July 17
Vincent Anthony Dellaglio is born in San Francisco's North Beach area.
Unspecified
Five-year-old Vince takes an interest in keeping the beat when his uncles, Joe and Maurice "Muzzy" Marcellino, visit the home and perform music for the family.
Unspecified
Seven-year-old Vince's mother, Carmella, begins giving her son piano lessons.
September
Vince, as a Boy Scout, receives merit badges for safety, personal health and firemanship.
Guaraldi takes formal lessons from jazz pianist, composer and bandleader Leonard Auletti.
Guaraldi meets and begins dating Shirley Moskowitz.
June 8
The San Francisco Chronicle's Herb Caen reports that "Jack Rushin has bought a five-story bldg. on Market (near New Montgy.) and has turned it into a wine 'n' dine emporium -- complete with $3,000 neon sign reading 'Jack's.' Immediately came a squawko from the bosses of the same-named restaurant -- so now the new spot will be called 'Fack's,' whatever that means." Fack's, at 609 Market Street, eventually will become one of the city's jazz hot spots.
(Over time, Rushin modified his explanation of the club's odd name by insisting that the neon sign ordered to hang above the entrance arrived flawed, but he elected to use it anyway ... a much more engaging anecdote than the initial threat of legal reprisal!)
June
Guaraldi graduates from Abraham Lincoln High School, in the center of San Francisco's Sunset District.
July-August
Guaraldi gets his first commissioned gig, performing at a summer resort in Yosemite.
September
Guaraldi begins his two-year military hitch in Korea.
Unspecified
George Andros takes over Fack's, and soon begins a more aggressive policy of booking jazz acts.
Summer
Guaraldi returns home from Korea.
Autumn
Guaraldi enrolls in a music course at San Francisco State University: the extent of his university career.
Unspecified
Guaraldi has his first professional gig, briefly touring with saxman Kermit Scott, who formerly worked with Thelonious Monk. The first stop -- with Guaraldi in the band -- is in Yosemite.
Jazz pianist Slim Gaillard opens Vout City, a nightclub at 1690 Post Street, San Francisco. Gaillard abandons the endeavor after only a few months; new manager John "Jimbo" Edwards remakes the place into Jimbo's Waffle Shop, and begins to host after-hours jazz sessions ("At night or after other spots close"). As a result, by the spring of 1952 the place is nicknamed Jimbo's Bop City, which soon becomes the venue's official designation.
Unspecified
Max and Soul (Sol) Weiss set up Fantasy Records at 654 Natoma Street, “in an alley off San Francisco’s Market Street” (as per Fantasy's official history).
Late summer/early autumn
At some point after June 22 -- at which point the venue still was called the Story Club -- Guido Caccienti and Johnny Noga purchase a building at 200 Hyde Street. It had opened as the Stork Club several years earlier (1943 or '45, depending on sources), as little more than a dive bar, and within a few years drew the wrath of New York's famous Stork Club. The New York nightspot successfully sued in 1946, so the owner of the San Francisco venue changed the name to "Story Club" for its final years of operation.
Caccienti and Noga re-fashion the space into a nightclub, and call their new business the Blackhawk; it opens on October 7. They probably opened in late summer; soon thereafter, entertainment is provided by a house music and comedy act dubbed The Eastman Trio, which features Noga as a vocalist. (They're known to have recorded one single on the Fulton Records label, with "My Baby Smiled at Me" backed by "A Friend.") They're still "Appearing Nightly at Their Own Club" as of November 11.
Roughly a year later, local radio DJ Jimmy Lyons persuades Caccienti and Noga to book a rising jazz act: the Dave Brubeck Trio. From that point forward, the club becomes one of San Francisco's hottest jazz spots.
Unspecified
Guaraldi meets and begins jamming with Cal Tjader.
[At this time, Tjader is most often a member of Dave Brubeck's Trio, alongside bassist Ron Crotty; sometimes Tjader also performs with Brubeck's Octet.]
September 9
Eric "Big Daddy" Nord opens a club in the basement of the Sentinel Building, at the corner of Kearny and Columbus, in San Francisco's North Beach area. For reasons that are debated to this day, the club is given the name the hungry i, and initially is billed as "a membership club catering to artists, actors, etc., and running from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m."
Unspecified
Eric Nord sells the hungry i to Enrico Banducci.
April 12-??
Cable Car Village, in San Francisco, as part of saxman Chuck Travis' Quartet, with bassist Charlie Price and drummer Pat Krilitich.
(Rather oddly, Down Beat ran the photo and caption above on November 16, two months after Guaraldi is known to have joined Cal Tjader's trio. Although this magazine often was behind with its booking information, it does suggest that the Travis Quartet, with Guaraldi, may have returned to Cable Car Village more than once, during the late spring and early summer. On a more exciting note, this is the earliest known photo of Guaraldi performing with a professional quartet.)
