Paul Hindemith (1895 - 1963) One of the main innovators of musical modernism, Hindemith was a composer, conductor, violist, educator, and theoretician. Of the four founders of modernism--Arnold Schoenberg <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/schoenberg.html> , Igor Stravinsky <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/stravinsky.html> , Béla Bartók <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/bartok.html> , and Hindemith--one can argue that Hindemith was by far the most scholarly and intellectual in temperament. His theoretic interests were both deep and wide-ranging and included medieval philosophy and the writings of the early church, as well as musical topics. He could play all the standard musical instruments at least passably and was a recognized virtuoso on the viola and viola d'amore. A sought-after educator, he taught such composers as Lukas Foss, Arnold Cooke, Franz Reizenstein, and Norman Dello Joio and wielded great influence in Europe and the United States between the two World Wars. Hindemith began composing in a post-Romantic, Reger-like idiom, although Hindemith's textures are generally leaner. During the Twenties, he went through a "shock" phase, turning out work which owed much to white dance-band music (what most Europeans thought of as jazz) in works like the Suite 1922 for piano and had many elements of Expressionism (Der Dämon [1922], Nusch-Nuschi [1921], the Rilke song-cycle Das Marienleben (1923), and the opera Cardillac [1926]). He very quickly moved away from this toward a neoclassicism that owes nothing to Stravinsky. Where Stravinsky worked variations primarily on Mozart, Hindemith looked more to Bach. This is apparent in a series of seven chamber concerti known as the Kammermusiken (1922-1927), some of which pay conscious homage to Bach's Brandenburgs. The music becomes increasingly contrapuntal, and Hindemith begins theoretical researches in a system of harmony based on chords built from fourths, rather than from the usual thirds. By 1930, Hindemith had consolidated his researches and began to produce a series of masterpieces including Concert Music for Strings and Brass (1930), the opera Mathis der Maler (1934-1935), Symphony "Mathis der Maler" (1934) which shares themes with the opera, Plöner Musiktag, Trauermusik (1936), written in less then twenty-four hours, the choral Six Chansons to French poems by Rilke (1939), and the ballet Nobilissima Visione (1938), on the life of St. Francis. He also began a remarkable series of sonatas for every major instrument, all idiomatic and almost all becoming a part of standard repertory. The Nazis forced Hindemith out of Germany. He went to Switzerland, England, and finally settled in the United States, where he joined the Yale University faculty. The Forties saw probably the peak of Hindemith's output and critical reputation, with such masterpieces as Symphony in E Flat (1940), Sonata for Two Pianos (1942), Symphonic Metamorphosis on Themes of Carl Maria von Weber (1943), Sinfonia serena (1945), The Four Temperaments (1940), Ludus Tonalis (1942), an homage to Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Sonata for Harp (1949), and a magnificent series of concerti for violin, cello, piano, clarinet, and horn. Hindemith wrote concerti for every major instrument. Among the peaks, we also find his choral masterpiece When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd (1946), written on the death of President Roosevelt to the complete Whitman poem. After the war, Hindemith's influence was supplanted by that of Schoenberg and Anton Webern <http://www.classical.net/music/comp.lst/webern.html> . Hindemith disliked dodecaphony, which he regarded as unnatural, and set himself up as the Anti-Schoenberg. He wrote several satirical pieces using 11-note and 13-note "rows," in a vain attempt to change the direction of musical thought. The later works show no decrease in craft, but there is an anguish to them not found before. He left the United States for Switzerland, his music increasingly ignored, but he nevertheless produced the masterpieces Symphony in B for Band, the organ concerto, Twelve Madrigals, the opera Die Harmonie der Welt and a related symphony, and his last work, a mass for unaccompanied chorus. Ironically, the late works share a similarity of sound with late