Hidden Gem: Vince Guaraldi Trio’s A Charlie Brown Christmas

This week in hidden gem we are going to take a look at one of the best and sometimes overlook album for the holidays and that album it A Charlie Brown Christmas by the Vince Guaraldi Trio.

The album was recorded in 1965 by the Vince Guaraldi Trio which consists of Vince Guaraldi on both piano and Hammond organ, Jerry Granelli on drums and Fred Marshall on double bass and with a list of other musicians such as:

• Drums– Colin Bailey and Mike Clark for “Greensleeves” and “Thanksgiving Waltz” respectively
• Trombone and Trumpet – Chuck Bennett on trombone for “Thanksgiving Waltz” and Tom Harrell and Manny Klein on trumpet for “Thanksgiving Waltz” and “Great Pumpkin Waltz” respectively
• Bass and Double Bass – Seward McCain on bass for “Thanksgiving Waltz” and Monty Budwig on double bass for “Greensleeves”
• Children’s Chorus – St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in San Rafael, California for the songs “Christmas Time Is Here” and “Hark the Herald Angels Sing”

While the album is a holiday album, it also has that same jazz sound and vibe that Vince Guaraldi is so famous for. While they did use the “Linus and Lucy” theme in this album and other classic Christmas tunes such as “O Tannenbaum” “What Child Is This” and “My Little Drum,” he also created new songs such as “Christmas Time Is Here” and the now-iconic piece “Skating.”

Now I know you are wondering, why I said this album is sometimes overlooked during the holidays, and here why. Around this time a lot of mainstream artists tend to release some kind of Christmas album or recording companies re-release classic top-selling Christmas albums as well. If you go to the malls or coffee shops you won’t hear any of the Trio’s work from A Charlie Brown Christmas and that is a shame because the album really holds up over the years and sounds a lot better then what is being played during this time of year.