressive supporting cast includes guitarist Luca Boscagin, pianist Michael Pellera, saxophonist Tony Dagradi trumpeter Emily Mikesell, flutist Cindy Scott, bassist Chris Severin, drummer Johnny Vidacovich, guest bassist John Thorne, and the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra. Composer, Arthur Brouns contributed his electronic effects on the title track On the Brink.Whether performing a heartfelt version of “Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye” that is full of the pain of parting, a sensuous “The Walk,” the inner turmoil of “On The Brink,” or a fresh and contemporary version of “In The Wee Small Hours Of The Morning,” Denise Mangiardi is heard throughout in prime form. In addition, her inventive writing for the strings makes the ensembles colorful, uplifting, and full of subtle surprises.

 

On The Brink is just the latest accomplishment in Denise Mangiardi’s career. She was born in Freeport, New York and remembers hearing Frank Sinatra, Nat King Cole, and Cuban music early in life. “I started singing when I was seven, played piano at ten, and had lessons in opera when I was 12. While growing up I was completely into Motown in addition to folk music, Laura Nyro, Blind Lemon Jefferson, Blind Billy Blake, Joni Mitchell, Blood, Sweat & Tears, and being obsessed with West Side Story. But after I heard Freddie Hubbard’s First Light album, that really did it for me!”

Denise first performed in public when she was 14, playing her own songs as a solo singer-pianist at the Bitter End. She also opened for other performers at My Father’s Place club in Long Island. Denise majored in piano and composition at Berklee College of Music, studying piano and singing from Ray Santisi, big band/small group arranging from Bob Chestnut and Richard Evans, and later on piano and harmony with Jerry Bergonzi. A very important moment in her life was when she met the masterful veteran pianist Ellis Larkins who was a world class accompanist who recorded with Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Williams, and many other greats. “I saw him at a club in NYC where he was playing solo. I asked if I could sit in with him to sing, he asked me to wait until the last set, and then I performed ‘The Man I Love ‘” Larkins was so impressed that he asked her to come back the following week and told her mother that he would like to coach Denise. For the next few years, she went to his house each Saturday for a lesson. “After I started to study with Ellis, I performed at the Carnegie Tavern. The second week, I was sitting at the bar and I was completely amazed when I realized that I was sitting next to Horace Silver! After hearing that I was about to sing with Ellis, he said ‘You don’t know how lucky you are.’ I actually did know. Ellis taught me to sing, to phrase, and to tell the story. His incredible sense of harmony changed the way that I heard things. I dedicated my first album Fine Tuning to him. He changed my life forever.”

Another memorable incident happened when she was 24. “I was gigging at a new place in the village called Green Street. At the end of my set, a tall and thin man walked up to the stage as we were packing up. He came up to me and said, ‘Whatever you do, never give up on music.’ After he left, the guys in the band told me that that was Gil Evans who had been sitting upstairs with Miles Davis! Since then, any time that I feel discouraged, I always remember what Gil said.”

Denise has lived and performed in many different cities while developing as a musician. She was in Melbourne, Australia for three years, writing new material and performing regularly with bassist Gary Costello. Next she lived in Bailey, Colorado. “In 1995, I decided that it was time to record my first album. An old friend recommended that I record it in New Orleans with pianist Michael Pellera. I fell in love with the city, moved there, played regularly at Snug Harbor, and ended up living next store to drummer Johnny Vidacovich who is on the new album.” 

Denise has lived overseas for the past quarter-century, in Paris during 2001-03 and 2008-15, and in London during 2006-08 and since 2015, becoming a British citizen. She earned a Master’s degree in composition from Trinity Laban in London and received a Master’s in Film Scoring from the Film Scoring Academy of Europe. Denise has become a prolific classical composer and has written six full-scale orchestral works as well as many chamber pieces for string quartets and small ensembles, receiving numerous commissions for her classical talents. She has also been involved in merging classical and jazz in her orchestral writing and her song “River of My Own” was awarded an honorary mention in the prestigious John Lennon Song Writing Contest.

In addition to working in the United States, France, Australia, and the United Kingdom at top jazz venues with such notables as Peter Martin, Garry Dial, Tim Green, Mark Soskin, Jay Anderson, Jim McNeely, and Harold Danko among others, Denise has run the Alice’s Loft recording studio in London since 2010. “I wanted to produce music for others so that led me into recording and buying a grand piano. It was a necessity to get my music out there in a way that I could control, finding great musicians to make my dreams come to life.” In her career thus far, Denise has produced or co-produced all nine of her albums: Fine Tuning, River Of My Own, Naked Truth, Camden Town, Skylark, Alice’s Soul, Crusade, Brown Book, and most recently On the Brink.

Denise Mangiardi looks to the future with enthusiasm. “I love playing and singing and I love performing with great musicians. Music as an entity has always been my guide and jazz is the only type of music that has no limitations. I’m very fortunate.”

She will be releasing her next album in early 2027.