Schoenberg. Since his death, no one has taken up advocacy of Hindemith's work, in the same way that Craft has done for Stravinsky or Boulez for Schoenberg and his followers. Still, much of Hindemith's work remains in instrumentalists' repertoires. Even more important, adventurous amateurs tackle him, which seems to me the key to most composers' survival. A mountain of noble, witty, and powerful scores awaits rediscovery. By Steve Schwartz, Classical Net I have found a very interesting and enlightening web resource to be the Hindemith Foundation & Institute which may be found at www.hindemith.org <http://www.hindemith.org/> – a great timeline of the life of Mr. Hindemith and listing of his works – plus a great deal of information regarding the Hindemith Foundation, Institute and Music Center. Enjoy. PJL

Salute to Sousa Concert Cycle Throughout our time of preparation for our “Salute to Sousa” concert – I shall be sharing information regarding the remarkable life and work of this extraordinary gent. If you have not read Paul Bierley’s Book on Sousa – it is a must. Sousa’s autobiography is certainly interesting “Marching Along”. The Sousa Collection is housed at the University of Illinois [in the Harding Band Building – yeah Alma Mater] which became the depository of over 3400 manuscripts, et al of Sousa upon his death in 1932 [A. A. Harding and Sousa were great friends] – it is a great place for Sousa lore. The following “timeline” is part of the Dallas Wind Symphony’s “Sousa Page” at http://www.dws.org/sousa/ – and it is one of the most complete web sources you may find. Thanks. PJL John Philip Sousa – 1854 – 1932 1854: Born Washington, DC, Nov. 6. John Philip was 3rd of 10 children of John Antonio Sousa (born in Spain of Portuguese parents) and Maria Elisabeth Trinkhaus (born in Bavaria). John Philip's father, Antonio, played trombone in the U.S. Marine band. He grew up around military band music. 1860: Began musical study around age six, studying voice, violin, piano, flute, cornet, baritone, trombone and alto horn. 1867: His father enlisted him in the Marines at age 13 as an apprentice after he attempted to run away to join a circus band. 1872: Published first composition, "Moonlight on the Potomac Waltzes". 1875: Discharged from Marines. Began performing (on violin), touring and eventually conducting theater orchestras. Conducted Gilbert & Sullivan's H.M.S. Pinafore on Broadway. 1879: In February, met Jane van Middlesworth Bellis during Pinafore rehearsals; they were married December 30, 1879. 1880: Returned to Washington in September to assume leadership of the US Marine Band. 1880-1892: Conducted "The President's Own", serving under presidents Hayes, Garfield, Cleveland, Arthur and Harrison. After two successful but limited tours with the Marine Band in 1891 and 1892, promoter David Blakely convinced Sousa to resign and organize a civilian concert band. 1892: The first Sousa Band concert was performed September 26 at Stillman Music Hall in Plainfield, New Jersey. Two days earlier, bandleader Patrick Gilmore had died in St. Louis. Nineteen of Gilmore's former musicians eventually joined Sousa's band, including Herbert L. Clarke (cornet) and E. A. Lefebre (saxophone). The original name of the band was "Sousa's New Marine Band", but criticism from Washington forced the withdrawal of the name. 1895: Sousa's first successful operetta, El Capitan, debuts. 1896: Sousa's promoter David Blakely dies while Sousa and his wife are on vacation in Europe. On the return voyage, Sousa receives the inspiration for The Stars and Stripes Forever. 1900: The Sousa Band tours Europe. 1901: Second European tour. 1905: Third European tour. 1910: World Tour: New York, Great Britain, Canary Islands, South-Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji Islands, Hawaii, Canada. 1917: During World War I, Sousa joins the US Naval Reserve at age 62. He is assigned the rank of lieutenant and paid a salary of $1 per month. 1919-1932: After the war, Sousa continued to tour with his band. He championed the cause of music education, received several honorary degrees and fought for composers' rights, testifying before Congress in 1927 and 1928. 1932: Sousa dies at age 77, after conducting a rehearsal of the Ringgold Band in Reading, Pennsylvania. The last piece he conducted was "The Stars and Stripes Forever".

