A symphonic surprise!

Back on October 9, 2022, jazz pianist David Benoit, well regarded as the prime torchbearer for Guaraldi’s Peanuts legacy, along with his trio — Roberto Vally, bass; and Dan Schnelle, drums — were joined by the Santa Rosa Symphony for the world premiere of Playing for Peanuts: The Music of Vince Guaraldi. The performance took place at Santa Rosa's Luther Burbank Center for the Arts.

This ambitious project had been a collaborative effort, for the past couple of years, between Benoit, Sean Mendelson and Jason Mendelson. Designing, developing and fine-tuning these new orchestrations of Guaraldi’s music — all arranged by Benoit — kept all three occupied while they were sequestered by Covid.

(A detailed account of that afternoon performance can be found here.)

The song choices, arrangements and sequence were tweaked during the next several years, and then reappeared as Charlie Brown Christmas Live, when performed by the San Francisco Symphony on December 21 and 22, 2025. A few additional tweaks took place when the Seattle Symphony titled it Peanuts 75th Anniversary: A Vince Guaraldi Symphonic Concert, during performances earlier this year, March 27-29. (Benoit didn't perform during either of those.)

All of which leads to a new album titled David Benoit Conducts A Vince Guaraldi Holiday Symphony. This holiday tribute to 75 years of jazz icon and composer Vince Guaraldi’s musical legacy is set for a digital-only release on October 30, followed by physical release on November 20, via Candid Records.

The album will bring Guaraldi’s iconic, timeless melodies to life on a grand scale with full orchestral arrangements, conducted by Benoit and performed by the Czech National Symphony Orchestra. 

Guaraldi himself was no stranger to working with larger ensembles. In the summer of 1968, he found time for the first of several meetings with cellist/arranger Lynn Shurtleff and conductor Richard Williams, both with the Saratoga, California-based Amici della Musica Orchestra. Their shared goal: to create what Guaraldi had casually mentioned in a newspaper interview back in mid-1967, and eventually would become known as The Charlie Brown Suite.

“Vince told us that one of his big problems was that he’d often be invited to perform with symphony orchestras, but he never had anything to play with them,” Shurtleff recalled. “So Rich and his wife, Linda, started talking about Vince’s idea of doing something with all the Peanuts tunes. Rich introduced me to Vince, and we agreed to collaborate.”

The resulting Charlie Brown Suite debuted the following May 16 at California's Los Gatos High School. Guaraldi — with Peter Marshall, bass; and Bob Belanski, drums — were joined by the Amici Della Musica orchestra. That performance can be heard on Bluebird/BMG's 2003 album, The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites.

Benoit, long a torchbearer of Guaraldi's Peanuts legacy, debuted his funkified breakout version of “Linus & Lucy” on his 1985 album This Side Up. It became a surprise landmark recording in smooth and contemporary jazz, while also spotlighting Guaraldi’s role as a forebear to those genres. “Linus & Lucy” got the attention of the Peanuts camp, kicking off decades of collaboration and forging transformative relationships with Charles Schulz and Lee Mendelson.

Benoit recalls the time Schulz greeted him with an accolade he’ll never forget: “How is the world’s greatest keyboardist?” Meanwhile, Mendelson, Benoit says, was “the most down-to-earth, fun, amazing guy. We just bonded. He was like a father figure to me.” 

Benoit became a go-to composer for Peanuts TV specials and episodes spanning 1989 to 2006, and he also contributed music to 2015's big-screen The Peanuts Movie. He also paid ongoing homage to Peanuts’ musical legacy with albums that included 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Grammy-nominated Here’s to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years!

David Benoit Conducts A Vince Guaraldi Holiday Symphony — track list:

1. "Christmas Is Coming"

2. "Skating"

3. "What Child Is This"

4. "O Tannenbaum"

5. "Christmas Time Is Here"

6. "My Little Drum"

7. "Just Like Me"

8. "The Christmas Song"

9. "Red Baron"

10. "Good Grief Medley"

11. "Pumpkin Medley"

12. "Linus & Lucy"

13. "Air Music"

14. "Grace and Happiness Medley" ("Theme to Grace" and "Happiness Theme")

The first single, "Christmas Time Is Here," can be heard via YouTube. and similar streaming services.

On a related note, Benoit will kick off his annual Charlie Brown Christmas tour at the end of November, and continue through mid-December. The dates and venues:

November 27-28: Catalina Jazz Club, Hollywood, California

November 30: Plaza Theatre, Palm Springs, California

December 2: Ludlow Garage, Cincinnati, Ohio

December 4-6: Blues Alley, Washington, D.C.