Summer
Strip Town (later known as The Carousel), a San Francisco strip club, playing for the girls with Tom Hart, sax; and John Markham, drums.
[This gig runs about three months.]
Late August/early September
In the Fantasy Records studio, San Francisco, for two days, recording a never-released demo with Tom Hart, soprano sax; Eddie Duran, guitar; Gus Gustafson, drums; and an unknown bass player.
Tracks recorded: "Naivete," "Cacophony," "Minority" and "I Double Dare You." "Minority" is written by Guaraldi.
September 10-22
The Blackhawk, in San Francisco. Guaraldi joins Cal Tjader's trio, likely during the first week of this gig, replacing John Marabuto (who had been with Tjader since May 1951). Jack Weeks is on bass; the bill also inludes the Vernon Alley Quartet and singer Hadda Brooks.
September 23
With Tjader's Trio, as part of the bill for the first in a series of "Jazz Pops" concerts presented by DJs Jimmy Lyons and Don Barksdale; the line-up features pianists Andre Previn and Paul Smith, vocalist Betty Bennett, the Vernon Alley Quartette, Maynard Ferguson, Shelly Manne and Art Pepper. The 4 p.m. matinee takes place at San Francisco's Downtown Theater, followed by an 8 p.m. repeat in the Berkeley High School Auditorium.
(On a purely personal note, as an avid fan of Paul Smith, this probably is the only time he and Guaraldi shared a stage.)
October 19-November 1 (?)
The Mardi Gras, in Oakland, as part of Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio, with Jack Weeks, bass.
November 13-December 9 (?)
The Mardi Gras, in Oakland, as part of Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio, with Jack Weeks, bass.
Tjader flew to Vancouver BC to substitute on drums for his idol, Gene Krupa, during a pair of Jazz at the Philharmonic concerts on Saturday and Sunday, November 17-18. As a result, Guaraldi and Weeks had that weekend off.
November
Fantasy Studios, as part of Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio, recording the four tracks released on Tjader's first Fantasy session as a bandleader.
Tracks recorded: "Chopsticks Mambo," "Vibra-Tharpe," "Three Little Words" and "Lullaby of the Leaves."
[These tracks, and four others, eventually are released in December 1953, as the album The Cal Tjader Trio.]
December 11 (?)-?
The Blackhawk, in San Francisco, as part of Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio, with Jack Weeks, bass.
[Ralph Pena subbed in for Weeks for at least one day, possibly more.]
January 8-20
The Blackhawk, in San Francisco, as part of Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio, with Jack Weeks, bass. The trio alternated with the Vernon Alley Quartet and vocalist Ernie Andrews.
February 17
A single with two tracks from the November 1951 Fantasy session -- with "Vibra-Tharpe" and "Chopsticks Mambo" -- is issued and reviewed on this day in the San Francisco Chronicle, marking the first time Guaraldi is mentioned in a review. The brief piece reads, in total: "Fine vibes by Cal, piano by Vince Guaraldi, feature the first side. The flip is the Tati Tati of jazz, with Vince playing 'Chopsticks' while Cal whales the bongos around him. Novel but nice."
[The single must not have sold well, since the Tjader Trio's first album wouldn't be released for almost two more years!]
March 3-24
The Blackhawk, in San Francisco, as part of Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio, with Jack Weeks, bass. The trio alternated with the Vernon Alley Quartet and vocalist Betty Bennett, in what ads touted as a "Carnival of Jazz."
March 11
Guaraldi gets his first mention by a newspaper columnist. The San Francisco Chronicle's Dean Jennings, in his society/music column It's News to Me, pens the following: "Nervous habit dept: Vince Guaraldi, the gone pianist with Cal Tjader's Trio at the Blackhawk, has just discovered why he has a large bald spot on an otherwise healthy head. Seems he scratches the spot with one finger when he gets jumpy, and he's worn it down to the casing."
April 8-16
The Blackhawk, in San Francisco, as part of Cal Tjader's Mambo Trio, with Jack Weeks, bass. The trio alternated with the Vernon Alley Quartet.
[Tjader fired Guaraldi after this gig concluded.]
December 2-20
The Blackhawk, as intermission pianist, performing in between headliner Art Tatum's sets.
February 1
Guaraldi and Shirley Moskowitz marry.
March
Saxman Charlie Mariano records a Guaraldi composition, "The Nymph," on his debut album for Fantasy Records, Charlie Mariano. Guaraldi does not perform on the album, but this marks his debut recorded sale. The album is released in November 1953.
Mid-April
Keith Rockwell and Virginia Steinhoff open The Purple Onion at 140 Columbus. Over time, the venue would become an important part of the San Francisco club scene, best known for folk musicians and comics; jazz was scarce. Guaraldi is not known to have performed there.
