Talk:Vince Guaraldi

Tombstone

I removed a bad link to a picture of his tombstone... Did we really need that, anyway? Vince's tombstone -- Ben 23:37, 30 November 2006 (UTC)

No real pictures of the man (non tombstone / stylized)? Maybe off of an album or something? Serpentes 05:38, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

I don't know about copyright, but there's a picture of him on the page I linked above... -- Ben (talk) 05:50, 30 January 2007 (UTC)

Lets put a real picture of Vince here.. what about osmething like this one: http://morbid-curiosity.com/13ef1280.jpg —Preceding unsigned comment added by Lerxt1990 (talk • contribs) 19:22, 28 November 2007 (UTC)

Picture & Clarification

Thought I'd point out that the Charlie Brown Christmas CD has a couple pictures of Vince in the liner notes. I don't recall whether that's considered fair use, so I won't scan them in until I hear otherwise. For comparison, the page on Frank Sinatra has no pictures whatsoever of the man, so I suspect that the liner notes are therefore not considered fair game.

On another note, I saw this in the page: "After Bogas, noted jazz musician David Benoit, who has often credited Guaraldi and the original Peanuts Christmas special music for his interest in jazz." This sentence seems to be missing something, but I'm not sure how to fix it. Is it trying to say that David Benoit did the Peanuts specials after Bogas? 24.58.33.115 —Preceding comment was added at 16:54, 2 December 2007 (UTC)

VG Legacy

Only someone with no knowledge of popular jazz would assert that VG is best-known for Peanuts. He had had a substantial career both before and after that venture. If he's "best-known" for any single things it would be for "Cast Your Fate To The Wind," - a monster hit, covered literally hundreds of times, and as the article attests the reason that he came to the attention of the producers. Guaraldi won a Grammy and played with Cal Tjader - rather more significant achievements than the score for a cartoon.Sensei48 (talk) 08:09, 17 November 2010 (UTC)

A bit more on the Peanuts association

In a video interview, Mendelson mentions asking a few other jazz artists (Brubeck being one) about doing it. Schedule conflicts led to VG doing it. He mentions that later, these artists expressed disappointment that they declined: see this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SkZu5H4Wb_M about 1:40 into it... — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wamnet (talk • contribs) 15:30, 18 December 2010 (UTC)

As to the Peanuts association - imagine being the guy that first heard Linus and Lucy. Yea, OK a lot of true jazz guys downplay common folk opinions. Recall music is communicative... the best communication is one that is universally understood.

And that ostinato in L&L, the intertwined rhythms of the right and left hand, and the way it turns as it reenters the beginning of the theme is sheer genius. I've heard very, very few pianists, even accomplished virtuoso players, get it right.

VG was very excited to do it. You can tell he was stoked. Listen to what Mendelson says about that phone call. You can feel it. Being a hack musician and producer even I can feel it. Been in the studio with artists when it happens. Happened with a Kid's song coloring book session with me; a 70 year old guy on accordion and 5 kids from a local middle school. Did a session later that year for the client with "trained" kids and that one sucked. There's a famous jazz bassist that said a lot of other players wouldn't take jobs 'cause they weren't "cool"...

And note in the Mendelson interview that the "exec's" and even he, felt the CB Xmas special sucked.

Never because of, always in spite of... that's true art. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Wamnet (talk • contribs) 15:26, 18 December 2010 (UTC)

Edit request: The math of ages...

I am curious how Vince can be born in 1928 and die in 1976 and yet be 47 years old at the time of his death. Perhaps either his age or his date of birth can be checked and corrected? Wistar (talk) 22:14, 24 December 2010 (UTC)

Album missing from discography?

I have a copy of one of his early albums, called simply 'Jazz Impressions', recorded in 1956/1957, and released in 1964 on Fantasy Records (3359 in Mono, 8359 in Stereo.) It was re-issued in 1987 and 1995, and again re-mastered in 2010. Can anyone enlighten me as to why this album is not listed in the discography? HardwareLust (talk) 16:56, 2 April 2011 (UTC)

Soundtrack for Charlie Brown

Derrick Bang wrote:
'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... 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... 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.'

Please add Charlie Brown soundtrack details to the article. What is the name of the Vince Guaraldi theme songs in each one? It seems to be the same or similar in many of the CB animations -- how many, which ones? Is it always personally performed by VG? Is a custom version re-recorded for each animation, or do they just keep pasting in the same original recording into each soundtrack? Did they go on re-using the original recording after VG died, or have others performed "his" music?-96.237.13.111 (talk) 22:10, 26 November 2011 (UTC)

Italian American musical family

Laura E. Ruberto wrote (www.i-italy.org/16339/vince-guaraldi-sound-yuletide-these-shores):

Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was born in the North Beach neighborhood of San Francisco and raised out in the Avenues, surrounded by an Italian American musical family, especially on his mother’s side. According to the pianist’s son Dave Guaraldi, Vince was adopted by Tony Guaraldi, after Vince’s mother, Cannella Guaraldi, neè Marcellino, split with his biological father, Vince Delaio (sp?). Guaraldi’s maternal grandfather hailed from Sicily and at least some part of his family emigrated first to New York before coming west.

And although it was his mother who arranged for his piano lessons as a kid, it was his uncles, Joe, a violinst, and Muzzy, a singer, who introduced him to the world of professional music.

Let's try to work these bio details into the article.-96.237.13.111 (talk) 22:23, 26 November 2011 (UTC)