Rating:
Genre:
Jazz
Release Date: 08/17/2004
Run Time: 33:09
Originally entitled
Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown, this is an important album not only because it is
Guaraldi's first
Peanuts soundtrack, but also because the music heard here probably introduced millions of kids (and their parents) to
jazz from the mid-'60s onward. Actually, this music is the score for a documentary on the
Peanuts phenomenon called
A Boy Named Charlie Brown, which ran before the first
Peanuts specials
per se appeared on the
CBS network. The most remarkable thing, besides the high quality of
Guaraldi's whimsically swinging tunes, is that he did not compromise his art one iota for the cartoon world; indeed, he sounds even more engaged, inventive, and lighthearted in his piano work here than ever. It must have been quite a delightful shock back then to hear a straight-ahead
jazz trio (
Guaraldi,
Monty Budwig, bass;
Colin Bailey, drums) backing all those cartoon figures and genuine children's voices, a mordant running musical commentary that made its own philosophical points. The music on this album laid the groundwork for much that was to come; here is the first appearance of the well-known
bossa nova-influenced
"Linus and Lucy," and fans of the series will recognize such themes from future episodes as
"Baseball Theme" and
"Oh, Good Grief" (which is a rewrite of the
Dixie Belles' hit
"Down at Papa Joe's"). The original LP came with 12 bonus lithographs of
Charles Schulz's celebrated
Peanuts drawings; the only extra thing the CD issue offers is a gratuitous outtake of
"Fly Me to the Moon." ~Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
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