Open main menu

Wikipedia

Search

Vince Guaraldi

Article Talk

Language

Download PDF

Watch

Edit

Vincent Anthony Guaraldi (/ɡəˈrældi/; né Dellaglio, July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) 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" and the holiday standard "Christmas Time Is Here". 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. He died of a sudden heart attack in February 1976 at age 47, moments after concluding a
nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California.

Vince Guaraldi

Vinceguaraldi blackwhite.jpg

Guaraldi in 1964

Born

Vincent Anthony Dellaglio[1]

July 17, 1928

San Francisco, California, U.S.

Died

February 6, 1976 (aged 47)

Menlo Park, California, U.S.

Other names

"Dr. Funk""The Italian Leprechaun"

Education

Lincoln High SchoolSan Francisco State College

Occupation

Musiciancomposerarrangerproducer

Known for

Peanuts animated music scores ("Linus and Lucy", "Christmas Time Is Here")"Cast Your Fate to the
Wind"

Spouse(s)

Shirley Moskowitz

(m. 1953; div. 1970)

Musical career

Genres

West Coast jazzLatin JazzBossa novaSoundtrack

Instruments

Pianoguitarvocals

Years active

1953–1976

Labels

FantasyConcordCraftWarner Bros.-Seven ArtsOmnivoreD & DV.A.G. PublishingColumbia

MasterworksKritzerland

Associated acts

Cal Tjader

Bola Sete
Brew Moore

Woody Herman

Gus Mancuso

Frank Rosolino

Conte Candoli

Stan Getz

Jimmy Witherspoon

Jerry Granelli

Ben Webster

Grateful Dead[2]

Website

Vince Guaraldi

Early career Edit

Guaraldi was born in San Francisco's North Beach area, a place that became very important to his
blossoming musical career.[3] His last name changed to "Guaraldi" after his mother, Carmella (née
Marcellino; 1908–1999), divorced his biological father (whose last name was Dellaglio) and married Tony
Guaraldi, who adopted the boy.[1] Growing up, Guaraldi was influenced by both of his maternal uncles,
Joe and Maurice "Muzzy" Marcellino, both of whom headed jazz big bands in San Francisco for many
years.[4] He graduated from Lincoln High School,[5] briefly attended San Francisco State College, and
served in the United States Army as a cook in Korea from 1946 to 1948.

Guaraldi's first recording was an unreleased demo made with Tom Hart in mid-1951.[6] His first official
recording was made in November 1951 with Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio. The songs—"Chopsticks Mambo",
"Vibra-Tharpe", "Three Little Words" and "Lullaby of the Leaves"[7]—were released in December 1953
on the 10-inch LP record, The Cal Tjader Trio.[6] By summer 1954, Guaraldi had formed his first trio, with
Eddie Duran (guitar) and Dean Reilly (double bass),[8] and regularly performing in the house band at the
hungry i jazz club in San Francisco, backing the singer Faith Winthrop.[9]

Guaraldi's first recorded debut as a group leader occurred in August 1955 during a live session held at
the Blackhawk. Of the tracks recorded, two of them ("Ginza" and "Calling Dr. Funk" the former recorded
as part of the Ron Crotty Trio) were original compositions. The sessions were eventually released by
Fantasy Records in March 1956 on Modern Music from San Francisco. Fantasy was impressed enough
with Guaraldi to offer him an exclusive contract in April 1956, yielding his debut album, Vince Guaraldi
Trio, which featured Duran and Reilly sans drummer. At the time, Guaraldi was subsequently appearing
with Woody Herman's Third Herd, delivering energetic performances on a regular basis−a sharp contrast
from the quiet recordings featured on his debut release.[10]

Guaraldi then reunited with Tjader in August 1956 and was an integral part of two bands that the
vibraphonist assembled. The first band played mainly straight jazz and included Al Torre (drums), Eugene
Wright (bass) and Luis Kant (congas and bongos).[11] The second band was formed in the spring of 1958
and included Al McKibbon (bass), Mongo Santamaría (congas and bongos) and Willie Bobo (drums and
timbales). Reed men Paul Horn and Jose "Chombo" Silva were also added to the group for certain live
performances and recordings.[12]

Guaraldi recorded his follow-up album, A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing in April 1957, again featuring
Duran and Reilly and again without a drummer. The album, released in April 1958, did not perform well,
and Fantasy did not retain Guaraldi.[13]

Mainstream success Edit

(L to R) Guaraldi, Bernard Bragg and Don Freeman on set at a KQED television program, April 1961

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/Luiz 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 turning 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 hit, spending 19 weeks on the Top
100 chart and peaking at No. 22—an unusual feat for a jazz instrumental.[4] Guaraldi ultimately won a
Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition. Guaraldi never minded taking requests to play it when he
appeared live. "It's like signing the back of a check", he once remarked. When asked by San Francisco
Chronicle jazz critic Ralph J. Gleason if he felt like he sold out with the song, Guaraldi responded, "I feel I
bought in."[14][15] Guaraldi later commented, "I don't think I'm a great piano player, but I would like to
have people like me, to play pretty tunes and reach the audience. And I hope some of those tunes will
become standards. I want to write standards, not just hits."[16]
Guaraldi (left), Fred Marshall and Jerry Granelli performing as the Vince Guaraldi Trio in 1963.

Fantasy quickly capitalized on Guaraldi's unexpected success by releasing In Person, a live album
recorded at the Trident in Sausalito, California in December 1962. Guaraldi then recorded an album
called Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends with guitarist Bola Sete, Fred Marshall (bass) and Jerry
Granelli (drums). 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. An appearance on
Ralph Gleason's television series Jazz Casual drew greater attention to the Guaraldi/Sete collaboration
(the episode was posthumously released in CD in 2001), followed by the January 1965 release of From
All Sides. A live performance recorded at the El Matador jazz club in Spring 1965 was released in October
1966 on Live at El Matador (Guaraldi's final release on Fantasy).

Guaraldi decided to experiment with combining Latin jazz and orchestral instrumentation on his next
release, The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi (1964). For the album's orchestrations, Guaraldi turned to Jack
Weeks, son of bandleader Anson Weeks, who had previously worked with Guaraldi peers Cal Tjader and
Dave Brubeck.[17] 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.[18]

Stern Grove Festival 1966

Vince Guaraldi Group

Shortly after this time, Guaraldi was invited to compose a "jazz mass" with the Eucharist chorus of San
Francisco's 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 as At Grace Cathedral.[16]

Guaraldi's relationship with Fantasy Records began to sour by 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 early
1966 in an effort to sever all relationships with the label; Fantasy promptly countersued.[19] Fantasy
executive Saul Zaentz became president in 1967, eventually buying the company from original owners
Max and Soul Weiss in December of that year.[20] The sale of Fantasy Records to Zaentz resulted in both
Guaraldi and the label dismissing the twin lawsuits, leaving Guaraldi a free agent.[19] 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."[21]

During the period of flux with Fantasy in 1967, Guaraldi formed his own record label, D & D (named after
his children, David and Dia), and released his only album on the label in December 1967, Vince Guaraldi
with the San Francisco Boys Chorus.[19]

Compositions for Charles Schulz's Peanuts

Later years

Death and impact

Personal life

Legacy

Band members

Discography

Peanuts soundtrack list

References

External links

Last edited 1 day ago by Rlink2

RELATED ARTICLES

Linus and Lucy

1964 single by Vince Guaraldi

A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack)

1965 soundtrack album by Vince Guaraldi

Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown

1964 soundtrack album by Vince Guaraldi

Wikipedia

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless otherwise noted.

Privacy policy Terms of UseDesktop