Vince Guaraldi
Vincent Anthony Guaraldi , born Vincent Anthony Dellaglio, was an American jazz pianist noted for his innovative compositions and arrangements and for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip including their signature melody, "Linus and Lucy". He is also known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. His 1962 composition "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition.
Early career and Grammy Award
Guaraldi was born in San Francisco's North Beach area, a place that became very important to his blossoming musical career. His last name changed to "Guaraldi" after his mother, Carmella, divorced his biological father and married Tony Guaraldi, who adopted the boy. His maternal uncle was musician, singer, and whistler Muzzy Marcellino. He graduated from Lincoln High School, attended San Francisco State College, and served in the United States Army as a cook in the Korean War.Guaraldi's first recording was made in November 1953 with Cal Tjader and was released early in 1954. The 10-inch LP record was called The Cal Tjader Trio, and included "Chopsticks Mambo", "Vibra-Tharpe", and "Lullaby of the Leaves". By 1955, Guaraldi had his own trio with Eddie Duran and Dean Reilly. He then reunited with Tjader in June 1956 and was an integral part of two bands that the vibraphonist assembled. The first band played mainly straight jazz and included Al Torre, Eugene Wright and Luis Kant. The second band was formed in the spring of 1958 and included Al McKibbon, Mongo Santamaría and Willie Bobo. Reed men Paul Horn and Jose "Chombo" Silva were also added to the group for certain live performances and recordings.
Guaraldi left the group early in 1959 to pursue his own projects full-time. He might have remained a well-respected, but minor jazz figure had he not written an original number to fill out his covers of Antonio Carlos Jobim/Luis Bonfá tunes on his 1962 album, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, inspired by the French/Brazilian film Black Orpheus. Fantasy Records released "Samba de Orpheus" as a single, trying to catch the building bossa nova wave, but it was destined to sink without a trace when radio DJs began flipping it over and playing the B-side, Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind". A gentle, likeable tune, it stood out from everything else on the airwaves and became a grass-roots hit and won the Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition. While "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" by Guaraldi achieved modest chart success as a single in 1963, a cover version two years later by British group Sounds Orchestral cracked the Billboard top 10. Guaraldi never minded taking requests to play it when he appeared live. "It's like signing the back of a check", he once remarked. He also said, "I want to write standards, not just hits."
Guaraldi then recorded an album called Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends with guitarist Bola Sete, Fred Marshall and Jerry Granelli. This began a period of collaboration between Guaraldi and Sete where Guaraldi began experimenting with bossa nova-influenced music as well as with the electric piano. This experimentation may have led to the loss of Fred Marshall, who left the group in 1964 citing "personal differences" after Guaraldi purportedly threw a cup of coffee at Marshall during the 17th Berkeley Jazz Festival. Shortly after this time, Guaraldi was invited to compose a "jazz mass" the Eucharist chorus at the San Francisco Grace Cathedral. Utilizing his Latin influences from his bossa nova days with Sete, Guaraldi composed a number of pieces with waltz tempos and jazz standards. The performance was recorded on May 21, 1965 and released that September on At Grace Cathedral.
Guaraldi's relationship with Fantasy Records began to sour by late 1965 after it was learned he was receiving only five percent of every record sale while Fantasy retained the remaining 95 percent. He sued in April 1966 in an effort to sever all relationships with the label; Fantasy promptly countersued. Fantasy executive Saul Zaentz became president in 1967, eventually buying the company from original owners the Weiss brothers in December of that year. The sale of Fantasy Records to Zaentz resulted in both Guaraldi and the label dismissing the twin lawsuits, leaving Guaraldi a free agent. His final album for the label, Live at El Matador, had been released in October 1966. 35 years after Guaraldi's death, Fantasy Records and its parent company Concord Music, were sued by Guaraldi's children for engaging in "a system" of "serving false and deceptive statements while underreporting units sold and underpaying royalties." Their lawsuit, filed in December 2011, claimed a private accountant uncovered a discrepancy of at least $2 million for the years 2005–2010 alone. When asked if the alleged wrongdoing goes back decades further, the Guaraldi family's attorney Alan Neigher responded, "Well, we hope it does."
During the period of flux with Fantasy in 1967, Guaraldi formed his own record label, D&D, and released his only album on the label in December 1967, Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus.
