Once more, with feeling!

Holy Communion Blues!

In addition to being a monumental general announcement, this is a shout-out to Guaraldi fans who live in or near Pennsylvania.

Longtime readers of this blog will recall the marvelous summer of 2015, when not one — but two! — 50th anniversary presentations of Vince Guaraldi's Jazz Mass took place: the first, a concert event, in none other than San Francisco's Grace Cathedral; and the second, a worship service, at the First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania.

The latter was led by Bill Carter, church pastor since 1990 (!), who also — not coincidentally — has impressive keyboard chops, and has long headed his own Presbybop jazz combo. He spent the better part of a year transcribing Guaraldi's Jazz Mass (also detailed in this blog), since the music never had been written down. He also came to San Francisco for the concert version, the highlight of which was his impromptu four-hands keyboard solo with my good buddy Jim Martinez, the driving force behind that Grace Cathedral event.

(I've truly been blessed — since becoming Guaraldi's official biographer — by getting to know some special jazz folks, who've since become cherished friends.)

Well, hang onto your hats, folks ... apparently Bill wasn't satisfied with having overseen a 50th anniversary service; he has just announced a repeat for the 60th anniversay: 9:30 a.m. Sunday, August 31, once again at the First Presbyterian Church, 300 School Street, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Check out the official announcement here.

As was the case a decade ago, the event will begin when I give a brief recitation of how Guaraldi came to write his portion of the Mass, and the not-quite-a-year of rehearsal that took place with the mixed adult/children's choir of St. Paul's Church, in San Rafael, California, back in 1964 and '65.

In anticipation of this diamond anniversary, Bill and I had a delightful chat for WVIA, the local NPR radio station; you can listen to that here.

Needless to say, this will be a banner event, and a terrific way to conclude the summer of 2025. (Pay no attention to the calendar; everybody knows that summer ends after the Labor Day weekend.) 

I look forward to greeting any Guaraldi fans ambitious enough to make the journey.

And of course I'll give a detailed report, after the fact.

Vince would be gob-smacked to know, after all these years, that his Jazz Mass continues to resonate to such a degree.