Vince on the Web: 2024 update

This topic hasn't been revisited since 2014, and it's definitely time for another look. Rather than link back to that earlier post, I'll simply repeat, modify and update it here.

Guaraldi fans are lucky; all of the albums under his own name have remained in print and been readily available since their initial release, with new ones arriving rapidly these days. 

But what about material that saw limited commercial release, or none at all?

Quite a few nuggets exist, thanks to the Web. Some are housed in authorized online archives that share them with the general public; others are bootlegs that (shall we say) lack that level of legitimacy, but nonetheless can be enjoyed by folks who haven't yet discovered them.

Onward!

Our first stop is SugarMegs Audio, "where live music lives since 1996." The site hosts a massive archive of more than 120,000 concert recordings, in whole or in part. Most are rock/pop, but you'll find other things as well. (One can get lost in this site for days...) On the homepage, scroll down to where THE STREAMING AUDIO COLLECTION is headlined, then click on the "database interface" link below. That'll bring up a page with a small white SEARCH box on the left. Enter the name "Guaraldi," and — as these words are typed — you'll get 15 hits. Most are other performers covering one or more Guaraldi songs, but two entries actually feature Vince. From the top, they are:

• A shared billing with no less than Carlos Santana, during a benefit for the College of Marin in Kentfield, California, on the afternoon of October 7, 1972. The band also included Coke and Pete Escovedo; other personnel, if present, remain unnamed. Although numerous sources agree that the entire show was broadcast by a local radio station — some claim KPFA, others KSAN — only two fragments seem to have survived: a portion of a jam running just shy of 7 minutes, and a second, longer fragment from an extended jam version of "Evil Ways," which clocks in at about 15:38. You'll find them both here, stitched together as a single file. Guaraldi's electric keyboard can be heard quite clearly throughout both fragments, although the melodic quality of his contribution is open to debate. Mostly, he delivers the extemporaneous riffs that characterized his occasional rock-inflected appearances at the Matrix, during this part of his career. This file's nice bonus, however, is the DJ who speaks over the music at roughly 20:40, to identify Santana on guitar, and Guaraldi on electric piano.

• The massive jam during the final night of the five-day farewell party for San Francisco's Fillmore West, which ran June 30-July 4, 1971. Guaraldi was part of the final evening's "San Francisco Musicians Jam," which included Van Morrison, the Tower of Power horn section, Quicksilver Messenger Service, Cold Blood, Hot Tuna, the Loading Zone and even rock impresario Bill Graham, on cowbell. The entry labeled "FillmoreWestFinalNightJams1971" focuses on that set. Guaraldi played electric organ. You'll be hard-pressed to hear him over the chaos, but you're welcome to try!

The Eagle has landed

As promoted in an earlier post, Vince Guaraldi was one of three recipients of this year’s National Music Council (NMC) American Eagle Awards, which were presented July 18 as a highlight of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) summer activities in Nashville, Tennessee. Guaraldi was honored alongside famed funk musician George Clinton, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum.

I’d been invited by NMC Director David Sanders to give a brief tribute to Guaraldi, but — alas — family responsibilities precluded my participation. But Vince nonetheless was fêted well by famed solo pianist George Winston, also a longtime Guaraldi fan; and Andy Thomas, director and co-producer of the 2009 documentary, The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi.

I recently had an opportunity to enjoy the ceremony via a recording, and therefore can offer a full report on the portion that concerns Guaraldi.

David Sanders and Gary Ingle

The event began with a short presentation by Sanders and NMC President Gary Ingle, who briefly explained the Council’s mission statement. “We believe that every student in our nation should have an education in music and the arts,” they emphasize, adding that “All creators should be fairly compensated for their work.” Both statements prompted vigorous applause.

The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum was honored first, in a segment introduced by Grammy Award-winning Nashville singer-songwriter Liz Rose. The segment concluded with a vibrant performance by young musicians, after which the podium was taken by NMC board member Charlie Sanders, outside counsel for the Songwriters Guild of America.

He noted that the NMC board has been increasingly troubled by the fact that, for the most part, the American Eagle Award hasn’t been granted posthumously to “giants in our community who were denied the gift of long life.

“Tonight,” he continued, “we’re here to try to correct that record a little bit, by singling out one creator whose contributions are of such magnitude — as a songwriter, composer and artist, and as an influencer on behalf of American music — that his career cries out for recognition. And the fact that it hasn’t been recognized, to this point, by the number of people who have truly benefited from his work, is not fair.

“And we’re going to correct that.

“There’s no place on the planet that the music of Vince Guaraldi has not reached. It would be easier for me to ask, Who hasn’t been affected by the music of Peanuts and Charlie Brown, than those who have. Successive generations of children, in the tens of millions, have been introduced to American jazz as a result of his genius; and equally importantly, by the joy and warmth of his incredibly distinctive artistic touch, and the touch that WWII veteran Charles Schulz and the entire Peanuts team brought to their craft and their art.

“Vince Guaraldi left us prematurely, in 1976. But his music not only remains; its legion of devotees, young and old, continues to grow year by year. 

“But please: Don’t take my word for it. It’s my absolute privilege and honor to introduce one of our great music instrumentalists and composers. He has inspired fans and musicians alike with his singular solo acoustic piano touch for more than 40 years, while selling an astonishing 15 million records as a solo pianist. His impressionistic style of what he calls ‘folk piano’ came to define the famous Windham Hill sound. He’s one of the great fans and interpreters of Vince Guaraldi’s music.