December 7: Iridium, New York, NY

December 8: Jimmy's, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

December 10: Yoshi's, Oakland, California

December 11: Montalvo Arts Center, Saratoga, California

December 12: Carpenter Center, Long Beach, California

December 13: The Coach House, San Juan Capistrano, California

December 14: Belly Up, Solana Beach, California

December 15-16: Musical Instrument Phoenix, Arizona 

October Bits 'n' Bobs

As of this morning, Record Store Day announced an exclusive 10-inch vinyl zoetrope release of Charlie Brown's All Stars! The release date is Black Friday, November 27; check it out here. As usual, be sure to encourage your local brick-and-mortar music shop to order it!

The disc pairs the A side All Stars! themes with variations of the same tunes from four other Peanuts soundtrack albums on the B-side. The A Side tracks feature Vince Guaraldi, piano; John Coppola and Frank Snow, trumpets; Eddie Duran, guitar; Eugene "Puzzy" Firth, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums. The B Side tracks feature Guaraldi with various sidemen, as detailed at the link below.

The track list:

A1) "Charlie's Run"

A2) "Charlie Brown's All Stars"

A3) "Baseball Theme (Medley)"

A4) "Oh, Good Grief!"

A5) "Surfin' Snoopy (Air Music)"

A6) "Pebble Beach"

A7) "Rain, Rain, Go Away"

B1) “Charlie Brown’s All Stars” from You’re In Love, Charlie Brown

B2) “Flatten Patten (Baseball Theme)” from It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown

B3) “Oh, Good Grief” from It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown

B4) “Oh, Good Grief” from You’re Not Elected, Charlie Brown

B5) “Air Music” from It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown

B6) “Pebble Beach” from It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown

B7) “Sassy Sally” from It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown

B8) “It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown (Reprise)” from It’s a Mystery, Charlie Brown

B9) “You're In Love Charlie Brown (Reprise Alternate)” from You’re In Love, Charlie Brown

B10) “Rain, Rain, Go Away (Rain, Gentle Rain)” from It’s Arbor Day, Charlie Brown

The original album's full liner notes -- and a few additional helpful items -- can be viewed here. (The limitations of the 10-inch packaging precluded including everything with the album.)

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Speaking of LPs, we have two more Charlie Brown Christmas vinyl variants coming our way soon.

On November 11, Rough Trade will release a special "Festive Eggnog (Cream and Yellow Yolk)" version. It can be pre-ordered here.

(I've gotta say, though ... this probably is the uglist variant I've ever seen. It looks like a flattened egg-over-easy, which isn't very appealing.)

The extensive list of "preview tracks" is completely at odds with the album's actual contents ... which, in fairness, we're warned: "Track listing and audio may differ from physical product." (Ya think?)

As of this morning, Record Store Day also announced a special "Advent Calendar Edition" release of A Charlie Brown Christmas, also available on Black Friday. Check it out here.

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Mich Shirey

On a different and happier note -- quite a few notes, as it happens! -- a few of the combos that annually deliver Charlie Brown Christmas concerts have expanded their repertoire to include shows devoted to the music from both It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown and A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.

The Mich Shirey Trio, better known as Guitar for Guaraldi -- Shirey, guitar; Nick Fane, bass; and Dave Brandwein, drums -- got an early start last week. Additional Great Pumpkin dates include the following evening shows in Chicago:

• Wednesday, October 14, at Sleeping Village. Details.

• Friday, October 23, at Lemon Chicago. Details.

• Tuesday, October 27, at the Three Top Lounge. Details.

• Wednesday, October 28, at The Owl. Details.

• Friday, Octobe 30, again at Lemon Chicago. Details.

Against Mich's better judgment, they also accepted a string of morning engagements at Chicago's October Café, on consecutive Fridays: October 16, 23 and 30. Details. (Starting at 9 a.m. is asking a lot of jazz musicians!)

Proving once again that Illinois is the state in which to live, for Guaraldi-themed activities, the Chris White Quartet -- White, piano; Sean Jacobi, bass; Ryan Jacobi, drums; and Greg Dudzienski, flute and saxophone -- has a pair of Pumpkin-themed shows on Wednesday, October 28, at Arlington Heights' Hey Nonny; and Thursday, October 29, at Chicago's Winter's Jazz Club.

They'll later briefly interrupt their busy schedule of Charlie Brown Christmas Shows for one show devoted to A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving: Wednesday, November 25, also at Winter's Jazz Club.

Check White's website for additional details.

The Lake County Symphony Orchestra's Connor Cowart Jazz Combo -- Cowart, piano; Lauren Moldenhaur, flute; Octavio Escamilla, buitar; Karl EH Seigfried, bass; and Calvin Simmers, drums -- will perform the music from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Saturday, October 17, at The Barn, in Hawthorn Woods ... again in Illinois! Details.

Finally, the Alex Murphy Trio -- Murphy, piano; Jack Aylor, bass; and Kofi Shepsu, drums -- will perform the music from It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on Wednesday and Friday, October 28 and 30, at Rudy's Jazz Room, in Nashville, Tennessee. Details.