Vince Guaraldi & The Music of Peanuts

The Rare Groove Show

I credit Vince Guaraldi with inspiring my love of jazz. As a kid I was a fan of Charles Schulz' 'Peanuts' in the versions produced for TV by Lee Mendelson & written by Bill Melendez. Guaraldi's cool yet melancholic jazzy licks permeated those cartoons creating the perfect muscial backdrop to the colourful goings on of Charlie Brown, Snoopy, Woodstock & pals. Going back to them as an adult I realise just how perfect they are- not just incidental music but something deeply connected to the Cool Jazz of Guaraldi's native San Francisco. Although unique, you can hear in Guaraldis themes the influence of his mentor, Cal Tjader & fellow players such as Mongo Santamaria, Django Reinhardt, Willie Bobo and Bola Sete. Vince Guaraldi passed away suddenly in 1976.
This mix of unsung music has taken years to hunt down in vinyl form. Some of the songs have been privately pressed by me. It's been a long held ambition to record this mix so do enjoy listening to it & if you do, please take time to give feedback!