Minidoc: Vince Guaraldi in the Studio

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 Best Original Jazz Composition. 

Last week, Tom Fine sent along a link to a segment from a 1963 documentary on Guaraldi by Ralph J. Gleason. The clip is part of a 90-minute look at the making of Guaraldi's record Cast Your Fate To The Wind, filmed in various locations in and around the San Francisco Bay area. The documentary originally was aired in three parts on PBS. Guaraldi died from a heart attack in 1976 at age 47 after performing at a club in Menlo Park, Calif.

Here's the documentary segment...



Bonus: And because I know that after watching the above clip you will want album recommendations, I figured I'd save you time emailing me by providing you with two uninterrupted hours of the pianist at work. Enjoy!