PX Concert Cycle

Bob Margolis (born, 1949)

Bob Margolis is a native New Yorker. He studied recorder with Bernard Krainis and pursued the study of music at Brooklyn College before transferring to the University of California at Berkley, where he studied design. He later returned to Brooklyn College, completing his Bachelor of Arts degree in speech and television production in 1974. Margolis subsequently studied composition under William Schimmel and Robert Starer and orchestration with Arnold Rosner. He earned his Master of Arts degree from Brooklyn College in 1977. Margolis began instruction on the recorder at the age of seven. His interest in this instrument has lead to the publication of several articles in The American Recorder and a collaboration with Rhonda B. Weber on the teacher's manual to The Soprano Recorder for Children. In 1981, Margolis established Manhattan Beach Music and since has published a multitude of high quality works for band and wind ensemble. His own works, such as Fanfare, Ode & Festival, Battle Pavanne, Belle Qui Tien Ma Vie, Soldiers Procession and Sword Dance, Color and his masterwork, Terpsichore - have become staples of the repertoire for bands and wind ensembles around the world. (from Teaching Music through Performance in Band; Blocher, Cramer, Corporan, et al)

Cartoon Time Concert Cycle

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868)

Gioacchino Rossini (1792-1868) was the only child of Giuseppe Rossini, the town trumpeter of Lugo and inspector of slaughter-houses. After early lessons in singing and the harpsichord, he entered the Bologna Academy in 1806 to study counterpoint and the cello. He later won commissions from Italian theaters in the cities of Venice, Milan, and Naples. It was during this period Otello, La Gazza Ladra, and The Barber of Seville. He received Beethoven's admiration during a Rossini festival in Vienna in 1822. He went on to enjoy a very successful season in London, and then took over management of the Italian Theater in Paris, where he a successful career as composer and producer. All of his 39 operas were written in a period of two decades. After William Tell was completed in 1829, Rossini was never to write another stage work. He spent the rest of his life teaching and doing some composing in Italy and France, finally settling again in Paris. His last years were spent as a gourmet and as the witty leader of the artistic world. The Barber of Seville Overture The overture was originally written not for The Barber of Seville, but for the earlier opera of Rossini's Aurelian in Palmyra [1813], and did not make its way to the position it now occupies until three years later. None of the themes may be found in the opera, yet its light and bubbly gaiety, and the music's general resemblance to the ideal of Figaro are wholly expressive of what transpires in The Barber of Seville, both musically and dramatically. It is the most enduring, most popular, and perhaps the master work of Giocchino Rossini. (John Paynter) - http://www.karadar.com/Dictionary/rossini.html

Die Walkure - The Valkyries - by Richard Wagner A Plot Synopsis Act I During a raging storm, Siegmund seeks shelter at the house of the warrior Hunding. Hunding is not present, and Siegmund is greeted by Sieglinde, Hunding's unhappy wife. Siegmund tells her that he is fleeing from enemies. After taking a drink of mead, he moves to leave, claiming to be cursed by misfortune. However, Sieglinde bids him to stay, saying that he can bring no misfortune to the "house where ill-luck lives." Returning, Hunding reluctantly offers Siegmund his hospitality. Sieglinde, who is increasingly fascinated with the visitor, urges him to tell his tale. Siegmund describes returning home with his father one day, to find his his mother dead and his twin sister abducted. He then wandered with his father, until parted from him as well. One day, he found a girl being forced into marriage and fought with the girl's relatives. However, his weapons were broken, and he was forced to flee to Hunding's home. When Siegmund finishes, Hunding reveals that he is one of Siegmund's pursuers. He grants Siegmund a night's stay, but they are to do battle in the morning. Hunding leaves the room with Sieglinde, ignoring his wife's distress. Siegmund laments his misfortune, recalling his father's promise that he would find a sword in direst need. Sieglinde returns, having drugged Hunding's drink to send him into a deep sleep. She reveals that she is Siegmund's twin sister, abducted by Hunding's clan and forced into marriage with Hunding. During their wedding feast, an old Wanderer - whom only Sieglinde recognized as her father Wälse - had appeared and plunged a sword into the trunk of the ash tree in the center of the room. Whereas Hunding and his companions had all failed to remove the sword, Siegmund now easily draws it out. He names the blade Nothung. Siegmund and Sieglinde, who have fallen in love, flee together from Hunding's house. Act II Wotan is standing on a rocky mountainside with Brünnhile, his Valkyrie daughter. He instructs Brünnhile to protect Siegmund in his coming fight with Hunding. Fricka, Wotan's wife and the guardian of wedlock, arrives demanding punishment against