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Jazz Articles about Vince Guaraldi
Vince Guaraldi’s Christmas Sauce: Adding Spice to Charlie Brown Vanilla
by Arthur R George
It's not simply that pianist Vince Guaraldi slipped jazz past the unsuspecting in composing A Charlie Brown Christmas, the evergreen “Peanuts" animation and soundtrack that has become inescapably part of the holiday. First broadcast in 1965, going on to six decades ago, A Charlie Brown Christmas is a tradition unto itself. It returns to television through PBS and PBS Kids on the evening of Sunday, December 19. Some who can't wait, or want to watch and listen again and again, ...
Continue ReadingBest Jazz Christmas Songs Of All-Time
by Ken Hohman
While moldy Christmas songs and great jazz seem as compatible as egg nog and Tanqueray, there have been instances where the planets have aligned to create songs that display the best of both genres. Ten instances, to be exact, and you'll find them below. Do you agree? Then post your holiday toast to my list. Don't agree? Post the all-time best Christmas jazz songs of your choice in the comments section below. I will save a special lump of coal ...
Continue ReadingJazz Dogs: Ten Essential Dog-Eared Tunes
by Ian Patterson
Everybody's best friend. Okay, so not everyone loves dogs. But find yourself buried in an avalanche and it will be a dog that sniffs you out. The last person found alive after the World Trade Center collapsed on 9/11 was sniffed out by a rescue dog. Guide dogs helped lead their blind owners to safety from the Twin Towers following the terrorist attack. How many blind or partially sighted people around the world could manage without their trusty guide dog? ...
Continue ReadingVince 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 ...
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