New projects

Pandemic-enforced isolation has a few benefits, such as encouraging folks to finally tackle massive, long-postponed projects of one sort or another. I mean, really; what else were we able to do with our time?

The folks over at Lee Mendelson Film Productions spent the past year and change digging through their music archives, which prompted some happy discoveries: wonderful Guaraldi artifacts, some of which may have been thought lost; additional details will follow, as plans for mainstream release can be finalized.

One of their many goals has been to enhance Guaraldi's sheet music library, by releasing more fulsome expressions of his genius Peanuts work. They've started with 18 of Guaraldi's less well-known themes and cues, which now are available via Hal Leonard Publishing as online folios. They aren't simple, "E-Z play" arrangements for all ages; these are solid transcriptions that'll require at least some keyboard chops.

Click each title to be taken to the relevant SheetMusicDirect page.

• "Love Will Come"

• "Graveyard Theme"

• "Incumbent Waltz"

• "You're in Love, Charlie Brown"

• "Cops and Robbers"

• "Little Red-Haired Girl" (a preferable title for a cue originally called "Trio Ad Lib" when used in You're in Love, Charlie Brown)

• "Paw Pet Overture"

• "Pitkin County Blues"

• "Play It Again, Charlie Brown"

• "School Days"

• "Charlie's Blues"

• "Bon Voyage, Charlie Brown"

• "It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown"

• "Charlie Brown's Wake-Up"

• "Charlie Brown's All-Stars"

• "Sassy Sally"

• "Schroeder's Wolfgang"

• "Woodstock's Dream"

Have fun! More will follow, as long as this initial set generates sufficient interest. 

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Across the border in Canada, the Community Foundation of Nova Scotia has unveiled the Jerry Granelli Legacy Fund, in recognition of the jazz drummer — and long-ago Guaraldi sideman — who passed last year. The fund is dedicated to carrying on Granelli's unique approach to teaching, and to the nurturing of the improvising arts community he created in Nova Scotia, which was his home for many years, and where — in addition to his live performances — he worked as an educator and community builder.

His unique teaching approach is embodied in the Creative Music Workshop, established in 1996 with fellow Halifax musicians Don Palmer (sax) and Skip Beckwith (bass).

The Workshop has been run in collaboration with the Atlantic/Halifax Jazz Festival since its inception. Today it is an eight-day intensive program grounding participants of all ages, skill levels, and artistic disciplines in the fundamentals and practice of improvisation in music and life. 

This is a lovely honor ... and it makes me want to visit Nova Scotia!

(When such travel once again is safe and practical, of course...)

Colin Bailey: Gentleman drummer

Colin Bailey, Monty Budwig and Vince Guaraldi, performing at The Trident — their
favored "home" for a few years — likely during the autumn of 1961.

“I learned so much from Vince: how to be a better jazz player. He made me play good. He inspired me. When I first started playing with him, I was in over my head; I was quite inexperienced with jazz, at that level. To play with him — that caliber of player, every night — was incredible. I got used to it. Vince improved my playing, just by playing with him and Monty [Budwig].”

 

Sigh.

 

It has been a rough summer.

 

We lost Jerry Granelli on July 20, and I just learned that Colin Bailey left us this past Monday, September 20. He’d been hospitalized with a case of pneumonia, after having recovered from Covid-19. At age 87, the poor guy never had a chance. 

 

He was the final link to Guaraldi’s first two classic trios. Monty Budwig died comparatively early, on March 9, 1992: well over a decade before I even considered writing a Guaraldi bio. Eddie Duran was next, on November 22, 2019; Dean Reilly went earlier this year, on March 9.

 

Colin was one of my most gracious interview subjects, and I loved chatting with him. He and Chuck Gompertz were the most candid, enthusiastic and helpful; I’m hard-pressed to determine which of the two I spent more time with, in person and on the phone … but I’m pretty sure it was Colin.

 

I first met him — after a few phone chats — on April 23, 2010, at his apartment in Martinez. It was a lunchtime visit; I stopped at a sandwich shop en route, and picked up a couple of subs. (I was armed with his preference.) I remember wondering, as I parked at the apartment complex, how a drummer could possibly rehearse at home, without driving half a dozen neighbors out of their minds. The answer was an eye-opener: He’d had a special sound-proofed “cubby” installed in one corner of his living room, with clear walls on two sides. It was just large enough for his kit, and his chair. (Such accommodations may be common among drummers, but it certainly was new to me.) We had lunch, chatted for several hours, and then he happily obliged when (of course!) I asked him to strut his stuff … which he did, for a breathtaking 20 minutes.

 

It was a marvelous afternoon, well worth battling Bay Area traffic during the drive home.

 

Colin was born in Swindon, England, and began playing drums at age 4; by 18, he was working with English name bands. He moved to Australia in the late 1950s, and became a staff drummer at Sydney’s TV Channel 9, which allowed him to work with visiting jazz luminaries such as Dizzy Gillespie and Sarah Vaughan. Colin subsequently joined pianist Bryce Rohde’s Australian Jazz Quartet, which soon was hired to tour the United States as the opening act for the Kingston Trio.

 

“My wife and I got green cards, and sold everything we had. We came over not knowing what would happen; we didn’t have a lot of money. We arrived in the States in 1961, and played San Francisco on the final weekend of the tour; it was a Friday night, May 26. Vince and Monty came by and heard me, and Vince said he liked the way I played, and invited me to sit in during their Monday night gig at the Jazz Workshop.

 

“The next week, I was at a drum shop, just hanging out, and the owner said ‘Hey, there’s a phone call for you.’ It was Vince, saying that he’d like to have me in his trio.

 

“I couldn’t believe my luck; I’d only been in the States for seven weeks, and here Vince was offering me a steady gig. Talk about being in the right place at the right time!”

 

Colin joined Vince’s trio in July 1961, replacing Benny Barth. Colin remained with Guaraldi until January 27, 1963, when he left to join Victor Feldman’s band in Hollywood. Even so, he and Monty continued to worked with Vince occasionally, during the rest of the 1960s.

 

I can’t begin to do justice to Colin’s subsequent career in this space, but his web site has an excellent biography.