July 5
As of this date, Guaraldi has (just) joined the Chubby Jackson/Bill Harris Herd (a sextet) in mid-tour, replacing Sonny Truitt on piano. Guaraldi performs alongside Harris, trombone; Jackson, bass; Charlie Mariano, alto and baritone sax; Harry Johnson, tenor sax; and Joe MacDonald, drums. Guaraldi likely came to the band's attention during its four-week booking at the Blackhawk (April 21-May 17).
July 20
John and Helen Noga, owners of the Blackhawk, open a second jazz club at 90 Market Street; they call this one the Downbeat. The opening act is Buddy DeFranco, the "king of the clarinet," and his quartet.
The club's life proves brief: not quite two years.
Early summer
Leroy "Sam" Parkins, clarinet, joins the Chubby Jackson/Bill Harris Herd, when it plays in Wildwood, New Jersey.
October 1
Author and bullfighting aficionado Barnaby Conrad -- at left in the photo, with San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen — opens a nightclub at 492 Broadway, San Francisco; he calls it El Matador, after his 1952 novel.
Late December
Fantasy finally releases the Tjader Trio's debut album, titled simply Cal Tjader. Guaraldi plays piano on four tracks (recorded during the November 1951 Fantasy session), and John Marabuto handles the other four.
The Downbeat reviewer wasn't impressed, noting that "Vibist Cal Tjader also doubles on drums in this pleasant but not especially memorable set. ... Pianists John Marabuto and Vince Guaraldi don't excite here, though Vince, I expect, could."
Early March
Saul Zaentz is named national sales manager for Fantasy Records, where "his duties will also include deejay relations."
Mid-April
Enrico Banducci moves his hungry i club to its most famous location, at 599 Jackson Street, in the basement of the International Hotel. San Francisco Examiner columnist Herb Caen visits on April 22, shortly after the move, and describes it thusly: "Vast basement, decorated in formula off-beat style with mobiles and concrete abstractions. Mobiles not moving, on account no air. People not moving, on account no room. ... New hungry i a decided success."
July 1
The Macumba opens at 453 Grant, with a multi-week booking by Cal Tjader and the Afro-Cubans. During its reign of not quite four years, the club becomes another popular fixture in San Francisco's jazz scene.
Summer (?)
The Downbeat, San Francisco, in a combo with Sonny Criss, alto sax; Dean Reilly, bass; and Gus Gustafson, drums.
August 13-26
Fack's, San Francisco, as a member of saxophonist Georgie Auld's quartet, alongside Jerry Good, bass; and Gus Gustafson, drums.
Late summer (?) through the rest of the year
The hungry i, San Francisco, as house band, with Eddie Duran, guitar, and Dean Reilly, bass. This gig runs at least a year, possibly more. During much of this time, the trio backs singer Faith Winthrop.
December 19
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reports that "Ron Crotty's Trio, featuring Ron on bass, Vince Guaraldi on piano and Eddie Duran on guitar, recorded four sides for Fantasy last week." This is intriguing for several reasons. This date seriously conflicts with the August 1955 entry, during which the Ron Crotty Trio is supposed to have recorded the three tracks eventually included on the album Modern Music from San Francisco. Gleason was not one to make mistakes, which implies either that a) the August 1955 recording date is incorrect; or b) this is an entirely different session ... in which case, what happened to these four tracks? Either way, Modern Music from San Francisco contains only three tracks by the Ron Crotty Trio ... which strongly suggests there's at least an unreleased fourth track rattling around somewhere in Fantasy's vaults.
January 21-February 10
The Blackhawk, as a member of saxman Jerry Dodgion's Quartet, alongside bassist Dean Riley and drummer Dottie Grae.
Late February/Early March-Early summer
Back at the hungry i, as house band, with Eddie Duran, guitar, and Dean Reilly, bass.
March 12
Billboard reports that “Saul Zaentz has been named national sales manager for Fantasy Records. He formerly held sales and promotion posts with Clef and Norgran. Zaentz’s Fantasy duties will also include deejay relations.”
March 30
Guaraldi and the rest of his extended clan watch the annual Academy Awards ceremony, on television, as his Uncle Muzzy Marcellino performs his famous whistling introduction to the Oscar-nominated main theme of The High and the Mighty, accompanied by singer Johnny Desmond. The song loses the award to the title theme to Three Coins in the Fountain.
April
The Downbeat closes. The Dave Brubeck Quartet, initially booked for this club, transitions to the Blackhawk.
Early summer
Guaraldi's trio (temporarily) loses its steady gig at the hungry i, thanks to "interference" from headliner Professor Irwin Corey.
(Guaraldi's trio is known to have been at the club as of June 21, when the San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason cited its presence.)
Summer (?)
