Home » Jazz Musicians » Vince Guaraldi
Vince Guaraldi
By Derrick Bang
Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi—who forever described himself as "a reformed boogie-woogie piano player"—worked hard for his big break.
The man eventually dubbed "Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. Guaraldi began performing while in college, haunting sessions at the Black Hawk and Jackson's Nook, sometimes with the 
Chubby Jackson
bass, acoustic1918 - 2003
Bill Harris
saxophone
Sonny Criss
saxophone, alto1927 - 1977
Bill Harris
saxophoneHis first serious booking came at the Black Hawk, when he worked as an intermission pianist ... filling in for the legendary 
Art Tatum
piano
1909 - 1956
Cal Tjader
vibraphone
1925 - 1982
Eddie Duran
guitar
1925 - 2019Dean Reilly
bass
b.1926John Markham
drums
b.1926
Eugene Wright
bass
1923 - 2020
Jerry Dodgion
saxophone, alto
b.1932
Conte Candoli
trumpet1927 - 2001
Frank Rosolino
trombone1926 - 1978
Cal Tjader
vibraphone1925 - 1982
Woody Herman
band / ensemble / orchestra1913 - 1987
Nat Pierce
piano1925 - 1992
Thanks in no small part to the "sound of surprise" from the feisty Guaraldi, whose extended blues riffs literally had the crowd screaming for more, Tjader's quintet received an enthusiastic standing ovation.
National prominence was just around the corner. Inspired by the 1959 French/Portuguese film "Black Orpheus", Guaraldi hit the studio with a new trio — Monte Budwig on bass, 
Colin Bailey
drums
1934 - 2021
Antonio Carlos Jobim
piano
1927 - 1994
Fortunately, some enterprising Sacramento, California DJs turned the single over...
...and the rest is history.
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a Gold Record winner and earned the 1963 Grammy as Best Instrumental Jazz Composition. It was constantly demanded during Guaraldi's club engagements, and suddenly jazz fans couldn't get enough of him. He responded with several albums during 1963 and '64, perhaps the most important of which was "Vince Guaraldi, 
Bola Sete
guitar
1923 - 1987Fred Marshall
bass
Jerry Granelli
drums
1940 - 2021Bola Sete
guitar
1923 - 1987
Guaraldi was also a recognized fixture on television, if only in the greater San Francisco region. He and jazz critic Ralph Gleason
b.1917
The most prestigious task, however, was yet to come. Even before 
Duke Ellington
piano
1899 - 1974
The jazz pianist's association with Charles Schulz's creations actually had begun the year before, when Guaraldi was hired to score the first Peanuts television special, adocumentary called "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (not to be confused with the big-screen feature of the same title). The show brought together four remarkable talents: Schulz, writer/producer/director Lee Mendelson, artist Bill Melendez and Guaraldi.
Guaraldi's smooth trio compositions — piano, bass and drums — perfectly balanced Charlie Brown's kid-sized universe. Sprightly, puckish, and just as swiftly somber and poignant, these gentle jazz riffs established musical trademarks which, to this day, still prompt smiles of recognition.
They reflected the whimsical personality of a man affectionately known as a "pixie", an image Guaraldi did not discourage. He'd wear funny hats, wild mustaches, and display hairstyles from buzzed crewcuts to rock-star shags.
Unfortunately, with an irony that seemed appropriate for a documentary about Charlie Brown, Mendelson never was able to sell the show, which remains unseen to this day by the general public. Fortunately, the unaired program became an expensive calling-card that attracted a sponsor (Coca-Cola) intrigued by the notion of a Peanuts Christmas TV special. Thus, when "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted in December 1965, it did more than reunite Schulz, Mendelson, Melendez and Guaraldi, all of whom quickly turned the Peanuts franchise into a television institution. That first special also shot Guaraldi to greater fame, and he became irreplaceably welded to all subsequent Peanuts shows. Many of his earliest Peanuts tunes — "Linus and Lucy", "Red Baron" and "Great Pumpkin Waltz", among others — became signature themes that turned up in later specials.
Guaraldi became so busy that the ensuing decade saw only half a dozen album releases, three of them direct results of his Peanuts work: "A Boy Named Charlie Brown", "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and "Oh, Good Grief!" At some point between his switch from the Fantasy label to Warner Brothers, Guaraldi took the time to produce and direct an album that has become quite obscure: 1968's "Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus", released on his own D&D label. This was followed by two Warners releases: "The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi", which marks Guaraldi's recorded vocal debut; and "Alma-Ville", which showcases a Guaraldi guitar solo on one cut. On February 6, 1976, while waiting in a motel room between sets at Menlo Park's Butterfield's nightclub, Guaraldi died of a sudden heart-attack. He was only 47 years old.
A few weeks later, on March 16, "It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown" debuted on television. It was the 15th, and last, Peanuts television special to boast Guaraldi's original music. He had just finished recording his portion of the soundtrack on the very afternoon of the day he died.
Time ... passed.