 

Colin was present for — and recorded — Guaraldi’s two most significant songs: “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” and “Linus and Lucy.”

 

Colin vividly remembered the sharp learning curve “Fate” forced upon him.

 

“It took a lot, getting to know the logistics of that song, from a drummer’s point of view. I had to learn how to get that cymbal bells Latin sound, and I had to do it with the ring at the end of the brush, because there wasn’t enough time to change brushes to sticks. I also had to use the floor toms — on which I usually keep the sticks or brushes, when I’m not using them — because I had a solo. To this day, I don’t remember how I managed to do that. It was one of the hardest logistical things I’ve ever had to deal with.”

 

Dean Reilly, Colin and Eddie Duran.

Colin and I stayed in touch, which wasn’t true of everybody I interviewed. A few months after my book was published, I had the opportunity to assemble a “dream team” for a private concert on June 30, 2012. I gathered Colin, Dean and Eddie — along with “youngster” Jim Martinez, on piano — for a fabulous 90-minute performance in front of an audience of 100 or so. Talk about a night to remember!

Colin and I lost touch when he and his wife moved south to Port Hueneme, in Ventura County, three years later.

 

The first appendix in my Guaraldi bio is a series of personal comments about him, from the many sidemen who played with him over the years. I concluded the several dozen warm observations with a brief, wistful remark from Colin, which seemed the perfect coda for the book. And it’s the perfect way to end this post.

 

“I wish [Vince] were still here, so we could play again.”

I wish all of them were still here.

Jerry Granelli, drumming legend

Jerry Granelli, Fred Marshall and Vince Guaraldi caught on camera, for Ralph Gleason's
film Anatomy of a Hit, during their lengthy run at The Trident, in the summer of 1963.

“I wanted to be a gunslinger, when I was a kid,” Jerry Granelli admitted, during one of the long chats we shared 13 years ago. “The closest I could come was being a jazz musician. The [stand-up] comics and the jazz musicians hung out together. The jazz musicians loved the comics, and vice versa. We were outlaws; we lived in an underworld, at night.”

Jerry Granelli, the feisty hard-charging drummer who — with bassist Fred Marshall — formed Vince Guaraldi’s third “classic” trio, died Tuesday morning in his Halifax home.

 

As readers of this blog know, he’d been ill for months; indeed, he came very close to dying this past December, just before his 80th birthday. Recovery was slow, but that’s the frustrating part; he seemed to be beating it, and regaining his strength.

 

And then, suddenly, he left us yesterday morning.

 

There’s no shortage of laudatory coverage, and I won’t attempt to duplicate that ground here. The CBC has an excellent piece, as does JAZZ.FM91. Others are easy to find.

 

As I’ve said many times, during the past decade and change, nobody tells better stories than jazz musicians. (Nobody tells dirtier stories, either, but very few of those made it into my Guaraldi biography.) One of the most eye-opening came from Jerry, recalling an incident that took place in Southern California in early April 1963. The Guaraldi Trio was booked for a week at Los Angeles’ It Club; Miles Davis was headlining simultaneously nearby, at Shelly’s Manne Hole.

 

“Most people don’t know this,” Jerry told me, “but Miles Davis loved Vince; he even wanted Vince to come work with him. But Vince refused, saying, ‘Naaah … I already got a band, man.’

 

“Typical Vince. He had no fear of anyone, at that point.

 

“Anyway, Miles would come in every night, after his gig, and just sit there. He loved Vince’s tune, ‘Star Song.’ So Miles would have a drink and say, ‘Play that song, man.’ Every night! And it freaked me out, because it was Miles, man!”

 

All these years later, I still vividly remember the enthusiasm and awe in Jerry’s voice, as he concluded that anecdote.

 

Life changed for Guaraldi after A Charlie Brown Christmas, and — to this day — some snobbish critics continue to diminish Dr. Funk’s place in the jazz pantheon, as a result of that commercial success. I brought this up during a chat with Jerry this past March — our last, as it turned out — and his irritation was evident.

 

“The ‘jazz police’ thought that this happening to Vince — the success of A Charlie Brown Christmas, and the TV specials that followed — was some sort of sell-out. Yet when I’m standing around with some famous jazz musician, many of them, they say, ‘Man, I love that stuff; that made me want to play jazz.’ ”

 

Beginning in December 2013, and continuing each subsequent holiday season, Jerry and his trio toured Canada with annual presentations of his Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas. The concerts blended the iconic music with his memories of working with Guaraldi, along with brief background on how that first TV special came to be. (He never brought his show to the States, more’s the pity.)

 

“A thousand people show up every night, at a different city in Canada,” Jerry told me. “We were playing somewhere, and after the show, this guy came up — obviously a biker, all decked out in leather — and he said, ‘Aw, that was great, man; that was fuckin’ great. I gotta go home and get my dad, because he fuckin’ loves this.’ And then, right after him, up comes a little kid from out west, who still writes to me.”

I mentioned that, in my own experience, I’ve encountered many, many people who remember where they were, how old they were, who they were with, when they saw A Charlie Brown Christmas the first time.

 

“Oh, I know they do,” Jerry agreed, “because they tell me about it.

 

“It’s like that show — that music — is alive; it changed a lot of things for a lot of people.”

 

And you changed a lot of things for a lot of us, Jerry.

The drum section in Heaven’s really big jazz band just got a lot stronger. 

An appeal for Jerry Granelli

“Jazz isn’t a style; it’s a way of life.”

The speaker is Jerry Granelli, evoking singer/activist Nina Simone, who famously said, “Jazz is not just music; it’s a way of life, it’s a way of being, a way of thinking.”

 

Granelli makes this comment toward the beginning of Colin MacKenzie’s 2002 documentary, Jerry Granelli: In the Moment. The 51-minute film can be viewed at Granelli’s richly informative web site, which traces the deservedly famous drummer’s impressively varied career.

 

Right now, Jerry could use our help.

