Although Vince Guaraldi’s playful jazz piano themes for the early Peanuts animated television specials are well known, the composer himself remains largely unheralded. More than merely “the Peanuts guy,” Guaraldi cut his jazz teeth as a member of combos fronted by Cal Tjader and Woody Herman, and garnered Top 40 fame with his Grammy Award–winning hit “Cast Your Fate to the Wind.”
This career study, extensively updated, gives Guaraldi long-overdue recognition, chronicling his years as a sideman; his attraction to the emerging bossa nova sound of the late 1950s; his collaboration with Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete; his development of the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass; his selection as the fellow to put the jazz swing in Charlie Brown’s step; and his emergence as a respected veteran in the declining Northern California jazz club scene of the 1970s. Ironically, his place in the jazz universe has grown exponentially since this book’s initial 2012 publication, and this second edition acknowledges such honors and features a wealth of new material.

Derrick Bang has written film, television, music, and general entertainment commentary for magazines and local newspapers since 1974, and supplies regular columns and features to The Davis Enterprise. He lives in Davis, California.

Derrick Bang
Forewords by Charles Gompertz and Michael Graves
Format: softcover (7 x 10)
Pages: 478
Bibliographic Info: 45 photos, filmography, discography, appendices, notes, bibliography, index
Copyright Date: 2024
pISBN: 978-1-4766-9207-4
eISBN: 978-1-4766-5223-8
Imprint: McFarland

Acknowledgments v
Foreword to the First Edition by Charles Gompertz 1
Foreword to the Second Edition by Michael Graves 3
Preface 7
Prologue: “The Sound of Surprise” 11
1. Family Ties: Growing Up Jazzy 15
2. Adante: Becoming One of Tjader’s Raiders 25
3. i on the Future: Security as a House Band 36
4. Galloping with the Herd: On the Road with Woody Herman 52
5. Tjader Redux: Seduced by Bossa Nova 60
6. Adagio: A Heaping Helping of Vince on the Side 80
7. Allegro Molto: “Fate” Steps In 104
8. Sittin’ in with Sete: Bola Joins the Band 132
9. A Year of Grace: Performing in the “Big House” 153
10. Presto: Putting the Swing in Charlie Brown’s Step 171
11. Calling His Own Shots 210
12. You’re a Movie Star, Charlie Brown: ­Big-Screen Glory 246
13. Intermezzo: The Good Life 277
14. Lento: Done Too Soon 306
15. Postlude: The Slow but Steady Road to Immortality 322
Epilogue 1: A Windy Evening in Sausalito 370
Epilogue 2: A Warm Afternoon in San Francisco 374
Epilogue 3: A Muggy Morning in Pennsylvania 378
Appendix A: Remembering Dr. Funk 381
Appendix B: Discography 385
Appendix C: Filmography 414
Appendix D: Guaraldi in Popular Culture 418
Appendix E: Honored by His Peers 421
Chapter Notes 425
Bibliography 449
Index 453