Vince Guaraldi at the Piano
Vince Guaraldi at the Piano, a lengthy career study of the San Francisco-area
jazz pianist who achieved early fame with the hit single "Cast Your Fate to the Wind"
and went on to become the primary musical force behind the Peanuts television franchise,
was published in March 2012 by McFarland & Company, Inc.
At that time, McFarland's Web site had this to say about the book:
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 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. Throughout, this welcome volume conveys the magic and legacy of one of jazz music's
overlooked treasures.
Vince Guaraldi at the Piano featured:
- A foreword by Charles Gompertz, who selected Guaraldi to compose and perform the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass;
- 36 photos;
- Extensive appendices, chapter notes and bibliography, and index;
- A discography and filmography, the latter revealing Guaraldi's rare appearances on camera.
Some sample pages (click on each image to enlarge):
Specifications:
- Softcover; 390 pages
- First edition printed March 2012
- Published by McFarland & Company, Inc.; visit them at their Web site.
On March 15, 2024, McFarland released an updated and expanded second edition, with slightly more than 25 percent new material. Specifications of this new edition include:
- Softcover; 468 pages
- A new foreword by multiple Grammy Award-winning mastering enginer (and longtime Guaraldi fan) Michael Graves;
- 12 new photos and images;
- Two new appendices, expanded chapter notes and bibliography, and index;
- An expanded discography and filmography, the latter revealing Guaraldi's rare appearances on camera.