Compositions for Charles Schulz's ''Peanuts''
In 1963, while searching for music to accompany a planned Peanuts documentary entitled A Boy Named Charlie Brown, television producer Lee Mendelson heard "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the radio while driving home from a meeting with Peanuts creator Charles M. Schulz. Mendelson then contacted San Francisco Chronicle jazz critic Ralph J. Gleason, who put him in touch with Guaraldi. Mendelson offered Guaraldi the job of composing several jazz scores for the documentary, which Guaraldi gladly accepted. Within several weeks, Mendelson received a call from an excited Guaraldi who wanted to play a piece of music he had just written. Mendelson, not wanting his first experience to the new music to be marred by the poor audio qualities of a telephone, suggested coming over to Guaraldi’s studio. Guaraldi enthusiastically refused, saying "I’ve got to play this for someone right now or I’ll explode!" He then begun playing the yet-untitled "Linus and Lucy" for Mendelson, who agreed the song was perfect for Schulz’s Peanuts characters.The documentary soundtrack, entitled Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown, was recorded by Guaraldi's current trio in October 1964 and released in December of that year. Although the documentary was ultimately shelved due to Mendelson's inability to secure sponsorship, Schulz and Mendelson retained Guaraldi for the upcoming Peanuts Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas. The soundtrack album was recorded by the Vince Guaraldi Trio, this time featuring drummer Jerry Granelli and bassist Fred Marshall, and contained the songs "Christmas Time Is Here", "Skating" and "Linus and Lucy". Both the seasonal television special and accompanying soundtrack were very successful.
All involved with the project initially regarded the stunning success of A Charlie Brown Christmas as something of a one-time fluke, but the second official Peanuts television special—Charlie Brown's All Stars!—was televised in June 1966 to similarly high ratings and acclaim. It was at this point that Schulz, Mendelson and animator Bill Melendez focused on creating another holiday blockbuster in the vein of A Charlie Brown Christmas, eventually titled It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Guaraldi spent most of summer 1966 composing cues for the Halloween-themed special, strongly encouraging Mendelson to consider making "Linus and Lucy," which had been featured prominently in the Christmas special, the unofficial Peanuts theme. Guaraldi did not include the song in the music score for Charlie Brown's All Stars! and worked to correct that oversight by featuring it throughout It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Melendez responded to Guaraldi's suggestion by beginning the special with a lengthy cold open sequence sans dialogue, employing only music and sound effects to convey Linus and Lucy's search for a pumpkin. Guaraldi recorded a fresh version of "Linus and Lucy" for the opening sequence as a sextet, featuring Budwig and Bailey, as well as trumpeter Emmanuel Klein, guitarist John Gray, and flautist Ronnie Lang. Lang's flute counterpoint was featured throughout the new version of "Linus and Lucy", resulting in the song ultimately becoming the Peanuts franchise signature melody.
Guaraldi went on to compose scores for thirteen additional Peanuts television specials, as well as the 1969 feature film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Despite the wealth of Peanuts material Guaraldi recorded, only A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Boy Named Charlie Brown received official soundtrack releases during his lifetime.
"I have always felt that one of the key elements that made was the music," said Mendelson in 2010. "It gave it a contemporary sound that appealed to all ages. Although Vince had never scored anything else and although I was basically a documentary film maker at the time, we started to work together on the cues because we both loved jazz and we both played the piano. So he would bring in the material for each scene and we would go over it scene by scene. Most of the time, the music worked perfectly. But there were times we would either not use something or use it somewhere else. We went through this same process on all sixteen shows. Although there was always some left over music, most of the time what he wrote and performed is what went on the air."
Later years
Guaraldi's final three albums released during his lifetime were recorded for Warner Bros.-Seven Arts after spending nearly two years trying to extricate himself from Fantasy Records. Warner signed Guaraldi to a three-record deal in early 1968, insisting that his inaugural release consist of Peanuts material. This was done in part to fill the void left by a lack of soundtrack albums to accompany the successful television specials, Charlie Brown's All Stars!, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, You're in Love, Charlie Brown and He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown. Guaraldi responded with new renditions of eight of his most popular scores from those programs on his first release, Oh Good Grief!.Guaraldi was then given complete artistic control over his sophomore, self-produced Warner effort, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi, resulting in an unfocused and overindulgent album that was not well received by both critics and consumers. At Warner's insistence, arranger Shorty Rogers was recruited to produce Guaraldi's final album, Alma-Ville. Though deemed a focused improvement over the previous album, Warner did not promote the album, ultimately choosing to not retain Guaraldi at the end of their three-record deal. Both The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi and Alma-Ville gradually fell into obscurity, while Oh Good Grief! remained a steady seller due to the perpetual popularity of the Peanuts franchise.