 

Just before his 80th birthday, this past December, Granelli suffered a near-fatal case of internal bleeding while at home in Halifax, Nova Scotia. He spent the next two months in a hospital ICU, followed by almost two more months in hospital, while being stabilized. He finally was able to return home a few weeks ago, but he now faces six to eight months of recovery that will involve extensive physical therapy, at-home caregivers and special intravenous feedings.

 

It’ll be expensive, and his family has set up a GoFundMe campaign. Details are here.

 

Regular visitors to this blog are quite familiar with Granelli, as the drummer in the third of Vince Guaraldi’s early great trios. Alongside bassist Fred Marshall, Granelli can be heard on Vince Guaraldi/Bola Sete/And Friends, The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi, From All Sides, portions of The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi, and the soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas. Granelli can be seen in the Jazz Casual episode that features Guaraldi and Sete, which debuted September 25, 1963 (the audio of which was released in 2001 by Koch Jazz). Granelli also gets considerable screen time in 1963’s Anatomy of a Hit, when he anonymously stands in for Colin Bailey, during a Fantasy studio sequence where Guaraldi pretends to record “Cast Your Fate to the Wind” for the first time.

Marshall already was working with Guaraldi when Granelli joined the trio in early 1963 — replacing Bailey — during a February 21-23 gig at a Sacramento venue dubbed The Berry Patch. They remained together until the end of May 1965, which also encompassed most of the time that Sete transformed the combo into a quartet. And although Granelli then became a member of Denny Zeitlin’s trio for the next few years, he continued to work occasionally alongside Guaraldi until the end of the 1960s; Granelli even did some of the drum work for 1969’s big-screen Peanuts film, A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

 

Granelli’s approach to his craft was quite Zen; as the years passed, he would come to think of himself less as “just” a drummer, and more as “an artist.”

 

“The people I really learned from,” he acknowledges, also in MacKenzie’s film, “were the people I was willing to surrender to.”

 

I find it ironic — for a guy who spent the bulk of his later career embracing free jazz, acid jazz, psychedelic and experimental jazz, alongside talents such as Zeitlin, Mose Allison, Bruce Frisell, Ornette Coleman, Jamie Salt and Anthony Braxton — that Granelli’s first lengthy gig was as a member of Guaraldi’s mainstream, gentle bossa nova combo.

 

But hey: We’ve all gotta start somewhere, right?

 

I spent several lengthy sessions with Jerry back in 2010, while preparing for my Guaraldi biography; he was, by far, one of my most articulate and passionate interview subjects. And, much more recently, he chatted with me again — while still hospitalized — to bring me up to date on his more recent activities.

Which, as Canadian fans know, have for the past several years included an annual “Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas” concert tour each December.

Granelli is one of the very few sidemen still with us, from Guaraldi’s early days. Let’s help ensure that he’ll again be where he belongs: seated at a drum kit, once more rejoicing in his “lust for being on the cutting edge.” 

The respect of one's peers

My good friend Scott recently called my attention to the fact that jazz vibraphonist Tony Miceli's 2014 album with violinist Diane Monroe, Alone Together, includes an original track titled "Vince Guaraldi."

"For a lot of people my age," Miceli notes, "[A Charlie Brown Christmas] might have been your first exposure to jazz. [Guaraldi] wrote beautiful melodies, and as my musical taste grew, I began to realize more and more how heavy he was. Thinking of him was a great inspiration for me."

Vexingly, the album isn't available for listening on Spotify or Amazon, but you can watch Miceli deliver a live performance of "Vince Guaraldi" here. The Guaraldi vibe isn't exactly obvious, but I do detect the wistful quality of "Rain, Rain Go Away" and "Great Pumpkin Waltz."

This reminded me that I'd earlier written about the 2016 John Stowell/Michael Zilber Quartet album, Basement Blues, which includes an original composition titled "Have Yourself a Vince Guaraldi Xmas." Again, an obvious nod to Vince's work is hard to detect, although (as I said then) "faint suggestions of 'Christmas Time Is Here' hover throughout." You can investigate that here.

And this got me thinking...

Album tributes to Guaraldi's score for A Charlie Brown Christmas have become ubiquitous; I've most recently tabulated them here. All four of Guaraldi's original compositions from that TV special also have gotten heavy coverage, as has "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," which has become one of the most oft-covered anthems in the jazz pantheon.

But what about all of Guaraldi's other original compositions?

The Dan Dance Trio's 2003 album, Live at the PY, includes a reading of "Ginza Samba," which can be enjoyed here. Brad Myers and Michael Sharfe's 2016 album, Sanguinaria, features a tasty arrangement of "Great Pumpkin Waltz," which you'll find here. How 'Bout Now, a 1993 album by the Portland, Oregon, jazz trio Tall Jazz, features a sensational cover of "Red Baron." You'll have to take my word for that one, because the album is woefully out of print, and nowhere to be found online.

French horn player Aaron Brask led a jazz/string combo that covers a whopping 20 compositions on his 2010 album, The Guaraldi Sessions; samples are listenable here. (The instrumentation is unusual, to say the least, and the album doesn't exactly swing. But it's enjoyable nonetheless.) Northern California jazz pianist Terry Disley and his quartet cover five Guaraldi compositions, including "Treat Street" and "Peppermint Patty," on their 2011 album Brubeck Vs. Guaraldi; check his website for more information. And former Guaraldi drummer Jerry Granelli includes a cover of "Star Song" (along with "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "Christmas Time Is Here") on his 2020 album Plays Vince Guaraldi and Mose Allison, as I previously mentioned here.

So ... what else is Out There?

To quote the former (and dearly missed!) Los Angeles-based sci-fi radio talk show Hour 25, I'm calling on the Group Mind for some assistance, in order to compile a definitive — or at least, somewhat longer — list of Guaraldi covers. But there are some ground rules:

• Ignore "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and the four Charlie Brown Christmas compositions ("Linus and Lucy," "Skating," "Christmas Is Coming" and "Christmas Time Is Here"). We're after the less common stuff.

• Ignore the efforts of Cal Tjader, George Winston and Davis Benoit. They're too easy.

• And while we're at it, are there any other Guaraldi tribute compositions, along the lines of the ones mentioned above by Tony Miceli and the Stowell/Zilber Quartet?

