Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown

Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown (stylized with quotation marks as Jazz Impressions of "A Boy Named Charlie Brown") is the sixth studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi (credited to the Vince Guaraldi Trio), released in the U.S. by Fantasy Records in December 1964. It is the soundtrack to the unreleased television documentary film entitled A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

For the 1969 feature film, see A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
For the soundtrack to the 1969 feature film, see A Boy Named Charlie Brown (soundtrack).
Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown
Original 1964 release
Soundtrack album by
Vince Guaraldi
ReleasedDecember 1964 (vinyl)
1989 (CD)
2014 (remastered version)
RecordedOctober 1964
StudioFantasy Recording Studios, San Francisco, California
Genre
Length33:09 (original 1964 release)
44:00 (2014 remaster)
LabelFantasy
Vince Guaraldi chronology
The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi
(1964)		 Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown
(1964)		 From All Sides
(1965)
Singles from Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown
  1. "Oh, Good Grief"/"Linus and Lucy"
    Released: 1964
Alternate cover
1972 re-release, 2014 CD remaster
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[1]
All About Jazz[2]
Five Cents Please[3]
The Boston Globe[4]

Production

Guaraldi was contacted by television producer Lee Mendelson to compose music for a documentary on the comic strip Peanuts and its creator, Charles M. Schulz. Although the special went unaired due Mendelson's failure to secure a sponsor, Guaraldi's selections were released in 1964 as Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Most of the tracks were designed to introduce and accompany specific characters. Although never aired on television, the 30-minute documentary was instrumental in garnering commercial support and the creative teamwork that resulted in A Charlie Brown Christmas in 1965 and Guaraldi's accompanying soundtrack, which has been a perennial holiday favorite.[3]

The album is notable for including the recording of the Peanuts instrumental theme tune, "Linus and Lucy". The version included on the album would be re-released on future Guaraldi albums over the next half-century. Bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey were credited as performing on the album.[1]

Cover artwork and packaging

The original cover of the album consisted of an elaborate gatefold album jacket with a picture of Guaraldi's head attached to a cartoon image of his body. Guaraldi is seen stealing Lucy's affections from Schroeder while seated at his toy piano, with Linus and Charlie Brown playing double bass and guitar with Snoopy dancing alongside of them. The rear cover featured twelve individual Schulz drawings of Peanuts characters, with each drawing reproduced in a larger 8-by-10 format, as frame-ready posters that were stored inside the gatefold.

For the 1972 re-release, the cover art was changed to the 8-by-10 drawing of Charlie Brown seen on his pitcher's mound wearing his yellow striped shirt and baseball cap original used as one of the frame-ready posters. The title was also shortened to simply A Boy Named Charlie Brown, with the subtitle The Original Sound Track Recording of the CBS Television Special.[3]

Release

Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown was released on CD in 1989 under the title A Boy Named Charlie Brown and featured a live bonus track of "Fly Me to the Moon". Fantasy Records also inserted a new cover image featuring Charlie Brown in a red shirt and baseball cap and rolling his eyes. The 2014 remaster was retitled A Boy Named Charlie Brown (The Original Sound Track Recording) (deleting the mention of the CBS Television Special) and contained an alternate take of "Baseball Theme." The cover art also reverted to the original printing release.

Critical reception

Upon its initial release, Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown was a hit and has remained so well into the 21st century.

Guaraldi historian and biographer Derrick Bang commented that, "the importance of this album and its successor, the score to the Christmas special, cannot be overstated; rarely has an entertainment icon been so quickly — and firmly — welded to a musical composition...indeed, to an entire body of work from one individual. Guaraldi defined the Peanuts sound, and it's just as true today as it was in the 1960s. The compositions themselves are uniformly sparkling; it's as if the jazz pianist and his trio were waiting for this precise inspiration."[3] Bang also noted that the album "represents one of the very few times a soundtrack was issued for a program that people never saw."[1][5]

AllMusic critic Richard S. Ginell noted that "the music heard here probably introduced millions of kids (and their parents) to jazz from the mid-'60s onward." He added "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 backing all those cartoon figures and genuine children's voices, a mordant running musical commentary that made its own philosophical points."[1]

Chart performance

The album peaked at number 20 on the Billboard Soundtracks chart on the week ending March 13, 2015.[6]

Track listing

Original 1964 vinyl issue

The following track listing is for the original vinyl release in 1964.

All tracks are written by Vince Guaraldi, except where noted.

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Oh, Good Grief"
2:21
2."Pebble Beach" 2:47
3."Happiness Is" 3:37
4."Schroeder" 1:51
5."Charlie Brown Theme"
  • Vince Guaraldi
  • Lee Mendelson
4:20
Side Two
No.TitleLength
6."Linus and Lucy"3:03
7."Blue Charlie Brown"7:26
8."Baseball Theme"3:13
9."Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair)"4:31
Total length:33:09

1989 CD release
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
10."Fly Me to the Moon" (live)Bart Howard8:55

2014 CD remaster
No.TitleLength
11."Baseball Theme" (alternate take)1:56
Total length:44:00

Personnel

Credits adapted from the original vinyl release.

Vince Guaraldi Trio
Additional

References
  1. Ginell, Richard S.. Review of A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Original Soundtrack) at AllMusic. Retrieved February 4, 2020.
  2. Rickert, David (November 11, 2004). "Vince Guaraldi: A Boy Named Charlie Brown". allaboutjazz.com. All About Jazz. Retrieved May 7, 2020.
  3. Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi on LP and CD: Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  4. Fleming, Colin (May 13, 2014). "'A Boy Named Charlie Brown' displays Vince Guaraldi Trio's many gifts". bostonglobe.com. The Boston Globe. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  5. Bang, Derrick. Liner notes for A Boy Named Charlie Brown: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack (2017); Kritzerland, Inc. Retrieved 7 May 2020
  6. "Vince Guaraldi Trio: Chart History – Soundtracks". Billboard. Retrieved May 14, 2020.
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