After working on the soundtrack for the Peanuts feature film , Guaraldi ceased releasing any new material. In his review of The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings, The Recoup critic Joseph Kyle lamented, "frustrated and unable to secure a record deal, he spent the remainder of his life as a live performer, recording more soundtrack material, and banking on the goodwill his Peanuts compositions earned him." Guaraldi's sound also evolved into a more fusion jazz/rock sound, as he largely traded the piano for Hammond B-3 and Fender Rhodes electric keyboards. His live performances included musicians that specialized in funk and soul as well as traditional jazz. Posthumous releases Oaxaca and Live on the Air feature live performances recorded during this period of transition.
All Peanuts soundtracks scored after Play It Again, Charlie Brown feature Guaraldi favoring electric keyboards over traditional piano as well. You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown, Guaraldi's penultimate music score, fused his fusion jazz style with the funk, disco and pop music that was popular at the time coupled with the use of the ARP String Ensemble synthesizer.
Guaraldi biographer and historian Derrick Bang put the musician's later years in perspective, saying, "As jazz clubs were closing in the 1960s, with the advent of rock 'n' roll—a development that put many jazz musicians out of work—Guaraldi embraced the enemy, adjusting his style and approach to include electric keyboards. By the mid-'70s, he had become a respected veteran in what remained of the declining Northern California jazz club scene."
Death
Guaraldi died suddenly at age 47 on February 6, 1976. The evening before, he had dined at Peanuts producer Lee Mendelson's home and was reportedly not feeling well, complaining of indigestion-like chest discomfort. The following evening, after concluding the first set at Butterfield's Nightclub in Menlo Park, California, with his interpretation of the Beatles' "Eleanor Rigby", Guaraldi and drummer Jim Zimmerman returned to the room in which they were staying that weekend at the adjacent Red Cottage Inn, to relax before the next set. Zimmerman commented, "He was walking across the room and just collapsed. That was it." His cause of death has been variously described as a heart attack or an aortic aneurysm. Guaraldi had just finished recording the soundtrack for It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown earlier that afternoon.Guaraldi's death was a blow to his colleagues. "It was totally unexpected", said Mendelson. "The day of his funeral, they played the Charlie Brown music over the sound system in the church. It was not an easy day; he was so young. It was one of the saddest days of my life. He was up to my house the night before , and said he had not been feeling well, and didn't know what it was." Peanuts animator Bill Meléndez added, "He was a real good guy and we miss him." He was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery in Colma, California.
Personal
Guaraldi married high school girlfriend Shirley Moskowitz on February 1, 1953. She initially filed for divorce on April 21, 1966, citing "extreme cruelty." Their divorce was not finalized until December 8, 1970. The union produced two children: David Anthony Guaraldi and Dia Lisa. Guaraldi also had a long-term affair with Gretchen Glanzer, with whom he appeared on the cover of his 1964 album, The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi.Legacy
A book-length biography of Guaraldi was published in March 2012. Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, by author and Guaraldi archivist Derrick Bang, chronicles Guaraldi's career and role in the Northern California jazz scene, and also includes a complete discography and filmography, as well as an appendix of quotations from Guaraldi's former sidemen.Jazz musician David Benoit has often credited Guaraldi and the Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack for his interest in jazz. In 1985, Benoit recorded a cover of Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy" for an album called This Side Up, which enjoyed considerable radio airplay and helped launch the smooth jazz genre. He released "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the album Waiting for Spring in 1989.
Pianist George Winston released a Guaraldi tribute album in 1996 titled Linus and Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi. Winston performed many Peanuts songs that had not been released by Guaraldi. "I love his melodies and his chord progressions", Winston said of Guaraldi. "He has a really personal way of doing voicings. His music is part of our culture and we know it even if we don’t know Vince. He had three bags: the Latin, the Peanuts, and the impressionistic 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' stuff. And those three bags are all his." The album was very successful, leading Winston to record a follow-up, titled Love Will Come – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2, released in early 2010.