Those who followed in Guaraldi's Peanuts-themed footsteps — Ed Bogas, Desiree Goyette, Judy Munsen and others — found the shoes impossible to fill. Not one produced a song or theme anywhere near as catchy as the Master, and several of the specials from the late 1970s and '80s consequently lacked a certain zip.
A whopping three decades later, no doubt responding to unceasing pleas from fans who had played Guaraldi's three Peanuts albums to death — and wondered what had become of the themes and background music in all those other television specials — Fantasy released 1998's "Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits". The CD included nine previously unissued tracks, from the theme to "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" to a vocal rendition of "Oh, Good Grief", performed by Lee Mendelson's son's sixth-grade class.Four years later, in the summer of 2003, Vince Guaraldi's son, David, teamed up with Bluebird Records to release "The Charlie Brown Suite". The centerpiece selection, long spoken of in reverential tones by fans who only knew of it but never had heard it, is the fully orchestrated "Charlie Brown Suite", recorded live on May 18, 1969, during a benefit performance with Amici Della Musica (Richard Williams, conductor) at Mr. D's, a theater/restaurant in San Francisco's North Beach region. This awesome piece of music clocks in at roughly 40 minutes and skillfully weaves half a dozen songs into an integrated whole: "Linus and Lucy", "The Great Pumpkin Waltz", "Peppermint Patty", "Oh, Good Grief", "Rain, Rain, Go Away" and "Red Baron".
Encouraged by the enthusiastic response to this new compilation of his father's previously unreleased recordings, David Guaraldi has big plans for the upcoming years ... and this Web site is the place to get up-to-the-minute information.
"I don't think I'm a great piano player", Vince Guaraldi once said, "but I would like to have people like me, to play pretty tunes and reach the audience. And I hope some of those tunes will become standards. I want to write standards, not just hits". He got his wish.
Windham Hill recording artist 
George Winston
piano
1949 - 2023
"Linus and Lucy" also has been interpreted by 
Wynton Marsalis
trumpet
b.1961
Dave Brubeck
piano
1920 - 2012
David Benoit
piano
b.1953
"Christmas Time is Here" has become a seasonal fixture, and pretty much everybody of consequence has covered "Cast Your Fate to the Wind".
Let's fade with the words of 
Jon Hendricks
vocals
1921 - 2017
"Vince is what you call a piano player. That's different from a pianist. A pianist can play anything you can put in front of him. A piano player can play anything before you can put it in front of him."
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Vince Guaraldi’s Charlie Brown: Jazz Impressions and Good Sport
by Mark Sullivan
Everyone knows the Vince Guaraldi soundtrack A Charlie Brown Christmas (Fantasy Records, 1965). However, Guaraldi composed and performed music for many other Peanuts-related projects, two of which have been recently released. They represent the beginning and end of the journey: Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown was recorded in 1964, one year before the broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas; 1975's You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown was the penultimate soundtrack Guaraldi recorded before he died in 1976. ...
Continue ReadingVince Guaraldi: Animated Indeed
by Doug Collette
Pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi had already made a name for himself before he became progenitor of soundtracks for the animated television programs based on Charles M. Schulz' 'Peanuts' characters. Accordingly, it is arguable that, even as Guaraldi enthusiastically embraced his new opportunity, he also knew his very name lent credibility to those projects; after all, he won a Grammy Award for 'Best Original Jazz Composition' in 1963 for the version of “Cast Your Fate to the Wind" released the previous year. ...
Continue ReadingVince Guaraldi: It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown!
by Joshua Weiner
The series of complete Peanuts television special soundtracks put out by Lee Mendelson Film Productions continues to thrill fans of Vince Guaraldi, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and all the gang. After the highly successful Christmas, Halloween, and Thanksgiving animated specials, the stage was set for 1974's It's The Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown! Recorded over two days at Wally Heider Studios in Guaraldi's hometown of San Francisco, the soundtrack--resurrected for the first time from the 16-track master tape and freshly mixed--features the ...
Continue ReadingVince Guaraldi: Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown
by Joshua Weiner
The series of complete Peanuts television special soundtracks put out by Lee Mendelson Film Productions continues to provide a treasure trove of musical delights for fans of Vince Guaraldi, Charlie Brown, Snoopy and all the gang. Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown came out in 1975, and it certainly sounds like it, thanks to the expanded palette of instruments available to Guaraldi. In addition to the piano and electric piano featured on earlier specials, we hear the new ARP Solina String ...
Continue ReadingVince Guaraldi: You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown
by Joshua Weiner
Many a jazz fan was first exposed to the music through pianist Vince Guaraldi's soundtracks for the long series of animated television specials featuring Charles Schulz's evergreen Peanuts characters. That alone would secure Guaraldi's place in the jazz pantheon, but he is also remembered as a composer of the hit song “Cast Your Fate to the Wind" as well as for his forays into Brazilian music, including the popular 1962 album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (Fantasy) and a series ...
Continue ReadingRay Gallon, Larry Young, Rachel Eckroth & Vince Guaraldi
by Joe Dimino
We are kicking off the 2023 holiday season and the 830th Episode of Neon Jazz in style with Vince Guaraldi leading the march of a never-before-released Charle Brown Thanksgiving. From there, we get into a host of tasty jazz from Rachel Eckroth, Janet Evra and Maria Grapsa. We also get some perennial music from heavyweights Petros Klampanis, Ray Gallon and Mike DiRubbo. The father-son duo of John and David Sneider also get into the mix with their debut album Sneid ...