So c'mon, gang. Acknowledgement will be given, and I'll amend this blog entry — or prepare an entirely new one, if warranted — as the information rolls in.

A blast of Granelli

Like many traditionally large-scale public events this summer, the annual Halifax Jazz Festival has gone "virtual and vibrant," which is great news for fans throughout the world. Many (most?) of the performances will be streamed via the festival's Facebook page and YouTube channel.

Drummer Jerry Granelli is among the featured guests, and he'll deliver a set at 7:30 p.m. (Halifax time) this Saturday, August 8. He'll undoubtedly play a lot of material from his just-released tribute album to Mose Allison and Vince Guaraldi; we can hope that he'll deliver some Guaraldi tunes not on the album.

"[Guaraldi] taught me a lot about being a professional jazz musician," Granelli said, during a August 6 interview for the Chronicle Herald, "and also about being honest, and playing in a way that follows the music. He protected his music, and he followed it to the largest-selling jazz record in history, so they were really great years."

Links to Granelli's Saturday concert will be posted here; it's not clear whether his performance will remain available for some period, or streamed solely the one time ... so plan accordingly!

A summer with Vince

Vinyl fans are in for a treat; Craft recently announced new editions of two Guaraldi Peanuts-themed compilation albums.

I'm particularly pleased, as I provided fresh liner notes for both albums. It'll be fun to see my name in a larger font size!

I'll turn the rest of this post over to Craft's press announcement:

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Craft Recordings announces two vinyl reissues to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Charles M. Schulz’s beloved Peanuts comic strip, which debuted in seven newspapers across the country on October 2, 1950. 

The first is a limited-edition picture disc of Peanuts Greatest Hits, featuring the faces of Snoopy and Woodstock; it will be available on July 24. The second release, coming August 21, is the first-ever vinyl pressing of Peanuts Portraits. Both titles, which are available for pre-order, feature the enduring music of the Vince Guaraldi Trio. Peanuts Portraits, in addition, includes several recordings from Guaraldi and pianist George Winston which have never been available on vinyl. 

Limited to 2,500 individually numbered units, the collectible Peanuts Greatest Hits picture disc offers music for all seasons from the animated TV specials, including the instantly recognizable “Linus And Lucy,” the classic “Great Pumpkin Waltz” and yuletide favorite, “Christmas Time Is Here.” Side A features a cheerful-looking Snoopy, while his avian sidekick, Woodstock -- who made his first official appearance in the Peanuts comic strip 50 years ago this June -- graces Side B. The collection also includes some of Guaraldi’s earliest Peanuts compositions, such as “Baseball Theme,” which originally appeared on his 1964 LP Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown: the soundtrack for an unreleased TV special about the comic strip’s anti-hero. Another highlight is “Little Birdie,” written for the 1973 special A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving, and featuring a rare vocal by Guaraldi.

On vinyl for the very first time is Peanuts Portraits, which collects the vivid musical cues that Guaraldi wrote for the cast of Peanuts characters. With his evocative compositions, the artist added new dimensions to beloved regulars such as Peppermint Patty, Schroeder, Sally and (of course!) Charlie Brown. In addition to nine songs performed by Guaraldi, the album includes two classic Peanuts tunes recorded in the 1990s by pianist George Winston. Eight of the selections on Peanuts Portraits -- including Winston’s renditions of “Linus And Lucy” and “Masked Marvel,” along with Guaraldi’s alternate takes of tracks such as “Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair)” and “Charlie’s Blues” -— will make their vinyl debut.

While Peanuts Portraits will be released across all major music retailers on black vinyl, fans also can find an exclusive edition of the album via Vinyl Me, Please. Limited to 1,000 copies, the LP will be pressed on 180-gram red vinyl.

(This actually is the second picture vinyl edition of Peanuts Greatest Hits; the first, featuring the images of Charlie Brown and Lucy, debuted in September 2015.)

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Drummer Jerry Granelli joined the Guaraldi Trio on February 21, 1963, for a three-night gig at the Berry Patch, in Sacramento, California. He and bassist Fred Marshall became Guaraldi's third "classic trio," working together during the post-"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" rush that turned Dr. Funk into a Northern California jazz star. The trio blossomed into a quartet with the arrival of Bola Sete, and they became a multi-month mainstay at Trois Couleur in the spring of 1964.

Granelli and Marshall went their separate ways after that gig finally concluded on May 31, although the former reunited with Guaraldi briefly for a few tracks on The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi, and some cues for the big-screen film A Boy Named Charlie Brown.

Granelli then spent the bulk of his career alongside jazz/blues pianist, singer and composer Mose Allison.

More recently, Granelli has been fronting Charlie Brown Christmas tribute concerts each December at a handful of Canadian venues, mostly close to his Nova Scotia home. No surprise, then, that he finally decided to honor both of the icons with whom he spent so many happy years, with a tribute album titled The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays Vince Guaraldi & Mose Allison.

Guaraldi is recognized with three tracks, to Allison's seven (which is appropriate, considering that Granelli was at the latter's side for much, much longer). Granelli is joined by pianist Jamie Saft and bassist Bradley Christopher Jones.

The album opens with an oddly ethereal handling of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," the initial 60 seconds of which sound like all three musicians are still warming up. But they eventually settle into a lovely reading of Guaraldi's Grammy Award-winning hit, which is highlighted by Saft's sensitive keyboard work.

Their work on "Christmas Time Is Here" is even sweeter, with Granelli tastefully understated while both Saft and Jones contribute lyrical solos. The Guaraldi highlight, though, is an extended run at "Star Song," which Granelli should know quite well (having recorded it, alongside Vince, on three different albums). Granelli sets up a tasty, bossa nova-flavored atmosphere, while Saft and Jones trade the melody back and forth, comping the other during each hand-off.

Granelli's trio maintains a gentle touch on all three of these Guaraldi tunes; the same cannot be said for their Allison covers, which are far more outré. Guaraldi fans therefore are advised to tread carefully; give the album a listen on Spotify first, before jumping to purchase.

(And, just in passing, this has got to be one of the most unattractive album covers I've ever seen!)