Siegmund and Sieglinde, who have committed adultery and incest. She knows that Wotan, disguised as the mortal man Wälse, had fathered Siegmund and Sieglinde. Wotan protests that he requires a free hero to aid his plans, but Fricka retorts that Siegmund is not a free hero, but an unwitting pawn of Wotan. Backed into a corner, Wotan promises Fricka that Siegmund is to die. Fricka leaves, leaving Brünnhile with a despairing Wotan. Wotan explains his problems: troubled by the warning delivered by Erda (at the end of Das Rheingold), he had seduced the earth-goddess to learn more of the prophesied doom; Brünnhile was born to him by Erda. He had raised Brünnhile and eight other daughters as the Valkyries, warrior maidens who gather the souls of fallen heroes to form an army against Alberich. Valhalla's army will fail if Alberich wielded the Ring, which is in Fafnir's possession. Using the Tarnhelm, the giant has transformed into a dragon, lurking in a forest with the Nibelung treasure. Wotan cannot wrest the Ring from Fafnir, who is bound to him by contract; he needs a free hero to defeat Fafnir in his stead. However, as Fricka pointed out, he can only create thralls to himself. Bitterly, Wotan orders Brünnhile to obey Fricka and ensure the death of his beloved child Siegmund. Siegmund and Sieglinde enter the mountain pass, where Sieglinde faints in guilt and exhaustion. Brünnhile approaches Siegmund, telling him of his impending death. Siegmund refuses to follow Brünnhile to Valhalla when he finds out that Sieglinde cannot come along. Impressed by his courage, Brünnhile relents and agrees to protect Siegmund instead. Hunding arrives and attacks Siegmund. Blessed by Brünnhile, Siegmund begins to overpower Hunding, but Wotan appears and shatters Nothung with his spear. Disarmed, Siegmund is slain by Hunding. Brünnhilde seizes Sieglinde and the shards of Nothung, and flees on horseback. Wotan looks down on Siegmund's body, grieving. He kills Hunding with a contemptuous gesture, and sets out in pursuit of Brünnhile. Act III The other Valkyries assemble on the summit of a mountain, each with a dead hero in her saddlebag. They are astonished when Brünnhilde arrives with a living woman. She begs them to help, but they dare not defy Wotan. Brünnhilde decides to delay Wotan as Sieglinde flees. She also reveals that Sieglinde is pregnant by Siegmund, and names the unborn son Siegfried ("joyous in victory"). Wotan arrives in wrath and passes judgement on Brünnhilde: she is to be stripped of her godhood and held in a magic sleep on the mountain, prey to any man who happens by. Dismayed, the other Valkyries flee. Brünnhilde begs mercy of Wotan for his favorite child. She recounts the courage of Siegmund and her decision to protect him, knowing that was Wotan's true desire. Wotan consents to her last request: to encircle the mountaintop with magic flame, which will deter all but the bravest of heroes. Wotan lays Brünnhilde down on a rock and sends her into an enchanted sleep. He summons Loge to create the magic fire to protect Brünnhilde, and departs in sorrow.

Julius Fucik (1872-1916)

Julius Ernst Wilhelm Fucik was born in Prague where he studied at the conservatory from 1885 to 1891 with, among others, the notes Anton Dvorak. He later served in the 49th Austro-Hungarian Regimental Band at Krems with J. F. Wagner [composer of Under the Double Eagle March], then returned to Prague to play bassoon in two local orchestras. In 1897 he began his career as a bandmaster with the 86th Regiment Band in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and later returned to his country to lead the 92nd Regiment Band at Theresienstadt. He retired as bandmaster in 1913 and settled in Berlin where he organized an orchestra and started his own music publishing firm, TempoVerlag. Fucik was a prolific composer. His 400 works included operettas, chamber music, masses, songs, and a symphonic suite. Of his more than 100 marches, the Entry of the Gladiators [also known as Thunder and Blazes] and the Florentiner March are probably the best known and most-recorded [Robert Hoe, Jr. from Band Music Notes]

Vince Guaraldi (1929-1976) No, our ears were not deceiving us......The two most recent PEANUTS television specials, "It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown" and "You're in the Superbowl, Charlie Brown," were highlighted by a welcome musical homecoming: Vince Guaraldi's original jazz themes, as interpreted by current GRP recording artist David Benoit. "Cartoon music," as it is pejoratively dismissed, has rarely been granted the respect it sometimes deserves. Like film soundtracks, the themes behind animated characters often are as invisible as the composers who penned them. To a certain degree, that omission is deserved; although Warner Brothers studio composer Carl Stallings filled Bugs Bunny and Road Runner cartoons with echoes of everything from Mozart to the frenetic noodlings of Raymond Scott, most folks think of cartoon music in terms of the vapid -- and overly enthusiastic -- vocal renditions of "Meet the Flintstones." A catchy title tune, cacophonous sound effects, and minimal interior melody. (Just in passing, staunch fans of quality animation music should seek these three CDs: two