MAINSTAY - First Friday with Joe Holt - It's almost Christmas, Charlie Brown!
For his December First Friday program, pianist and impresario Joe Holt has produced an evening of seasonal music that pays tribute to jazz pianist/ composer Vince Guaraldi. Guaraldi scored it big in the 1960s with a hit record on AM radio. But no one could have predicted the next opportunity that came knocking on his door.
In 1963, while searching for music to accompany a planned Peanuts television special entitled A Boy Named Charlie Brown, television producer Lee Mendelson heard Guaraldi’s Grammy award winning hit "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the radio and offered Guaraldi the job of composing the score for the program. In his later reflections, Mendelson said, "it just blew me away. It was so right, and so perfect for Charlie Brown and the other characters.” It wasn’t long before Mendelson retained Guaraldi for the upcoming Peanuts Christmas special, A Charlie Brown Christmas.
The soundtrack contained the song "Christmas Time Is Here", and melodies that highlighted each character such as Charlie Brown's theme, Linus and Lucy, Frieda (with the naturally curly hair), and Peppermint Patty. Guaraldi defined the Peanuts sound, and just about everybody knows the music.
Joining Joe for this seasonal tribute will be Greg Burrows on drums and Tom Baldwin on bass.