Vince Guaraldi

Jazzman who made perfect music for Charlie Brown and Snoopy, usually with the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

Information: The Official Site for Vince Guaraldi
Suggested first purchase/album: A Charlie Brown Christmas
Suggested best of: Greatest Hits

Vince Guaraldi Trio: A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965) -- Charles M. Schulz was one of those people who got almost everything right. Converting his cerebral and spare comic into a TV special was a risky move; it could have really sucked, but it was executed perfectly with minimal animation, real children's voices, and of course this perfect music created by Vince Guaraldi and his trio. This album collects the songs from that special and is pretty amazing, both as a soft jazz album and as a Christmas album. "Linus and Lucy" is the most famous song (and for a good reason) and "Christmastime Is Here" is one of the best Christmas songs ever written. Rounding out the collection is an inspired version of "The Little Drummer Boy" called "My Little Drum" (pretty much the only version of that song I like), "Skating," and "Christmas Is Coming." You don't have to be a fan of Charlie Brown to like this music, but -- then again -- who doesn't like Charlie Brown anyway (besides his friends, of course)?

Vince Guaraldi Trio: Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits (1998) -- Recordings from 1964-1975, covering many of the Charlie Brown specials. This is a good collection for when you want to hear some Snoopy music and want more than just the Christmas stuff. Only one song gets in the way, and that's "Oh, Good Grief!" where some kids sing, ruining the flow of the jazz trio music that surrounds it. Highlights include "Track Meet" (a different version of "Christmas Is Coming"), "Charlie Brown Theme," "Great Pumpkin Waltz," a different version of "Linus and Lucy" than the one on the Christmas album, and of course the vocal and non-vocal versions of "Christmastime Is Here."