volumes of "The Carl Stallings Project," which feature themes, variations, and a few complete Warner Brothers cartoon soundtracks; and "Reckless Nights and Turkish Twilights," which showcases the wildly original Raymond Scott compositions excerpted by Stallings. Scott was decades ahead of his time; you've truly never heard anything like this stuff before...except in just about every Warner Brothers cartoon ever made.) All this changed when San Francisco jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi was hired to score the first PEANUTS television special, a documentary called "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (not to be confused with the big-screen feature of the same title). Superficially no different than any other television analysis of a noteworthy individual -- in this case, Charles Schulz -- the show nonetheless brought together three remarkable talents: Schulz, writer/producer/director Lee Mendelson, and Guaraldi. Somehow, the whole became greater than the sum of its parts. Guaraldi's smooth trio compositions -- piano, bass, and drums -- perfectly balanced Charlie Brown's kid-sized universe. Sprightly, puckish, and just as swiftly somber and poignant, these gentle jazz riffs established musical trademarks which, to this day, still prompt smiles of recognition. They reflected the whimsical personality of a man affectionately known as a "pixie," an image Guaraldi did not discourage. He'd wear funny hats, wild mustaches, and display hairstyles from buzzed crewcuts to rock-star shags. "You'd never know when you were going to recognize him," Schulz once commented. "Something was always growing or not growing." But exactly where did Vince Guaraldi come from? Flashback: Sunday evening, the final night of 1958's first annual Monterey Jazz Festival. It's after midnight, and 6,000 rabid jazz fans have had their fill. The last meal was eons ago, the chilly ocean breezes and Monterey fog are cutting through even the warmest coats, and folks are ready to boogie home. Who could blame them? They've seen and heard the likes of Dizzy Gillespie, Billie Holiday, Sonny Rollins, and numerous other jazz greats. The sensory cup wasn't just full, it ran over hours earlier. Few, as a result, would have envied the five youthful individuals who took the stage for their 1:00 a.m. finale. Even Cal Tjader, already earning the respect of his peers, must have been nervous as he assembled his quintet. What could be worse than having folks walk out on you, at the Monterey Jazz Festival? He needn't have worried. Thanks in no small part to the "sound of surprise" from a feisty pianist named Vince Guaraldi, whose extended blues riffs literally had the crowd screaming for more, Tjader's quintet received more than a standing ovation. The group garnered the highest possible accolade: folks left -- only after festival officials killed the stage lights -- wanting to know where else they could hear these guys...and where to buy their records. At this moment, Guaraldi was midway through his two-and-a-half-year stint with Tjader. Like most so-called overnight successes, Vincent Anthony Guaraldi -- who forever described himself as "a reformed boogie-woogie piano player" -- worked hard for his big break. The facts are dull enough: the man eventually dubbed "Dr. Funk" by his compatriots was born in San Francisco on July 17, 1928; he graduated from Lincoln High School and then San Francisco State College. The music was the important part. Guaraldi was already performing while in college, haunting sessions at the Black Hawk and Jackson's Nook, sometimes with the Chubby Jackson/Bill Harris band, other times in combos with Sonny Criss and Bill Harris. He played weddings, high school concerts, and countless other small-potatoes gigs. His favorite musicians included Bill Harris, Oscar Peterson, and Tal Farlow. "Jimmy Yancy was a great early influence on my playing," Guaraldi often explained. "Also Albert Ammons and Pete Johnson, but it was Yancy's way of handling the blues that really grabbed me." His first serious booking came at the Black Hawk, when he worked as an intermission pianist...filling in for the legendary Art Tatum. "It was more than scary," Guaraldi recalled, in album liner notes. "I came close to giving up the instrument, and I wouldn't have been the first after working with Tatum." Guaraldi's first recorded work can be heard on "Vibratharpe," a 1953 release by the Cal Tjader Trio. Guaraldi then avoided studios for the next few years, preferring to further hone his talents in the often unforgiving atmosphere of San Francisco's beatnik club scene. In 1955 he put together his own trio -- longtime friend Eddie Duran on guitar, Dean Reilly on bass -- and tackled North Beach's bohemian hungry i club. (The lower-case name was an affectation, like so much of the "beat" era.) While luminaries such as Mort Sahl and Professor Irwin Corey headlined on the main stage, Guaraldi's group held forth in a smaller lounge appropriately dubbed "The Other Room." Pretty soon, customers bypassed the main stage and headed straight for that other room. (A few years later, Guaraldi became the hungry i's first jazz headliner. To nobody's surprise, his appearance was less a booking, and more an event.) 