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!

Playing for Peanuts: The Music of Vince Guaraldi — 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.

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