Life brings constant surprises.
That's a good thing; it would be terrible to wake one morning, realizing that the world offered no more mysteries, no more unexpected answers.
Discovery is one of life's many spices.
Happily, I continue to discover new wonders about Guaraldi's life and recorded output. Some things come my way via helpful correspondents; other items wander across my path entirely by accident, usually while I'm seeking additional sources for some other piece of information.
Two recent finds, then: both concerning Guaraldi's recordings on 45 singles.
By now, we all know the story about how "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" was "discovered" by Tony Bigg, a DJ at KROY 1240 AM, in Sacramento, California. Having received a copy of Fantasy's single for Guaraldi's album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, Bigg played and enjoyed the A-side selection, "Samba de Orpheus." But he was totally knocked out by the B-side song, "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," and played it as often as possible. He very likely sparked public awareness of the song, which quickly spread throughout the Golden State, and then the rest of the country, eventually earning Guaraldi a Grammy Award.
Okay, that's familiar history.
But here's my fresh question: Might Bigg have been playing a red vinyl 45?
It's also well-known that — during the label's early years — Fantasy Records got considerable mileage from its gimmick of issuing LPs on colored vinyl, generally red or blue. Old news.
Until a few weeks ago, however, I'd never heard of — let alone seen, or been lucky enough to own — a colored vinyl single.
And yet here it is, thanks to a recent eBay auction.
Fascinating, eh?
The question now is whether only promotional 45s were issued on red vinyl, and perhaps only the first printing of same. That seems logical, and they're certainly rare; standard singles of "Samba" and "Fate" are as common as blades of grass, and they pop up all over the place. This red one, though, is something truly special.
And it begs a question: Were any of Guaraldi's other Fantasy 45s released on colored vinyl?
I suspect not. Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus was the last Guaraldi LP originally released on colored vinyl — red (mono) and blue (stereo) — and Fantasy discontinued this practice shortly thereafter. In other words, all of Guaraldi's subsequent 45s were attached to LPs issued solely on standard black vinyl, so the singles would have been pressed the same way, also on black vinyl.
That was the first surprise.
Within a few days of my obtaining this little treasure, I learned about the existence of another hitherto-unknown Guaraldi 45, this one derived from the "storybook LP" released as a soundtrack, of sorts, for the 1969 big-screen film A Boy Named Charlie Brown. Guaraldi's isolated score for this film remains a major unreleased item in the soundtrack world, a sad and frustrating story I detailed at great length in an earlier post.
To my knowledge, however, Columbia Records never released a single from this LP ... at least, not in the United States.
During a routine perusal of the Guaraldi titles referenced at the very handy Discogs site, I unexpectedly came across a listing for a French single (CBS 5399), released in 1970. The gatefold-style packaging is quite attractive, as you can see from the images here. The A-side contains Rod McKuen's title song, while the B-side is unusual for its presentation of two tracks: short versions of McKuen's "Champion Charlie Brown" and Guaraldi's "Snoopy on Ice" (actually "Skating").
Granted, Guaraldi's contribution runs a scant 95 seconds, but that's still enough for this disc to qualify for inclusion in Dr. Funk's library of 45s.
Assuming you can find one. As these words are typed, the aforementioned Discogs entry lists 10 people who'd like to find this little disc, while also showing the disheartening word "never" under "Last sold." I therefore suspect that finding a copy of this puppy might be even harder than landing "Fate" on red vinyl.
But — as I said above — what fun would life be, if we didn't have things to desire, and search for ... awaiting that golden moment of triumph, when...
Sigh. If only, right?
Pianist Larry Vuckovich was Guaraldi's one and only student, having "graduated" to Vince's mentorship in the late 1950s, after taking early keyboard lessons from Cal Tjader's wife, Pat.
Larry was one of my best interviews, during the course of researching my Guaraldi biography. Larry's devotion to his former teacher remains strong to this day, as typified by this quote:
"Hearing Vince all the time was an uplifting experience. That's one of the things that the young players miss today: They hear a lot of jazz from the newer players, but they never heard Charlie Parker, Lester Young, Stan Getz, Sonny Rollins or Coltrane. I heard most of those players live, every week, and that's how you learn."
When Guaraldi earned a two-week gig in New York during the summer of 1960, backing singer June Christie at Basin Street East, he didn't want to lose his ongoing trio booking at Outside at the Inside; he therefore summoned Vuckovich as a substitute. The young understudy got his splashy debut, and many such fill-ins followed, as the years passed. The tireless Guaraldi often accepted multiple bookings on the same day; if an afternoon engagement threatened to interfere with a club combo gig that same evening, Vuckovich would sit in for the first set, until Vince could hustle on over.
The two became great friends, and even shared the stage for a memorable booking at San Francisco's Great American Music Hall, during the early months of 1973. Guaraldi assembled a dual-keyboard quintet, usually leading on Fender Rhodes; Vuckovich supported on acoustic piano, and they were joined by Tom Harrell on trumpet, Seward McCain on bass, and Glenn Cronkhite on drums. Guaraldi dubbed the group Powder Keg.
"Vince and I alternated on the piano and Fender Rhodes," Vuckovich recalls, "and we always played together. Sometimes we added a guitar player. It's unfortunate that that stuff wasn't recorded, because it was hot!"
During the decades following Guaraldi's death, Vuckovich went on to become a well-respected jazz pianist in his own right, with an extensive discography as both leader and sideman; you can check out his activities at his handsome web site.
But Vuckovich hasn't forgotten his former mentor, all these years later. Current proof is offered by a concert sponsored by California's Napa Valley Jazz Society: 4 p.m. Sunday, July 14, at Silo's Jazz Club in Napa. (I'm told the event already is sold out, which is great for the musicians, but obviously frustrating for any Northern California jazz fans reading these words prior to concert time.) Larry will be joined by guitarist Josh Workman, Latin percussionist John Santos, drummer Akira Tana, and — as if you would have needed more incentive to join the fun — bassist Seward McCain.
So yes, after all these years, two members of Powder Keg are re-uniting for a Guaraldi tribute.
Although Vuckovich naturally acknowledges the impact of the Peanuts music franchise on Guaraldi's career, he's always quick to point out that Vince was a well-established jazz icon before putting the swing in Charlie Brown's step. As a result, this concert will concentrate on Guaraldi's musical output and activities prior to his hook-up with Charles M. Schulz.
Specific program details aren't available, but Vuckovich has promised this much:
• Guaraldi originals such as "Choro," "Ginza Samba" and (of course!) "Cast Your Fate to the Wind";
• "Samba de Orpheus," one of the seminal arrangements Guaraldi delivered on his Black Orpheus album;
• Jazz standards that Guaraldi arranged in his own signature style, and recorded on his early albums, including "The Lady's in Love with You," "The Days of Wine and Roses," "Night in Tunisia," "Boogaloo Blues" and "Viva Cepeda";
• Two Peanuts numbers, "Surfin' Snoopy" and "Christmas Time Is Here"; and, perhaps most excitingly...
• A recently discovered Guaraldi original, "Blue Lullaby," found on a tape made during an at-home jam session with bassist John Mosher and drummer Willie Bobo.
Additional information, and a bit of background, can be found in the Napa Valley Register and the Weekly Calistogan.
Perhaps, with this event already sold out, Vuckovich and his combo will be persuaded to repeat the program. We can hope...
