I don’t know how kids learn about things nowadays but growing up as a Gen X-er, most the kids I knew learned a lot from cartoons. For example, many of us developed an appreciation for classical music from the soundtracks of cartoons from the 1930s and ’40s and more specifically where it was part of the plot, such as when Bugs Bunny and Tom the Cat each play a piano recital. Our appreciation for jazz music came from the soundtracks of cartoons from the ’60s and ’70s featuring the Pink Panther and the Peanuts gang. The man responsible for the latter is pianist Vince Guaraldi, whose work is as important as any element of the Peanuts specials.
Buy Vince Guaraldi Trio – Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown (Expanded Edition) CDThe album opens with “Oh, Good Grief.” With Guaraldi’s light tinkling of the keys and with the bass and drum shuffling along in support, one can visualize Charlie Brown and Linus heading somewhere on the sidewalk. “Pebble Beach” has a bossa nova groove. No surprise in regards to those who know Charlie Brown that “Happiness Theme (Happiness Is)” sounds more melancholic than happy.
Next up are a few character themes. Guaraldi’s plays solo and the music sounds more structured, like the classical music “Schroeder” plays. “Charlie Brown Theme” has a similar shuffle sound to “Oh, Good Grief.” “Linus and Lucy” is the signature Guaraldi/Peanuts tune, a joyful number thanks in part to his boogie-woogie piano and Bailey’s shaker percussion. It has become a jazz standard and a Christmas classic thanks to its inclusion in A Charlie Brown Christmas where the gang dances to it.
After another number dedicated to the round-headed kid, “Blue Charlie Brown,” “Baseball Theme” evokes the open space of the field where the gang plays (and typically loses). “Frieda (with the Naturally Curly Hair) closes the main album. The band plays at a tempo with a nice bounce, which is what Frieda’s hair has.
On this Expanded Edition, eleven tracks on Disc 2 are previously unreleased, different takes of songs on Disc 1. The listener can hear changes in the evolution of the songs and presumably, the recording engineer in a faster-paced “Linus And Lucy” (Studio Test). The disc closes with non-Peanuts music, the trio playing Bart Howard’s “Fly Me to the Moon” and Guardali solo on Joseph Kosma’s “Autumn Leaves.” There are essays by Mendelson and music journalist Ralph J. Gleason, which appeared in the original album’s liner notes.
Vince Guaraldi Trio: Jazz Impressions of “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” is highly recommended for fans of Peanuts and fans of jazz. The Expanded Edition might have more than some desire, but those curious about the creation of music will find value in it.