1955 also saw his return to studio work. In addition to lending his keyboard support to the Ron Crotty Trio, Guaraldi made his recorded debut as group leader, although with different personnel: John Markham (drums), Eugene Wright (bass), and Jerry Dodgion (alto sax). All these cuts, two of them written by Guaraldi -- one of those, "Calling Dr. Funk," an acknowledgment of his already common nickname -- can be found on "Modern Music from San Francisco" (Fantasy, 3-213*). What soon came to be recognized as the "Guaraldi sound," however, resulted from several recording sessions with his hungry i buddies. The original Vince Guaraldi Trio, with Eddie Duran and Dean Reilly, can be heard on two genuinely pleasant releases: "The Vince Guaraldi Trio" (Fantasy 3-225*, recorded in 1956) and "A Flower is a Lonesome Thing" (Fantasy 3-257*, 1957). The late 50s were a busy time. Aside from studio sessions with Conte Candoli (two albums), Frank Rosolino (one album), and Cal Tjader (at least ten albums), Guaraldi toured in 1956 with Woody Herman's third "Thundering Herd," replacing Nat Pierce on piano for one season. This interlude also produced two albums, although Guaraldi's contributions are hard to distinguish amid the full-blown fury of Herman's big-band sound. National prominence was just around the corner. Inspired by the 1959 French/Portuguese film "Black Orpheus," Guaraldi hit the studio with a new trio -- Monte Budwig on bass, Colin Bailey on drums -- and recorded his own interpretations of Antonio Carlos Jobim's haunting soundtrack music. The 1962 album was called "Jazz Impression of Black Orpheus" (Fantasy 8089*), and "Samba de Orpheus" was the first selection released as a single. Combing the album for a suitable B-side number, Guaraldi's producers finally ghettoized a modest original composition titled "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." Fortunately, some enterprising Sacramento, California DJs turned the single over... ...and the rest was history. "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a Gold Record winner and earned the 1963 Grammy as Best Instrumental Jazz Composition. It was constantly demanded during Guaraldi's club engagements, prompting interviewers to ask if the composer ever tired of his most famous composition. Guaraldi always shook his head, choosing instead to view such requests as an affirmation of his popularity: "It's like signing your name to a check." Suddenly, jazz fans couldn't get enough of Guaraldi. He responded with several albums during 1963 and 64: "Vince Guaraldi: In Person" (Fantasy 8352), with Fred Marshall on bass, Eddie Duran on guitar, Colin Bailey on drums and Benny Velarde on scratcher; "Jazz Impressions" (Fantasy 8359), with Duran; "The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi" (Fantasy 8360*), with Marshall, Duran, Velarde (timbales this time), Bill Fitch on congas, Jerry Granelli on drums and a supplemental string quartet; and "Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete, and Friends" (Fantasy 8356), with Marshall, Granelli and Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete. The latter marked the first of several collaborations with talented Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete; subsequent team-ups occurred on "From All Sides" (Fantasy 8362) -- with Marshall, Granelli, Budwig and Nick Martinez -- and "Live at El Matador" (Fantasy 8371). (No personnel beyond Guaraldi and Sete are listed on the latter.) (One cut on "From All Sides," called "Menino Pequeno Da Bateria," underwent a slight transformation and emerged as "My Little Drum" in "A Charlie Brown Christmas.") It should not be imagined, however, that Guaraldi spent all his time in studios. Aside from his ongoing club dates, he also had a rather improbable gig at the 1963 Stanford/Oregon football game. "The Stanford Band went on strike, and my trio filled in during the half-time goings-on. They had a monster hi-fi PA system, and you could hear my trio all over Stanford Stadium...it was wild." Bassist Fred Marshall was part of that gig, and he remembers that the band -- including the piano -- was set up on a big cart and rolled out to the middle of the field at the 50-yard line. As "stadium rock," per se, hadn't yet become the fixture it soon would, Marshall reckons this to be one of the first times that so many people had the opportunity to hear live music in "hi-fi" sound. "The sound was clear everywhere," Marshall recalls, "even to us at the 50-yard line...and, after the first eight bars, the place came apart...positively hair-raising!" Guaraldi was also a recognized fixture on television, if only in the Bay Area. He and jazz critic Ralph Gleason documented the success of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" in the three-part "Anatomy of a Hit," produced for San Francisco's KQED; later, shortly after his first album with Bola Sete, Guaraldi did a "Jazz Casual" TV show for the same network. The most prestigious task, however, was yet to come. Even before Duke Ellington played San Francisco's Grace Cathedral, that venerable institution's Reverend Charles Gompertz selected Guaraldi to write a modern jazz setting for the choral Eucharist. The composer labored 18 months with his trio