“Please join me in welcoming Montana’s own George Winston.”

Vince Guaraldi Day (locally)

The opening line of a brief announcement published in Wednesday's Napa Valley Register couldn't help catching my eye:

Mill Valley Mayor Jessica Sloan has proclaimed Sunday, Sept. 24, as "Vince Guaraldi Day."

Seriously?

Indeed yes. And the official proclamation is pretty fancy:

It seems an oddly random choice of day. Guaraldi was born on July 17, and died on February 6. Near as I can determine, nothing of consequence ever happened to him on a September 24 (although Shelby Flint's vocal cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" did peak at No. 11 on Billboard's Top 40 Easy Listening Chart, on September 24, 1966).

So, I had to wonder ... what will take place, on Vince Guaraldi Day?

A speech by Mayor Sloan? A parade? A screening of the recent Toby Gleason/Andy Thomas documentary, The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi? All-day screenings of the many Peanuts TV specials he scored, including A Charlie Brown Christmas and A Boy Named Charlie Brown, for which he "may be most known"?

Apparently not.

Near as I can tell, the only event scheduled is a Guaraldi-themed concert by the Larry Vuckovich Quintet, taking place at 3 p.m. at Mill Valley's Throckmorton Theatre. (Ticket information is available here.)

Which makes it seem as though Mayor Sloan's proclamation mostly is a well-timed boost for Larry's concert. I guess it's great to have friends in high places!

And I look forward to ever-more-ambitious programs, when Mill Valley celebrates each Vince Guaraldi Day, in years to come...

A little of this, a little of that: The fall 2016 edition

Dr. Funk’s fans have long awaited the wide release of The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi, ever since its debut as a work-in-progress at the 2009 Monterey Jazz Festival. The completed Andrew Thomas/Toby Gleason documentary subsequently screened at more than two dozen film and music festivals during 2010 and ’11, garnering several awards along the way, while seeking a mainstream distributor: a necessary next step which — sadly — never materialized.

Years passed, as Andy and Toby continued to pursue every possible lead; Guaraldi’s fans began to despair. Many of them wrote me impassioned notes, hoping I’d have an inside scoop on the situation. Alas, my response always was the same: Nothing had changed.

Until now.

The final barrier was the need to expand performance permissions — for the music used within the film — beyond the “festival license” level, in order to obtain the legal right to distribute The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi via home video and streaming platforms. That isn’t cheap, and Andy and Toby had exhausted their own financial resources (hence the lengthy search for a distribution company, which would have handled such requirements).

But there is another option these days, at a time when crowd-funding has resulted in happy successes such as the creation and release of a big-screen sequel to the cult TV hit, Veronica Mars. Andy and Toby have set up a Kickstarter campaign, which went live on November 17. They have 31 days to reach a pledge goal of $61,000, and they’re hoping that fan interest will push them over that hurdle.

You can read an official press release here, and check out a 2-minute trailer here.

As with all Kickstarter campaigns, the various levels of financial support are accompanied by inducements: from a 16-page preview booklet, at the modest Jazz Cat level; to a producer credit that will appear at the beginning of the film — along with all the goodies promised at the levels in between — for those willing to become an Angel-Headed Hipster. Details are available here, and several of the promotional items will be available for shipment in time for the holidays.

Check it out, and you’ll surely agree: A wide release of The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi would make a great Christmas/Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Holiday-of-Choice gift ... not only for yourself, but for the entire jazz community. So pledge early, and pledge often ... and spread the word!

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Jazz drummer Jerry Granelli, beloved in this blog as one of Guaraldi’s former sidemen, just received a tremendous honor at the annual Creative Nova Scotia Arts Awards gala, held November 5 at the Halifax Central Library. He was presented with the Portia White Prize, which recognizes cultural and artistic excellence in Nova Scotia — where Granelli has lived since 1988 — and those who have attained professional status and mastery in their discipline.

Among other things, Granelli was a prime mover in the establishment of the Halifax Jazz Festival, more than 30 years ago.

“When I recall ... how over the years you have trusted me with teaching your children, and supported the Creative Music Workshop as well as my performances, I feel such enormous gratitude,” Granelli said, during his acceptance speech. “And now to be honored with [this] award ... all I can really say is thank you. I will not stop.”

Additional coverage of this event can be found in the Halifax Chronicle Herald and the Nova Scotia Local Express ... although both articles repeat a grotesque error that has long circulated in Canadian newspapers, when discussing Granelli. Contrary to oft-published report, he is neither an “original” member of the Vince Guaraldi Trio, nor the “only surviving member” of the said trio: a claim that would be met with annoyance by Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly and Colin Bailey, all of whom preceded Granelli at Guaraldi’s side, and all of whom are still with us ... and, like Jerry, “not stopping.” (Talk about sloppy fact-checking. Sheesh!)

None of which is Granelli’s fault, of course, nor does it detract from the magnitude of his honor. Congrats and high-fives, Jerry!

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Finally, a small surprise: Basement Blues, the new album from the John Stowell/Michael Zilber Quartet — Stowell (guitars), Zilber (sax and piano), John Shifflett (bass) and Jason Lewis (drums) — includes a Zilber original called “Have Yourself a Vince Guaraldi Xmas.” I’m hard-pressed to detect any obvious nods to Vince’s classic score for A Charlie Brown Christmas — although faint suggestions of “Christmas Time Is Here” hover throughout — but the tribute itself is quite nice to see.