The sincerest form of flattery: 2024 update

This post originally appeared back in December 2012, and was updated in 2016 and 2019. Although it deserves a fresh update this year — thanks to nine new entries! — adding to the original post wouldn't call attention to the enhanced information; there's also no reason newer readers would know anything about it. Ergo, a "repeat performance" with additional material. The sequence is chronological, and the new entries are bolded. Enjoy!

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While writing the final chapter of my book on Guaraldi, when it came time to briefly mention the unusual phenomenon of contemporary musicians who’ve chosen to cover the entire Charlie Brown Christmas score, I paused long enough to wonder whether this has happened very often.

Granted, jazz is a genre that encourages such behavior; consider the number of folks who’ve put their own stamp on, say, Miles Davis’ “All Blues.” But covering an entire album? Surely, that must be unusual.

And, indeed, it is ... but, by a curious coincidence, one of my other favorite jazz albums — also a TV score — has garnered the same attention: Henry Mancini’s iconic soundtrack for Peter Gunn. The series ran for three seasons, from September 1958 through September 1961, and Mancini produced two albums: The Music from Peter Gunn (1958) and More Music from Peter Gunn (1959).

To say that Mancini’s swingin’ themes made a splash would be an understatement. The first album reached No. 1 on Billboard’s Pop LP Chart, and suddenly everybody wanted a piece of the action. All sorts of folks covered the groovin' title theme, with Ray Anthony's version spending 17 weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 chart between January 5 and April 27, 1959; it peaked at No. 8 the week of March 2.

Ted Nash, Maxwell Davis and Pete Candoli had released the first cover album, titled simply Peter Gunn, the year before; Nash, Pete and Conte Candoli, calling themselves the Soundstage All Stars, followed with More Peter Gunn in 1959. Drummer Shelly Manne & His Men also released two albums in 1959: Play Peter Gunn and Son of Gunn. The Joe Wilder Quartet joined the fun in 1959, with Jazz from Peter Gunn; Ray Ellis and his Orchestra followed in 1960, with The Best of Peter Gunn. Manne & His Men returned to the well in 1967, with the outré Jazz Gunn (a little too far out for my taste, but that's just one vote).

It’s simple, really: When listeners really, truly love a particular score, they can’t get enough of it. Leonard Bernstein’s music for West Side Story is another good example; I couldn’t begin to tabulate all the jazz cover versions that album generated.

We therefore shouldn’t be surprised that Guaraldi’s beloved Christmas album has received the same treatment, and increasingly more often as time has passed.

But are they any good?

In most cases, yes, and well worth your time and money. And since this is the holiday season, it seems an appropriate time to discuss them all.

But let’s make it a bit more fun, and score the contestants according to my own whimsical parameters. Points therefore will be awarded for...

1) Covering all four of Guaraldi’s original tunes: “Christmas Time Is Here,” “Christmas Is Coming,” “Skating” and “Linus and Lucy” (5 points each, for a total of 20);

2) Covering all five of the traditional Christmas songs that Guaraldi arranged and included on the album: “O Tannenbaum,” “What Child Is This, (aka Greensleeves)” “My Little Drum (aka The Little Drummer Boy),” “The Christmas Song” and “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” (5 points each, for a total of 25);

3) Plus covering Beethoven’s “Für Elise” (25 point bonus);

4) And presenting them in the same album sequence (50 point bonus).

Fresh jazz covers of additional Christmas songs are nice, but count neither toward nor against the total score. Additional Guaraldi tunes also are welcome, and — again — count neither toward nor against the total score.

Finally, 10 points will be subtracted for unimaginatively calling the album A Charlie Brown Christmas, because that’s confusing. At the very least, the artist(s) in question should give their work some sort of original title.

Please note, though: The final tally applies solely to how faithful the cover elements are, and in no way reflects the musicality present. Jim Martinez’s album may score low in the “perfect cover” department, but it’s one of my favorites on this list.

Onward!

Plenty of Respect: 2024 update

Three years have passed since I last addressed the topic of other jazz artists doing covers of Guaraldi compositions, back in this post.

To recap, the goal is to compile an ever-expanding list of jazz artists who've recorded a) original tribute compositions honoring Guaraldi; and b) covers of Guaraldi compositions other than "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and the Charlie Brown Christmas quartet — "Linus and Lucy," "My Little Drum," "Christmas Is Coming" and "Christmas Time Is Here" — because they've long been popular targets.