Mendelson reflected on Guaraldi's contribution to the Peanuts franchise when Winston released his two tribute albums, saying "Several generations have now grown up with Vince Guaraldi's music. If people hear just one or two bass notes of the intro to 'Linus and Lucy', they cheer. The Peanuts programs and Vince's music were such a wonderful marriage. It's a shame it got cut off so soon, but people like George are perpetuating it, for which we are very appreciative."
In 2003, Guaraldi's son David began working to secure the necessary licenses to distribute some of his father's previously unreleased material. The first release, The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites, featured an archived 1969 live performance of the seven-part "Charlie Brown Suite". Other releases include Oaxaca, North Beach, Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volumes 1 and 2, Live on the Air and An Afternoon with the Vince Guaraldi Quartet.
In 2010, a two-hour documentary entitled The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi was released, featuring recently discovered and restored footage of Guaraldi's appearances and recording sessions. The documentary also featured new performances and insights from Winston, Dave Brubeck, Dick Gregory, Jon Hendricks, Leonard Maltin, Paul Krassner and surviving Guaraldi sidemen Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly, and Jerry Granelli. The documentary was co-produced by Toby Gleason and filmmaker Andrew Thomas. The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi was the recipient of five "Best Documentary" awards, and was a special presentation at the Library of Congress and Monterey Jazz Festival. Gleason commented, "let's just agree that Vince Guaraldi re-invented the sound of the modern American Christmas."
In his review of The Definitive Vince Guaraldi, All About Jazz critic David Rickert credited Guaraldi for introducing many to the world of jazz music "before we even knew what it was. 's soundtracks for the Peanuts television specials were a novel idea in cartoon scoring, yet seemed to perfectly fit the deceptively sophisticated adventures of Charlie Brown and the rest of the Peanuts gang. His originals were some of the best jazz to come from the West Coast scene and a tribute to what can happen when a great muse hits a gifted composer."
Discography
As leader/co-leader
| Year released | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
| 1964 | Jazz Impressions | Fantasy | features tracks from Vince Guaraldi Trio and A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing |
| 1980 | Greatest Hits | Fantasy | Trio |
| 1998 | Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits | Fantasy | Trio; features previously released tracks from Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Christmas plus unreleased music cues from A Charlie Brown Christmas, It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown ; version of "Joe Cool" included is not a Guaraldi song; it is a composite of two music cues composed by Ed Bogas and Desirée Goyette for The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show |
| 2003 | The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites | RCA/Bluebird | Sextet; with Eddie Duran, Fred Marshall, Peter Marshall, John Waller, Bob Belanski ; ; mix of unreleased live and studio-based tracks; "The Charlie Brown Suite" recorded live with Amici Della Musica at Mr. D's, San Francisco, California, May 18, 1969 |
| 2004 | Oaxaca | D&D | Quartet; with Vince Denham, Koji Kataoka, Mike Clark ; mix of unreleased live and studio-based tracks; live tracks recorded at In Your Ear Jazz Club in Palo Alto, California and The Matrix in San Francisco, California |
| 2006 | North Beach | D&D | Quartet; with Eddie Duran, Seward McCain, Peter Marshall, Al Coster, Jerry Granelli, Eliot Zigmund ; mix of unreleased live and studio-based tracks |
| 2007 | Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials | D&D | Sextet; with Tom Harrell, Chuck Bennett, Pat O'Hara, Seward McCain, Mike Clark, Glenn Cronkite, Mark Rosengarden ; includes music cues from Play It Again, Charlie Brown, You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving and You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown |
| 2008 | Vince Guaraldi and the Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volume 2 | D&D | Sextet; with Tom Harrell, Chuck Bennett, Pat O'Hara, Seward McCain, Peter Marshall, Mike Clark, Glenn Cronkite, Mark Rosengarden, Al Coster ; includes music cues from You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown, There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown, A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown, It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown and Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown |
| 2009 | Essential Standards | Concord/Original Jazz Classics | |
| 2009 | The Definitive Vince Guaraldi | Fantasy/Concord | |
| 2010 | Peanuts Portraits | Fantasy/Concord | version of "Sally's Blues" included is not a Guaraldi song; it is music cue composed by Ed Bogas and Desirée Goyette for The Charlie Brown and Snoopy Show, often associated with Marcie rather than Sally |
| 2012 | The Very Best of Vince Guaraldi | Fantasy/Concord | |
| 2015 | Peanuts Greatest Hits | Fantasy/Concord | |
| 2018 | The Complete Warner Bros.–Seven Arts Recordings | Omnivore Recordings | Includes Guaraldi's final three studio albums remastered: Oh Good Grief!, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi and Alma-Ville |
| Year released | Title | Label | Personnel/Notes |
| 1963 | In Person | Fantasy | Quintet; with Eddie Duran, Fred Marshall, Colin Bailey, Benny Valarde ; recorded live at the Trident, Sausalito, California on December 4, 1962 |
| 1965 | At Grace Cathedral | Fantasy | Trio; with Tom Breeson, Lee Charlton ; recorded live at Grace Cathedral in San Francisco, California on May 21, 1965 |
| 1966 | Live at El Matador | Fantasy | Trio; with Tom Beeson, Lee Charlton ; additional: Bola Sete ; recorded live at the El Matador, San Francisco, California, Spring 1965 |
| 2001 | Jazz Casual: Paul Winter/Bola Sete and Vince Guaraldi | Koch Jazz | Trio; with Fred Marshall, Jerry Granelli, television recording; originally broadcast on September 25, 1963 |
| 2008 | Live on the Air | D&D | Trio; with Seward McCain, Eliot Zigmund ; recorded live at Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, California, February 6, 1974 |
| 2010 | The Navy Swings | V.A.G. Publishing | Trio; with Tom Beeson, Lee Charlton ; additional: Bola Sete ; recorded live in May–June 1965 |
| 2011 | An Afternoon with the Vince Guaraldi Quartet | V.A.G. Publishing | Quartet; with Eddie Duran, Andy Acosta, Al Coster ; recorded live at the Old Town Theater, Los Gatos, California, October 17-29, 1967 |
Additional sources:
Chart entries
As sideman
- 1953 The Cal Tjader Trio
- 1956 Introducing Gus Mancuso
- 1957 Jazz at the Blackhawk
- 1957 Cal Tjader
- 1957 Conte Candoli Quartet
- 1957
- 1958 Mas Ritmo Caliente
- 1958 Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet
- 1958 Latin Concert
- 1959 A Night at the Blackhawk
- 1959 Latin For Lovers
- 1959 Tjader Goes Latin
- 1959 West Coast Jazz in Hifi
- 1959 Latinsville!
- 1960 Little Band Big Jazz
- 1974 Jimmy Witherspoon & Ben Webster — Previously Unissued Recordings
- 2008 Live at the Monterey Jazz Festival 1958-1980
- 2012 The Cal Tjader Quintet Live at Club Macumba San Francisco 1956
Albums showcasing or featuring Guaraldi's music
- 1970 James Gang Rides Again – James Gang
- 1988 Quiet as the Moon – Dave Brubeck
- 1989 Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown – various artists, including B.B. King, Chick Corea, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck
- 1995 Joe Cool's Blues – Wynton Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis, Jr.
- 1996 Linus and Lucy – The Music of Vince Guaraldi – George Winston
- 2000 – David Benoit
- 2000 A Charlie Brown Christmas – Cyrus Chestnut Trio
- 2000 The Seventh Song – Steve Vai
- 2006 Wintersong – Sarah McLachlan
- 2009 Christmas Cheers – Straight No Chaser
- 2010 Merry Christmas II You – Mariah Carey
- 2010 Love Will Come – The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2 – George Winston
- 2010 BlackenedWhite – MellowHype
- 2013 The Wolf of Wall Street: Music from the Motion Picture
''Peanuts'' soundtrack list
| Year released | Title | Personnel | Soundtrack availability |
| 1969 | A Boy Named Charlie Brown | Nonet; with Conte Candoli, Milton Bernhart, Herb Ellis, Monty Budwig, Peter Marshall, Victor Feldman, Jack Sperling, Jerry Granelli | • ' • ' |