The Miracle That Is 
"A Charlie Brown Christmas"
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| Fantasy Archives |
| Vince Guaraldi |
CBS initially disliked the animated special and the music, famously telling Mendelson that jazz didn't fit.
Guaraldi was a slightly built man with black plastic specs, a Von Kaiser mustache and legitimate chops. He came up under legendary Latin jazzman Cal Tjader and played keys alongside percussion kings Willie Bobo and Mongo Santamaria. He even won a Grammy before soundtracking the Peanuts specials. Yet his legacy hinges on these aural companions to the melancholy foibles of Charlie Brown -- especially his Christmastime odes.
It's not about the originality of the songs. After all, these are largely reinterpretations of traditional fare: "O Tannenbaum," "What Child Is This," "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." But Guaraldi modernized them in a timeless and transportive fashion, imbuing the standards with alternately sad and rollicking piano lines, and soft drum fills that mimicked falling snow. It's the rare holiday record that transcends religion, race and weather. After all, everyone knows what it's like to remember.
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