A Jolly Guaraldi Holiday 2019

My goodness.

It feels like these annual productions are multiplying exponentially.

Which means that it's time once again for this annual round-up of the many Guaraldi-themed concerts taking place between now and the end of the year, most of which (of course!) are tied in to his music from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

Numerous bands and individuals across the United States —- and elsewhere! -- clearly have turned this into a cottage industry. Goodness, some of them even have expanded into Halloween- and Thanksgiving-themed concerts, featuring music from those respective Peanuts TV specials. High-fives to all of them, for keeping Guaraldi's musical torch aloft! I traced the history and growth of this delightful tradition back in 2012, with a modest schedule that now seems quaint. This year's post will serve as a clearinghouse for any and all  2019 concerts that come to my attention. 

As always, I'll add to this schedule as new information becomes available, so you'll want to check back frequently.

As has become a tradition, the most ambitious tour comes from Concord recording artist David Benoit, who once again is taking his holiday show on the road. Many of the dates will find Benoit once again accompanied by vocalist Sara Gazarek. Their schedule kicks off November 29 in Rockport Massachusetts; and concludes December 22 in San Juan Capistrano, California, with stops along the way in Pennsylvania, Arizona, Colorado, Hawaii, Washington and Florida. We caught Benoit's performance in 2011 and 2015, and I can report that it's a great show. It's also tremendously sweet, since he and his team work with a children's choir that is local to each stop. Check his web site for details.

Our Canadian neighbors once again can enjoy the return of the season's most historic booking. Drummer Jerry Granelli, who worked as a member of Guaraldi's trio in the 1960s, will headline Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas with his own trio: Simon Fisk (bass) and Chris Gestrin (piano). He began this annual celebration with a few shows in 2013, and the results were quite popular (no surprise there). You can catch him this year on Thursday, November 28, at the Yukon Arts Centre in Whitehorse (details); Saturday, November 30, at Calgary's Bella Concert Hall (details); Thursday, December 5, at Ottawa's Dominion-Chalmers United Church (details); Wednesday and Thursday, December 11-12, at Burnaby, BC's James Cowan Theatre (details); and Sunday, December 15, at Halifax's Spatz Theatre (details).

A Jolly Guaraldi Holiday 2018

Thanksgiving arrived early this year, so I'm a few days later than usual, with this annual round-up of the many Guaraldi-themed concerts taking place during the next month, most of which (of course!) are tied in to his music from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

It has become quite obvious that numerous bands and individuals across the country —- and elsewhere! -- have turned this into a popular tradition. Goodness, some of them even have expanded into Halloween- and Thanksgiving-themed concerts, featuring music from those Peanuts TV specials. High-fives to all of them, for keeping Guaraldi's musical torch aloft! I traced the history and growth of this delightful tradition back in 2012, with a modest schedule that now seems quaint. This new post will serve as a clearinghouse for any and all late 2018 concerts that come to my attention. As always, I'll add to this schedule as new information becomes available, so you'll want to check back frequently.

Our Canadian neighbors once again can enjoy the return of the season's most historic booking. Drummer Jerry Granelli, who worked as a member of Guaraldi's trio in the 1960s, will headline Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas with his own trio: Simon Fisk (bass) and Chris Gestrin (piano). He began this annual celebration with a few shows in 2013, and the results were quite popular (no surprise there). His appearances were modest last year, but he has bounced back with six gigs this season, starting Saturday, December 1, at Calgary's Central United Church; and concluding Saturday, December 15, at St. Alberg's Arden Theater. Check his web site for details.

As has become a biannual tradition, the most ambitious tour news comes from Concord recording artist David Benoit, who once again is taking his on the road. (He tends to tour with saxman Dave Koz every other year.) Benoit once again will be accompanied by special guest Sara Gazarek. Their schedule kicks off November 27 in Phoenix, Arizona; and concludes December 23 in San Juan Capistrano, California, with stops along the way in Oregon, Illinois, New Jersey and Colorado. We caught Benoit's performance in 2011 and 2015, and I can report that it's a great show. It's also tremendously sweet, since he and his team work with a children's choir that is local to each stop. Check his web site for details.

The Heather Pierson Trio — Pierson on piano; Shawn Nadeau on bass; Craig Bryan on drums — has scheduled a tour of (thus far) 10 shows devoted to A Charlie Brown Christmas. All the shows are in Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts: They kick off December 1 in Conway, New Hampshire; and conclude December 21 in Framingham, Massachusetts. Check her web site for details.

The Cartoon Christmas Trio — Jeff Knoettner, piano; Rob Swanson, bass; Jimmy Coleman, drums — doesn't concentrate solely on music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; they also pepper their performances with tunes from other animated holiday shows, such as Frosty the Snowman and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (Their album is a kick; give it a listen.) They have several shows scheduled thus far, starting Sunday, December 2, in Milton, Delaware; and concluding Sunday, December 23, in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Check their web site for details.

A Jolly Guaraldi Holiday 2017

The holiday season is upon us, and it's once again time to investigate the many Guaraldi-themed concerts taking place, most of which (of course!) are tied in to his music from A Charlie Brown Christmas.

I traced the history and growth of this delightful tradition back in 2012, with a modest schedule that now seems quaint. This new post will serve as a clearinghouse for any and all late 2017 concerts that come to my attention. As always, I'll add to this schedule as new information becomes available, so you'll want to check back frequently.

Our Canadian neighbors once again can enjoy the return of the season's most historic booking. Drummer Jerry Granelli, who worked as a member of Guaraldi's trio in the 1960s, will headline Tales of A Charlie Brown Christmas with his own trio: Simon Fisk (bass) and Chris Gestrin (piano). You'll definitely want to check out this excellent recent interview with Granelli. He began this annual celebration with a few shows in 2013, and the results were quite popular (no surprise there). Two shows have been booked thus far: Saturday, December 2, at Central United Church in Calgary, Alberta; Details; and Sunday, December 10, at the Spatz Theatre in Halifax, Nova Scotia; Details.

