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 LP for Fantasy in 1955, and the following year he was playing piano in Woody Herman's touring Third Herd. After returning later that year, he played again with Tjader.
A second leadership album was recorded in 1957—A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing—but its soft sales caused Fantasy to drop him. Then in 1961, the label re-signed him to record Jazz Impressions of “Black Orpheus," a wildly successful 1959 film. By '61, the movie's soundtrack, composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa, was a hit, triggering global interest in Brazil's new bossa nova sound.
For his tribute album, Guaraldi decided to add an original tune. The single of his composition, Cast Your Fate to the Wind, appeared on the B-side of a single and became a radio sensation as program directors chose it over the A-side—Samba de Orpheu. Cast Your Fate spent 19 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 22.
Three years later, in 1964, Guaraldi recorded The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi (Fantasy). Rather than make another straight-ahead jazz album, Guaraldi added Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms to songs and was backed on several tracks by a string quartet. The laid-back album is a terrific, little-known gem and now super-rare on vinyl, running upward of $130. Craft should re-issue it.
After the Latin album, Guaraldi began recording a long list of Charlie Brown albums. On February 6, 1976, moments after completing the first set of a club date in Menlo Park, Ca., he died of a heart attack at age 47.
JazzWax clips: Here's Cast Your Fate to the Wind...
And here's Mr. Lucky, from A Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi...
Bonus: Here's a segment from a 1964 documentary on Guaraldi recording the album Jazz Impressions of “Black Orpheus," with Monty Budwig on bass and Colin Bailey on drums...
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 LP for Fantasy in 1955, and the following year he was playing piano in Woody Herman's touring Third Herd. After returning later that year, he played again with Tjader.
A second leadership album was recorded in 1957—A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing—but its soft sales caused Fantasy to drop him. Then in 1961, the label re-signed him to record Jazz Impressions of “Black Orpheus," a wildly successful 1959 film. By '61, the movie's soundtrack, composed by Antonio Carlos Jobim and Luiz Bonfa, was a hit, triggering global interest in Brazil's new bossa nova sound.
For his tribute album, Guaraldi decided to add an original tune. The single of his composition, Cast Your Fate to the Wind, appeared on the B-side of a single and became a radio sensation as program directors chose it over the A-side—Samba de Orpheu. Cast Your Fate spent 19 weeks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, peaking at No. 22.
Three years later, in 1964, Guaraldi recorded The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi (Fantasy). Rather than make another straight-ahead jazz album, Guaraldi added Brazilian and Caribbean rhythms to songs and was backed on several tracks by a string quartet. The laid-back album is a terrific, little-known gem and now super-rare on vinyl, running upward of $130. Craft should re-issue it.
After the Latin album, Guaraldi began recording a long list of Charlie Brown albums. On February 6, 1976, moments after completing the first set of a club date in Menlo Park, Ca., he died of a heart attack at age 47.
JazzWax clips: Here's Cast Your Fate to the Wind...
And here's Mr. Lucky, from A Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi...
Bonus: Here's a segment from a 1964 documentary on Guaraldi recording the album Jazz Impressions of “Black Orpheus," with Monty Budwig on bass and Colin Bailey on drums...
This story appears courtesy of JazzWax by Marc Myers.
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