and a 68-voice choir, and the result is an impressive blend of Latin influences, waltz tempos, and traditional jazz "supper music." It was performed on May 21, 1965. Guaraldi worked with a new trio for this gig: Tom Beeson, bass, and Lee Charlton, drums. "I had one of America's largest cathedrals as a setting, a top choir, and a critical audience that would be more than justified in finding fault," Guaraldi recalls, on the liner notes of "At Grace Cathedral" (Fantasy 8367*). "I was in a musical world that had lived with the Eucharist for 500-600 years, and I had to improve and/or update it to 20th-century musical standards. This was the most awesome and challenging thing I had ever attempted." Clearly, if Vince Guaraldi could write music for God, he could pen turns for Charlie Brown. When "A Charlie Brown Christmas" debuted in 1965, it did more than reunite Schulz, Mendelson, and Guaraldi, who quickly turned the PEANUTS franchise into a television institution. That first special also shot Guaraldi to greater fame, and he became irreplaceably welded to all subsequent PEANUTS shows. Many of his earliest PEANUTS tunes -- "Linus and Lucy," "Red Baron," and "Great Pumpkin Waltz," among others -- became signature themes which turned up in later specials. Guaraldi became so busy that the ensuing decade saw only half a dozen major-studio releases, three of them direct results of his PEANUTS work: "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (Fantasy 8430*), "A Charlie Brown Christmas" (Fantasy 8431*), and "Oh, Good Grief!" (Warner Brothers/ Seven Arts 1747*). Perhaps recognizing that the "Charlie Brown sound" bore more than a faint echo of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," Guaraldi used familiar faces on the first two albums, to round out his trio...but exactly which familiar faces has been the subject of some interest for many years. Both original LPs fail to mention Guaraldi's sidemen in their copious liner notes, but the information does surface on "Vince Guaraldi: Greatest Hits" (Fantasy MPF-4505*), which credits Marshall and Granelli, respectively, on bass and drums. Happily, the record was set straight when Fantasy re-issued the CD of "A Charlie Brown Christmas" in August of 1999. The first 11 cuts - which is to say, all the cuts from the original LP -- were made with Marshall and Granelli. The bonus track, "Greensleeves" (added when the CD version of the LP first was released), was made with Monty Budwig and Colin Bailey. (I'm indebted here to helpful information from Fred Marshall himself, and his good friend Dorian Makres, who first called my attention to this matter.) Since these are two of Guaraldi's most popular albums, I can well appreciate the need to set the record straight...so let's hope the matter now can be set to rest! The December 17-23, 1998, Dallas Observer published an article with additional information on this situation, and while it seems to answer some questions, author Robert Wilonsky shaded his piece with rather more intrigue than actually existed. Still, it's worth seeking out, if only for more background on the situation. The third, however, is quite unlike the others. Indulging his own passion for experimentation, and acknowledging the by-now pervasive influence of rock 'n' roll, Guaraldi switched from piano to electric harpsichord and gathered Stanley Gilbert on bass, Carl Burnett on drums, and boon companion Eddie Duran on electric guitar. The results are far sassier and jazzier than his usual, quieter trio sound. At some point between his switch from the Fantasy label to Warner Brothers, Guaraldi took the time to produce and direct an album which has become quite obscure: 1968's "Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus" (D&D VG 1116). The mod jacket art and Guaraldi's mustached features were quite the counterpoint to a truly lovely album, which reunited the composer with the chorus which had accompanied him during several festival and concert appearances. Guaraldi's group included Duran on guitar; Beeson, Kelly Bryan and Roland Haynes on bass; and John Rae and Lee Charlton on drums. In addition to its many other highlights, the album features yet another reading of "My Little Drum." Guaraldi's penultimate album, "The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi" (Warner Brothers/Seven Arts 1775), has several distinctions: aside from being damn near impossible to find, it marks Guaraldi's recorded vocal debut. (Mel Torme has nothing to worry about.) It also includes one original composition, "Nobody Else," which sounds as though it would easily fit the PEANUTS canon. This album features quite the Who's Who of talent: Bob Maize and Jim McCabe on electric bass; Peter Marshall on bass; Robert Addison and Eddie Duran on electric guitar; Gerald Granelli and Al Coster on drums; and two celli, two violas and seven violins. While undeniably scarce, that LP is practically common when compared to Guaraldi's final album. 