Pianist David Benoit has taken the year off in terms of his annual Charlie Brown Christmas show, instead joining forces with saxman Dave Koz for the latter's 20th Anniversary Christmas Tour (coinciding with the release of Koz's new CD, 20th Anniversary Christmas). Koz and Benoit will be joined by trumpeter Rick Braun, acoustic guitarist Peter White, and vocalist Selina Albright. Koz's new album includes "Christmas Time Is Here," and with Benoit on board, you can count on at least a few more Guaraldi numbers. The tour kicks off November 24 in Atlanta, Georgia, with stops in Florida, New York, Ohio, Texas, Arizona, Nevada and several other states, before concluding December 23 in Cerritos, California. Check Benoit's web site for additional information.

Pianist Eric Mintel and his quartet — Nelson Hill, sax and flute; Jack Hegyi, bass; and Dave Mohn, drums — always have a busy schedule, and this year is no different. They're presenting a Charlie Brown Christmas Special November 30 at the Buttonwood Tree, in Middletown, Connecticut (details here); and another one December 21 at the Colonial Theater in Phoenixville, Pennsylvania (details here). The band has numerous gigs in between, as you can see by checking Mintel's web site; unfortunately, he doesn't specify which are Charlie Brown Christmas shows. You'll have to investigate dates in your area.

The Heather Pierson Trio — Pierson on piano; Shawn Nadeau on bass; Craig Bryan on drums — has scheduled a tour of (thus far) six shows devoted to A Charlie Brown Christmas. Most of the shows are in Maine: They kick off December 1 in Auburn, and conclude December 22 in Bangor; with a stop in between in New Hampshire. Check her website for details.

The Cartoon Christmas Trio - Jeff Knoettner, piano; Rob Swanson, bass; Jimmy Coleman, drums - doesn't concentrate solely on music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; they also pepper their performances with tunes from other animated holiday shows, such as Frosty the Snowman and How the Grinch Stole Christmas. (Their album is a kick; give it a listen.) They have several shows scheduled thus far, starting November 22 in Wilmington, Delaware; and concluding December 21, in West Chester, Pennsylvania. Check their website for details.

The Eric Byrd Trio — Byrd, piano and vocals; Bhagwan Khalsa, acoustic bass; Alphonso Young Jr., drums and percussion — also has made a cottage industry of Guaraldi's Christmas music, going so far as to cover most of the album in a 2009 release. Byrd's combo has taken its Charlie Brown Christmas Show on the road during previous years, but this year's tour is limited to seven shows in Washington, D.C., and Maryland, from November 26 through December 21. Check his website for details.

The Ornaments, a jazz trio based in Nashville, Tennessee, is celebrating the 12th anniversary of its Charlie Brown Christmas shows. The combo — Jen Gunderman, piano; James Haggerty, bass; and Martin Lynds, drums — is doing a week's worth of gigs at The Family Wash in East Nashville, with shows each evening from Monday, December 11, through Friday, December 22. An additional kids' show takes place Saturday, December 16, at the Belcourt Theater. Details. (And if you haven't yet picked up the group's spiffy CD cover of Guaraldi's entire Charlie Brown Christmas album, what are you waiting for?)

The San Francisco Symphony once again is getting into the act, with seven performances of A Charlie Brown Christmas — Live between December 21 and 24 at Davies Symphony Hall, in downtown San Francisco, California. The concerts will feature the Symphony and Symphony Chorus, along with dancers, narration and animated backdrops. Check their website for details.

Keyboardist David Ellington and his "Peanut Gallery" are holding court during December, with five Charlie Brown Christmas dates — December 10, 17, 21, 22 and 23 — at Venkman's in Atlanta, Georgia. This appears to be a dinner theater-type arrangement; check the venue for details.

Northern California jazz pianist Jim Martinez and his combo are taking The Jazz Music from A Charlie Brown Christmas on the road, starting December 1 in Bakersfield, California; additional California dates are in Lincoln (December 5) and Newark (December 8). He then has five gigs in Florida (December 12-17). Visit his website for additional details. (And do check out his recent album tribute to Guaraldi, Charles M. Schulz and Peanuts!)

Other groups also have gotten into the act: 

• Chris White's Jazz Trio performs Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Thanksgiving; Wednesday, November 22, at the Winter's Jazz Club, Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Music of Vince Guaraldi and Peanuts, with the Donovan Johnson Band (Johnson, piano; Ed Archibald, sax and flute; George Laughery, guitar; Steve Gomez, bass; Doug Montera, drums; and Kent Barnes, percussion); Sunday, November 26, at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska. Details.

• The Jeffrey Butzer Trio (Butzer, drums; T.T. Mahoney, piano; Mike Beshera, bass) performs Charlie Brown's Christmas; Saturday, December 2, at the Revelry Room, Chattanooga, Tennessee. Details. 

• Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker, performed by Ron LeGault Jazz — LeGault, piano; Andrew Vogt, sax; Curtis Fox, trombone; Dave Weinand, bass; and Andreas Schmid, drums — will feature music from A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Nutcracker Ballet; Saturday, December 2, at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa's T-Zero Lounge, Boulder, Colorado. Details.

• Chris White's Jazz Trio performs Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas; Tuesday, December 5, at the Winter's Jazz Club, Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Jeffrey Butzer Trio (Butzer, drums; T.T. Mahoney, piano; Mike Beshera, bass) performs Charlie Brown's Christmas; Wednesday, December 6, at Madlife Stage & Studios, Woodstock, Georgia. Details. 

• A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, with the Michelle Schumann Trio (Schumann, piano; Utah Hamrick, bass; and David Sierra, drums); Thursday, December 7, at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor's Baugh Performance Hall, Belton, Texas. Details.

• The Rick Hirsch 3 (Hirsch, sax; Kirk Reese, piano; Bob Hart, bass) performs Charlie Brown Christmas Jazz; Friday, December 8, at the State Theater, State College, Pennsylvania. Details.

• The Jody Nardone Trio — Nardone, piano and vocals; Jerry Navarro, bass; and Chris Brown, drums — will play the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas and other holiday favorites; Friday, December 8, at Rudy's Jazz Room in Nashville, Tennesee. Details.

