Overview
“Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown” is the sixth studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, who is known for his music for the animated TV specials “Peanuts” based on Charles M. Schulz’s comic strip.
Commentary
The album was recorded in 1964 by Vince Guaraldi’s piano trio as the soundtrack to “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” (1963), an unreleased CBS TV documentary film about Charles M. Schulz and “Peanuts”. It was released on LP by Fantasy Records in the same year.
This album is Guaraldi’s first soundtrack for “Peanuts”.
This album was released on CD in 1989 under the title of “A Boy Named Charlie Brown” and featured a live bonus track of a jazz standard “Fly Me to the Moon”.
The 2014 remastered CD includes an alternate take of “Baseball Theme”.
“Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown” is a pop-oriented jazz album descended from the 1950s West Coast jazz. It contains easy-to-listen-to tracks with lightly swinging rhythms and catchy melodies.
Several tracks, such as “Pebble Beach” and “Linus and Lucy”, show the influence of bossa nova.
“Linus and Lucy” is one of Guaraldi’s most famous pieces. It was also included in Guaraldi’s eighth studio album “A Charlie Brown Christmas” (1965).
It was used many times in the animated TV specials of “Peanuts” and became the de facto theme song of “Peanuts”.
Guaraldi’s music for “Peanuts” introduced jazz to many children and their parents since the mid-1960s, and contributed to the popularization of jazz in the US.
Track Listing
All the tracks composed by Vince Guaraldi, except where noted.
Original LP
Side One
- Oh, Good Grief (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson) – 2:21
- Pebble Beach – 2:47
- Happiness Is – 3:37
- Schroeder – 1:51
- Charlie Brown Theme (Vince Guaraldi, Lee Mendelson) – 4:20
Side Two
- Linus and Lucy – 3:03
- Blue Charlie Brown – 7:26
- Baseball Theme – 3:13
- Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair) – 4:31
1989 CD
- Fly Me to the Moon (Bart Howard) – 8:55
2014 remastered CD
- Baseball Theme (alternate take) – 1:56
Personnel
Vince Guaraldi Trio
- Vince Guaraldi – piano
- Monty Budwig – double bass
- Colin Bailey – drums