1974's "Alma-Ville" (Warner Brothers/Seven Arts 1828) apparently received no more than token release, for its existence came as a complete surprise to ye humble author (and thanks to George Fowler, for calling it and the LP with the SF Boys Chorus to my attention). "Alma-Ville" is another ambitious album; in addition to old buddies Colin Bailey (drums), Monte Budwig (bass) and Eddie Duran (guitar), six other musicians are featured: Dom Um Romao and Al Coster on drums; Kelly Bryan on bass; Herb Ellis on guitar; Sebastio Neto on bass guitar; and Rubens Bassini on percussion. Of particular note is Guaraldi's guitar solo on one cut ("Uno Y Uno"), and PEANUTS fans will no doubt appreciate the appearance of "The Masked Marvel," a cut from the television specials which does not appear on any other albums. On February 6, 1976, while waiting in a motel room between sets at Menlo Park's Butterfield's nightclub, Guaraldi died of a sudden heart-attack. He was 47 years old. I was midway through my four years at the University of California at Davis, a mere hour away from Guaraldi's favorite San Francisco nightspots. I'd long anticipated the thrill of one day driving over and watching him perform. I never made it. A few weeks later, on March 16th, "It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown" debuted on television. It was the 15th, and last, PEANUTS television special to boast Guaraldi's original music. He had just finished recording his portion of the soundtrack on the very afternoon of the day he died. Along with 1969's "A Boy Named Charlie Brown" (the only big-screen PEANUTS film to include Guaraldi's work), these specials represent a legacy far weightier, even, than the few dozen albums carefully hoarded by discriminating jazz fans. (Three decades later, no doubt responding to unceasing pleas from fans who wondered what had become of the themes and background music in all those other television specials, Fantasy released 1998's "Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits" -- FCD-9682-2 -- which included no fewer than nine previously unissued tracks, from the theme to "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" to a vocal rendition of "Oh, Good Grief," performed by Lee Mendelson's son's sixth-grade class. Although many of these "new" tracks are monaural and have the jump starts and quick fades of unrefinished television cues, the CD still is a gold mine for Guaraldi fans who spent 30 years repeatedly playing the first three CDs. Now there are four!) Those who followed in Guaraldi's footsteps -- Ed Bogas, Desiree Goyette, Judy Munsen -- found the shoes impossible to fill. Not one produced a song or theme anywhere near as catchy as the Master, and several of the specials from the late 70s and 80s consequently lacked a certain zip. No doubt recognizing Guaraldi's invaluable contributions, Lee Mendelson and Charles Schulz paid him the highest possible tribute at the conclusion of "The Music of America," one segment of the "This is America, Charlie Brown" miniseries. Responding to Lucy's doubts that he might actually have a favorite song, Charlie Brown replies, "Well, there's one...and I think it was written in the 1960s. I think it was some of that jazz Franklin was talking about. I believe the composer was a man by the name of Vince Guaraldi. And I think it was called 'Linus and Lucy'...by coincidence. "And I think it goes like this..." ...and he hums the first few bars. Cue the most familiar of all signature themes, which rises and envelops the gang as they walk into the sunset. Next to Linus' spotlighted explanation of Christmas in "A Charlie Brown Christmas," this remains my favorite PEANUTS three-hanky moment. "I don't think I'm a great piano player," Guaraldi once said, "but I would like to have people like me, to play pretty tunes and reach the audience. And I hope some of those tunes will become standards. I want to write standards, not just hits." He got his wish. Windham Hill recording artist George Winston has been playing "Linus and Lucy" for years, during his concert appearances. A promise to record it and other Guaraldi cuts finally bore fruit in the autumn of 1996, with the release of Winston's "Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi" (Windham Hill 01934). "Linus and Lucy" also has been interpreted by Wynton Marsalis, Dave Brubeck, and David Benoit; no doubt its appearance on the latter's "This Side Up" (ENP 0001*) led to his selection as Guaraldi's ongoing torch-bearer. GRP Records had a smash hit with their soundtrack to the television special "Happy Anniversary Charlie Brown," which gathered numerous jazz luminaries for their interpretations of classic Guaraldi compositions, along with some new cuts clearly inspired by Dr. Funk's Peanuts themes. "Christmas Time is Here," recorded by luminaries such as singer Patti Austin, guitarist Ron Eschete, and pianist Ellis Marsalis, is rapidly becoming a seasonal fixture. And damn near everybody of consequence has covered "Cast Your Fate to the Wind." Let's fade with the words of Jon Hendricks, poet laureate of jazz, who once wrote: "Vince is what you call a piano player. That's different from a pianist. A pianist can play anything you can put in front of him. A piano player can play anything before you can put it in front of him." (from an article by Derrick Bang, summer 1993 issue of Peanuts Collectors Club newsletter - entitled Vince Guaraldi - "He worked for more than Peanuts" - was most information I could find about him in one spot - Grrr...)