• The Ed Croft Trio (Croft, bass; Jake Malone-Brancato, piano; and Candace Simone Thomas, drums) will present the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Saturday, December 9, at the PAUSA Art House in Buffalo, New York. Details.

• Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker, performed by Ron LeGault Jazz — LeGault, piano; Andrew Vogt, sax; Curtis Fox, trombone; Dave Weinand, bass; and Andreas Schmid, drums — will feature music from A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Nutcracker Ballet; Saturday, December 9, at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa's T-Zero Lounge, Boulder, Colorado. Details.

• The Jody Nardone Trio — Nardone, piano and vocals; Jerry Navarro, bass; and Chris Brown, drums — will play the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas and other holiday favorites; Saturday, December 9, at Rudy's Jazz Room in Nashville, Tennesee. Details.

• The Aidan Scrimgeour Trio (Scrimgeour, piano; Matt Estabrook, upright bass; and Jackson Fulk-Logon, drums) will present A Charlie Brown Jazz Piano Christmas; Saturday, December 9, at Studio FOLI, Salem, Massachusetts. Details.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, with the Michelle Schumann Trio (Schumann, piano; Utah Hamrick, bass; and David Sierra, drums); Saturday, December 9, at the Stateside Theater in Austin, Texas. Details.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas, with the Jose Gonzales Trio (Gonzales, piano; Michael Marcus, bass; and Matt Jorgensen, drums); Sunday, December 10 -- both an afternoon family matinee and an evening performance -- at the Cornish Playhouse in Seattle, Washington. Details.

• The Malcolm Granger Trio (Granger, piano; Rich Hill, bass; Michael Dunford, drums) performs A Charlie Brown Christmas; Sunday, December 10, at the Cotuit Center for the Arts, Cotuit, Massachusetts. Details.

• Chris White's Jazz Trio performs Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas; Sunday, December 10, at the Lincoln Park Zoo's Cafe Brauer, Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Aidan Scrimgeour Trio (Scrimgeour, piano; Matt Estabrook, upright bass; and Jackson Fulk-Logon, drums) will present A Charlie Brown Jazz Piano Christmas; Monday, December 11, at Tufts University's Distler Performance Hall, Medford, Massachusetts. Details.

• The Ed Vezinho/Jim Ward Big Band, with guest vocalist Cathy Rocco, presents A Charlie Brown Christmas; Monday, December 11, at the Gateway Playhouse, Somers Point, New Jersey. Details.

• The Jerrod Cattey Trio (Cattey, drums; Darren Litzie, keyboards; and Kevin Smith, bass) will perform the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Tuesday, December 12, at Three Sheets, New Haven, Connecticut. Details.

• The Doc Watson Trio (Watson, piano; Brandon Rivas, bass; and Graeme Francis, drums) will present music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Wednesday, December 13, at the club Jazz Texas, San Antonio, Texas. Details.

• The Music Carolina Jazz Trio (Federico Pivetta, piano; Matt Kendrick, bass; and John Wilson, drums) will present beloved selections from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Wednesday, December 13, at Salem College's Shirley Recital Hall, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Details.

• Guitar for Guaraldi, featuring the Dave Brandwein Trio, will transpose the classic piano stylings of A Charlie Brown Christmas for a guitar lead; Thursday, December 14, at the Heartland Café, Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• Chris White's Jazz Trio performs Vince Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas; Thursday, December 14, at the Winter's Jazz Club, Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Jeffrey Butzer Trio (Butzer, drums; T.T. Mahoney, piano; Mike Beshera, bass) performs Charlie Brown's Christmas; Thursday, December 14, at Saturn, Birmingham, Alabama. Details. 

• Pianist Adam Shulman plays Vince Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas; two shows daily Thursday through Sunday, December 14-17, at the SFJAZZ Center, San Francisco, California. Details.

• The Jeffrey Butzer Trio (Butzer, drums; T.T. Mahoney, piano; Mike Beshera, bass) performs Charlie Brown's Christmas; Friday, December 15, at The Earl, in Atlanta, Georgia. Details.

• Guitar for Guaraldi, featuring the Dave Brandwein Trio, will transpose the classic piano stylings of A Charlie Brown Christmas for a guitar lead; Friday, December 15, at The Radler (a German beer hall), Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• Chris White's Jazz Trio performs A Peanuts Christmas; Friday, December 15, at the Gorton Community Center, Lake Forest, Illinois. Details.

• Jazz guitarist Chris Von Staats and his band will perform music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Friday, December 15, at The Skinny Pancake, Hanover, New Hampshire. Details.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas with the Karl Stabnau Quartet (Stabnau, woodwinds; Jacob Dupre, piano; Danny Ziemann, bass; and Eric Metzgar, drums); Saturday, December 16, at Jazz Central, in Syracuse, New York. Details.

• Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker, performed by Ron LeGault Jazz — LeGault, piano; Andrew Vogt, sax; Curtis Fox, trombone; Dave Weinand, bass; and Andreas Schmid, drums — will feature music from A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Nutcracker Ballet; Saturday, December 16, at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa's T-Zero Lounge, Boulder, Colorado. Details.

• The Jeffrey Butzer Trio (Butzer, drums; T.T. Mahoney, piano; Mike Beshera, bass) performs Charlie Brown's Christmas; Saturday, December 16, at The Earl, in Atlanta, Georgia. Details.

• The Alex Murphy Trio — Murphy, piano; Mary Halm, bass; and Jeremy Benshish, drums and cymbals — will perform music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Saturday, December 16, at the Vero Voce School of Music, St. Charles, Illinois. Details.

• A Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas, with the Joe Cool Trio (Chris Spies, piano; Chris Severin, bass; and John Milham, drums); Saturday, December 16, at the Mobile Saenger Theatre in Mobile, Alabama. Details.

• A Charlie Brown Christmas, with the Jose Gonzales Trio (Gonzales, piano; Michael Marcus, bass; and Matt Jorgensen, drums); Saturday, December 16 at the Tim Noah Thumbnail Theater, Snohomish, Washington. Details.

• Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker, performed by Ron LeGault Jazz — LeGault, piano; Andrew Vogt, sax; Curtis Fox, trombone; Dave Weinand, bass; and Andreas Schmid, drums — will feature music from A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Nutcracker Ballet; Sunday, December 17, at Rory's Tavern, Denver, Colorado. Details.

• One for our friends across the pond! The Jason Frederick Cinematic Trio (Frederick, piano; Scott Wheeler, double bass; and Dan Mullins, drums) will present music from A Charlie Brown Christmas along with other Guaraldi hits, plus a selection of Guaraldi-esque Christmas tunes; Sunday, December 17, at the Colchester Arts Centre, Essex, England. Details.

• Guitar for Guaraldi, featuring the Dave Brandwein Trio, will transpose the classic piano stylings of A Charlie Brown Christmas for a guitar lead; Sunday, December 17, at The Café Mustache, Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Duncan Cooper Trio — Cooper, piano; John Beach, bass; and James Mackenzie, drums — will perform the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Sunday, December 17, at St. Andrew's Church, Picton, Ontario. Details.

• A Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas, with the Joe Cool Trio (Chris Spies, piano; Chris Severin, bass; and John Milham, drums); Sunday, December 17, at the Laurel Little Theater in Laurel, Mississippi. Details.

• The Ed Vezinho/Jim Ward Big Band, with guest vocalist Cathy Rocco, presents A Charlie Brown Christmas; Monday, December 18, at the Gateway Playhouse, Somers Point, New Jersey. Details.

• Bassist Andrew Randazzo leads a 15-piece big band, dubbed The R4nd4zzo Bigb4nd, in a tribute to the music of Vince Guaraldi, with particular emphasis on the score to A Charlie Brown Christmas; Monday, December 18, at The Vagabond, Richmond, Virginia. Details.

• The "Piano Starts Here" series will present The Music of A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring keyboardists Dawn Clement, Tim Kennedy and Chris McCarthy; Monday, December 18, at The Royal Room, Seattle, Washington. Details.

• The "Piano Starts Here" series will present The Music of A Charlie Brown Christmas, featuring keyboardists Ryan Burns, Even Captain, Alex Guilbert and Daniel Salka; Monday, December 18, at The Royal Room, Seattle, Washington. Details.

• The Tim Stine Quartet (Stine, guitar; Nick Mazzarella, reeds; Matt Ulery, double bass; and Quin Kirchner, traps) will perform music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Tuesday, December 19, at The California Clipper, Chicago, Illinois. Details.

• The Pete Peterson Trio (Peterson, piano; Danny Kiely, bass; and Bruce Morrow, drums) will take patrons through the Charlie Brown Christmas album, followed by a second set of holiday standards; Wednesday, December 20, at Jimmy Can't Dance (that's a club), Louisville, Kentucky. Details.

• The Peter Shea Trio (Shea, piano and vocals; Clark Johnson, bass; and Terry Clarke, drums; along with special guest James Bryan, guitar) will be featured in The Music of A Charlie Brown Christmas; Wednesday, December 20, at the FirstOntario Performing Arts Centre, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Details.

• Jazz pianist Peter Roberts headlines A Charlie Brown Christmas; Thursday, December 21, at the jazz club Noce, Des Moines, Iowa. Details.

• The Yuletide Saints Jazz Trio — James Raymond, keyboards; Andrew Ford, bass; and Steve DiStanislao, drums — will perform the score from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Thursday, December 21, at Coffee Gallery Backstage, Altadena, California. Details.

• The Jerrod Cattey Trio (Cattey, drums; Darren Litzie, keyboards; and Kevin Smith, bass) will perform the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Thursday, December 21, at Sasso's Coal-Fired Pizza, Torrington, Connecticut. Details.

• The third annual Snow Globe Show will kick off with a performance of the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas, by the Mack Grout Trio (Grout, piano; Devin Lowe, bass; and Adam Kessler, drums); Thursday, December 21, at the Fremont Abbey Arts Center, Seattle, Washington. Details.

• The Adam Bowman Trio (Bowman, drums; Thomas Hammerton, piano; and Tyler Wagler, bass) will present A Very Charlie Brown Concert; Thursday, December 21, at the Guelph Youth Music Centre, Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Details.

• The Pete Peterson Trio (Peterson, piano; Danny Kiely, bass; and Bruce Morrow, drums) will take patrons through the Charlie Brown Christmas album, followed by a second set of holiday standards; Thursday, December 21, at Jimmy Can't Dance (that's a club), Louisville, Kentucky. Details.

• The Adam Price Group (Price, sax, flute and clarinet; Mike Masciangelo, piano; and Matt Campbell, bass) will present the full Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack; Friday, December 22, at The Bridge Inn, Oley, Pennsylvania. Details.

• The Jeremy Baum Trio (Baum, keyboards; Brandon Morrison, acoustic bass; and Manuel Quintana, drums) will present A Charlie Brown Christmas Tribute; Saturday, December 23, at The Falcon, Marlboro, New York. Details.

• Charlie Brown Goes to The Nutcracker, performed by Ron LeGault Jazz — LeGault, piano; Andrew Vogt, sax; Curtis Fox, trombone; Dave Weinand, bass; and Andreas Schmid, drums — will feature music from A Charlie Brown Christmas and the Nutcracker Ballet; Saturday, December 23, at the St. Julien Hotel & Spa's T-Zero Lounge, Boulder, Colorado. Details.

• Jazz pianist Peter Roberts headlines A Charlie Brown Christmas; Saturday, December 23, at the jazz club Noce, Des Moines, Iowa. Details.

• Touring and session trumpeter Mike Lewis will present the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Sunday, December 24, at Honolulu's Blue Note Hawaii. Details.

• Touring and session trumpeter Mike Lewis will present the music from A Charlie Brown Christmas at 6:30 and 9 p.m. Monday, December 25, at Honolulu's Blue Note Hawaii. Details.

• The Charlie Brown Trio (Andrew Boudreau, piano; John MacLeod, bass; and Will Fisher, drums) will present their sixth annual performance of music from A Charlie Brown Christmas; Wednesday, December 27, at Roadside Willie's Smokehouse & Bar, Bible Hill (Truro), Nova Scotia. Details.