Definitive Vince Guaraldi (Bril)

 (13 customer reviews)

Guaraldi had not only a short career but a very erratic discography, with gaps of 4-5 years of apparent non-activity. Disconcerting to his fans (and it's clear he has long had a small but devoted, cult-like following) is the relatively shoddy production values of his few recordings--bad mic placement, out-of-tune pianos, on-location recordings with audience distractions ranging from coughing to conversation.

The present collection captures Guaraldi's deft touch, clever turns of phrase, unexpected shifts in tempo and rhythm sufficiently for listeners to appreciate his unique talent. His is an off-beat, slightly off-kilter melodic-rhythmic sensibility that nevertheless beautifully captures a mood, an aura, an ethnic quality, a seasonal sentiment. Despite his originality, he's one of the more accessible, universally appealing pianists in the music. In some respects, he's a "new-age" version of Thelonious Monk, almost as original and individualistic as the indisputable jazz...Read more

Looks like Mr. Chell took care of most of this one for me, but what I can still do is tell you how this record feels, and I think most would agree that it feels quite good. Out of Vince's 27 albums that came before this, 11 of them being re-mastered versions of older songs, none of them allow you to feel the array of emotions that this one does. It begins with Vince's quartet, including bassist Eugene Wright and drummer John Markham, absolutely nailing a recording of Calling Dr. Funk. This was one of Guaraldi's first big self-composed songs from his first album, Modern Music from San Francisco. Jerry Dodgion helps out on alto sax, by playing the melody with a lagging, relaxing and sexy swing to it, and Guaraldi hides in the back complimenting the sax until he takes lead in the second half. Nick Phillips, the man behind this compilation takes a trip way back with the old George Gershwin song "Fascinating Rhythm," and wow, what a fascinating rhythm. Bola Sete matches the piano...Read more

Okay, Vince Guaraldi's output may have been "erratic," but I can't help but notice that after the immense success of his music in CBS-TV's A CHARLIE BROWN CHRISTMAS (1965), the bigwigs at the network managed to accommodate him. Some people like the roughness of live recordings like those made at concert of nightclub venues; others appreciate the purity of a studio sound.

But surely what counts is that, although Guaraldi's songbook can be "musicogra-phied" to death and holding a nonconformist up to a prolific's quantity of output is a self-defeating proposition, so many people just intuitively love his music, including those who don't normally consider themselves jazz afficionados. I do not any in way think of this two disc-er as high aural quality "minus" some play time to make room for some inferior cuts; I think of it as most of the tracks from THE ESSENTIAL VINCE GUARALDI and a few from his GREATEST HITS album PLUS a solid rack of written-for-Peanuts-specials grooves,...Read more