Chuck Mangione, the legendary jazz musician behind the international hit single Feels So Good, has died aged 84.

Born Charles Frank Mangione in 1940 in Rochester, New York, he died at home of natural causes, his manager told TMZ.

He reflected on his approach to music in 1972, saying: "For a long time I lived in the shell of the so-called jazz musician, who said, 'To hell with the people. I'm the artist, I know what's right, and I'm going to play for myself. If they like it, fine; if they don't, too bad.'

"Well, that's partially true, but you can still maintain your musical conviction and try to communicate with people.

"For me, lifting the people up, making them enjoy what we're doing is as important as it is for me to play the kind of music I want to play. Both are very possible.'

A trumpet and flugelhorn player, Mangione studied at Rochester's Eastman School of Music, known for its jazz programme.

He began his career in the 1960s performing with his pianist brother, Gap Mangione, and joined Art Blakey's Jazz Messengers as a trumpeter before emerging as a star in his own right.

Chuck's career breakthrough came in the 1970s, when he formed a jazz quartet with saxophonist Gerry Niewood. His 1977 album Feels So Good propelled him to international fame.

The album included the full nine-minute version of the instrumental title track, which reached number two on the Billboard 200.

A shorter, three-minute single released the following year also became a major success.

Over his decades-long career, Chuck won two Grammy Awards.

He received his first Grammy in 1977 for the instrumental composition Bellavia and another for his work on the soundtrack of the 1978 Anthony Quinn film The Children of Sanchez, for which he also composed the score.

Chuck's compositions featured in two Olympic ceremonies - Chase the Clouds Away at the 1976 Montreal Summer Olympics and Give It All You Got as the theme for the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, New York.