(As it happens, I didn't find any new original tribute compositions this time.)

Aside from keeping up with albums released since March 2021, I've also been on the prowl for older works. Spotify, iTunes and discogs have been helpful to a degree, but I really needed a database that could do more precise searches. I recently found a really cool one: The Mechanical Licensing Collective's Musical Works Database, which can be accessed here. The advantage is the ability to search by composition and composer: quite useful with respect to some of Guaraldi's more generic titles. (As the most obvious examples, several people have written songs called "Joe Cool," "Peppermint Patty" and "Pebble Beach.")

Thanks to this database, I discovered — as just one example — that former Guaraldi sideman Eddie Duran covered "Ginza" (aka "Ginza Samba") on his 1979 album of the same title.

The following list represents the new entries which have been added to the master list in the aforementioned March 2021 post. "Macedonia" and the title theme to It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown appear for the first time.

I'm intrigued by the fact that "Great Pumpkin Waltz" seems so popular. Might it blossom into a "breakout cover" that'll become another Guaraldi standard? Time will tell!

• Air Music

Ron LeGault Quintet, Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker

• Charlie Brown Theme

Nate Hance Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas NHanced

Ron LeGault Quintet, Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker

Isaiah J. Thompson Septet, A Guaraldi Holiday

Oliver Mewes Trio, Trio

• Ginza Samba

William Beatty, The Path of Green Stones

Eddie Duran, Ginza

Dick Fregulia Trio, Be There Now!

Claudio Giambruno, Overseas

Giuliano Perin’s Good Vibes Quartet, Sweet Lines

• Great Pumpkin Waltz

Joshua Bowlus, Sleigh Ride

C. Holmes Trio, Christmas & You

Shai Jaschek, First Fall

Luke Carlos O’Reilly, The Perfect Christmas

Mich Shirey Trio, Guitar for Guaraldi

Isaiah J. Thompson Septet, A Guaraldi Holiday

• Happiness Theme

Ron LeGault Quintet, Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker

Harry Skoler, Conversations in the Language of Jazz

• Heartburn Waltz

Isaiah J. Thompson Septet, A Guaraldi Holiday

• It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown

Mark Kross Trio, Cacciatore

• Little Birdie

Clara Plestis (single)

Isaiah J. Thompson Septet, A Guaraldi Holiday

• Macedonia

Guido Pistocchi Quintet, Spring Time

• Oh, Good Grief

Nate Hance Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas NHanced

• Pebble Beach

Mason Embry Trio, A Song for You

Ron LeGault Quintet, Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker

Roby Perissin and the Latin Jazz Ensemble, Tribute to Latin Jazz

• Peppermint Patty

Nate Hance, A Charlie Brown Christmas NHanced

Oliver Mewes Trio, Trio

• Schroeder

Nate Hance Trio, A Charlie Brown Christmas NHanced

• Thanksgiving Theme

Isaiah J. Thompson Septet, A Guaraldi Holiday 

Guaraldi cover albums: a new annual tradition?

As my previous post demonstrates, Guaraldi's music for A Charlie Brown Christmas has become a popular seasonal gig for jazz combos across the country — and in Canada and the UK — who perform in bars, restaurants, concert halls, wineries and pretty much anywhere they can find a stage.

Some of these musicians aren't content to stop with live performances; they're also releasing albums!

Two landed last December (and shame on me, for not calling attention to them here, at the time).

The Music of A Charlie Brown Christmas came from San Antonio-based pianist Doc Watkins, backed by bassist Franklin Skaggs, drummer Ryan Shaw, and an impressively large ensemble. For the past several years, Watkins and his orchestra have presented this program live during most of December, at San Antonio’s JazzTX. (Makes me want to take a quick trip to Texas!)

 

Purists probably will insist that these 10 tracks aren't jazz; the often string-enhanced arrangements hue more closely to what you’d expect from the Boston Pops or a lavish Broadway musical. That’s particularly true with mellow readings of “The Christmas Song,” “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing” and “Skating,” the latter blended with “The Christmas Waltz” (which gives Watkins a chance to demonstrate his vocal chops).

Watkins gets bonus points for covering all of Guaraldi's album, including a sparkling arrangement of “Fur Elise” that opens with Beethoven-esque solo piano, and then kicks into high gear with Shaw’s jump jazz drums and tasty big band swing.