Continue ReadingVince Guaraldi: A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving
by James Aren
Just in time for Thanksgiving, the people at Lee Mendelson films are serving up a fresh take on some old favorites. The soundtrack to a A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving has been released for the first time, to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the special. Vince Guaraldi's voice is the first sound on the album. “Okay, well, did ya get that last one? This is cue one," as it swings into “Charlie Brown Blues." It is a good introduction ...
Continue ReadingVince Guaraldi: Two Albums With a Latin Feel
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Best known for his success composing and playing music for the Charlie Brown and Peanuts TV specials of the 1960s, Vince Guaraldi actually had a struggling jazz career through much of the 1950s. Born in the North Beach section of San Francisco, he started out playing with local vibraphonist Cal Tjader in 1951. His first leadership recording session for Fantasy took place in 1955, when he regularly performed at the Hungry I nightclub in North Beach. He recorded his first ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Vince Guaraldi
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Vince Guaraldi's birthday today!
By Derrick Bang Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi—who forever described himself as “a reformed boogie-woogie pianist"—worked hard for his big break. The man eventually dubbed “Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. Guaraldi began performing while in college, haunting sessions at the Black Hawk and Jackson's Nook, sometimes with ...
read more
Minidoc: Vince Guaraldi in the Studio
Source:
JazzWax by Marc Myers
Vince Guaraldi is best known as the jazz pianist accompanying A Charlie Brown Christmas and other TV's adaptations of the Peanuts?comic strip. But Guaraldi was well established before those gentle 1960s holiday specials as a member of Cal Tjader's groups and the leader of his own superb trio. His biggest hit was Cast Your Fate to the Wind, the flip side to Samba de Orpheus, from his 1962 album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus. The hit won a Grammy for ...
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Craft Recordings Announces Definitive, Bonus-Filled Edition Of Vince Guaraldi's Original Soundtrack Recording 'It's The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'
Source:
Chummy Press
Available on CD, digital, and a variety of vinyl formats including a 45-RPM pressing, a translucent orange pumpkin-shaped disc, and more Craft Recordings proudly announces the definitive edition of Vince Guaraldi’s evocative soundtrack to the 1966 animated television special, It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, from Charles M. Schulz, creator of the PEANUTS comic strip, and Lee Mendelson Film Productions. Remastered from newly discovered analog session reels, the album features seven previously unreleased alternate takes—all of which offer fascinating insight ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Vince Guaraldi
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Vince Guaraldi's birthday today!
By Derrick Bang Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi—who forever described himself as “a reformed boogie-woogie pianist"—worked hard for his big break. The man eventually dubbed “Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. Guaraldi began performing while in college, haunting sessions at the Black Hawk and Jackson's Nook, sometimes with ...
read more
Collectible Silver Foil Edition Of Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas Coming To Vinyl This Holiday Season
Source:
All About Jazz
Ahead of the 2021 holiday season, Craft Recordings is pleased to announce a special vinyl edition of A Charlie Brown Christmas—Vince Guaraldi Trio’s enduring soundtrack to the 1965 PEANUTS animated special. This collectible release reimagines the album’s classic jacket, wrapping it in an elegant silver foil. The embossed PEANUTS characters on the cover, meanwhile, have never been more striking as they gather around the Christmas Tree. Available for pre-order today, this limited-edition pressing hits stores on October 1st, while a ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Vince Guaraldi
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Vince Guaraldi's birthday today!
By Derrick Bang Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi—who forever described himself as “a reformed boogie-woogie pianist"—worked hard for his big break. The man eventually dubbed “Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. Guaraldi began performing while in college, haunting sessions at the Black Hawk and Jackson's Nook, sometimes with ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Vince Guaraldi
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Vince Guaraldi's birthday today!
By Derrick Bang Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi—who forever described himself as “a reformed boogie-woogie pianist"—worked hard for his big break. The man eventually dubbed “Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. Guaraldi began performing while in college, haunting sessions at the Black Hawk and Jackson's Nook, sometimes with ...
read more
Jazz Musician of the Day: Vince Guaraldi
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Vince Guaraldi's birthday today!
By Derrick Bang Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi—who forever described himself as “a reformed boogie-woogie pianist"—worked hard for his big break. The man eventually dubbed “Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. Guaraldi began performing while in college... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...
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Jazz Musician of the Day: Vince Guaraldi
Source:
Michael Ricci
All About Jazz is celebrating Vince Guaraldi's birthday today!
By Derrick Bang Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi—who forever described himself as “a reformed boogie-woogie pianist"—worked hard for his big break. The man eventually dubbed “Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. Guaraldi began performing while in college... Read more.
Place our Musician of the Day widget on your ...
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From: A Charlie Brown ThanksgivingBy Vince Guaraldi
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Vince Guaraldi
Instrument: Piano
Born: July 17, 1928
Died: February 6, 1976
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