At the request of Helen Noga, co-owner of the Blackhawk, Guaraldi's trio -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; and Dean Reilly, bass -- accompanies "a young, talented male singer" for an audition tape. Roughly 20 songs were recorded one afternoon at the club, and the resulting tapes were sent to Columbia ... and this launched the career of 19-year-old Johnny Mathis. Helen Noga subsequently became Mathis' manager.
August 4
In a live recording session at the Blackhawk, as part of the Ron Crotty Trio -- along with Eddie Duran, guitar -- to record three tracks for what would become the album Modern Music from San Francisco, released in March of 1956.
Tracks recorded: "The Night We Called It a Day," "(I'm Afraid) The Masquerade Is Over" and "Ginza." Guaraldi wrote "Ginza."
(This date is potentially at odds with an earlier date; see December 19, 1954.)
August [unspecified]
At the Fantasy Records studio, heading his own quartet -- along with Jerry Dodgion, alto sax; Eugene Wright, bass; and John Markham, drums -- to record two tracks for what would become the album Modern Music from San Francisco, released in March of 1956.
Tracks recorded: "Between 8th and 10th on Mission Street" and "Calling Dr. Funk." Guaraldi wrote "Calling Dr. Funk."
This session marks Guaraldi's LP debut as leader of his own combo.
A few months later, having just written the album liner notes, San Francisco Chronicle music critic Ralph Gleason sends Guaraldi a short note that says, in part, "It's a damn good album; everybody was delighted. Your two tunes sound great."
August 11
Guaraldi and his wife welcome the arrival of their son, David Anthony.
August 28
Wheeler Auditorium, UC Berkeley, as part of "Jazz: San Francisco." The Vince Guaraldi Trio -- Eddie Duran, guitar; and Dean Reilly, bass -- performs on its own, and also as part of the Cal Tjader Septet, which also includes Brew Moore, sax; Bob Collins, trombone; and Bobby White, drums. The concert also features clarinetist Vince Cattolica's quintet; Mort Sahl provides on-stage commentary.
The entire concert is recorded by Fantasy, but -- oddly -- only two tracks eventually wind up, one each, on two of Fantasy's Brew Moore albums: "Fools Rush In," on The Brew Moore Quintet; and "Dues Blues," on Brew Moore. To date, the entire concert never has been released.
The Guaraldi trio's performance is known to have included one of his original compositions, "One Man's Famine," which never is included on an album (although it came close; see January 11, 1956).
[The bill was supposed to have starred Dave Brubeck, but he refused to share the stage with any other local jazz artists; Tjader's band was a late substitution.]
Early September (?) through December 25
hungry i owner Enrico Banducci, having decided that Professor Irwin Corey's "advice" was for the birds, rehires the Guaraldi Trio, with Eddie Duran, guitar; and Dean Reilly, bass. They accompany Faith Winthrop through at least November 13, and possibly until November 20. The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason praises Winthrop highly in his September 8 column, so she likely started on September 5.
Sacramento's KOVR-TV broadcasts a live feed from the club weekly at 8 p.m. Wednesdays, from September 21 through (at least) November 30.
December 28
In its "Strictly Ad Lib" column, Down Beat notes that "Vince Guaraldi [is] drawing a lot of comment for his piano playing these nights at the hungry i."
December 31
Philadelphia, performing with Woody Herman's "Third Herd." Guaraldi, having replaced departing pianist Norman Pockrandt, spends the bulk of the next year touring with Herman's big band, joining Johnny Coppola, Burt and Dick Collins, Dud Harvey and Paul Serrano, trumpets; Wayne Andre and Bob Lamb, trombones; Cy Touff, bass trumpet; Richie Kamuca, Bob Hardaway and Arno Marsh, tenor sax; Jay Cameron, baritone sax; Monty Budwig, bass; Will Bradley Jr., drums; and Victor Feldman, vibes.
This concert is broadcast live by Philadelphia's WCAU-TV Channel 10.
January 2
The Storyville Club, Boston, Massachusetts, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 8
The Liberty Ballroom, South River, New Jersey, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 9
The RCA Plant, Harrison, New Jersey, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
Back in San Francisco, on this same day, the Chronicle's David Hulburd, in his Talk Around Town column, reports that "Mrs. Vince Guaraldi, whose piano-playing husband is now in New York with Woody Herman's band, talked to him on the phone the other day and kept asking him how things were. All Vince would say was 'Cool, man, cool,' leaving Mrs. Guaraldi still wondering whether he meant that things were fine in the job, or that it was cold in New York, or that the boss was standing by the phone."
January 11
At a New York studio, recording a session for a potential LP on the Keynote label, with Richie Kamuca, tenor sax; Monty Budwig, bass; and Joe Morello, drums. The album never materializes; the session tapes are believed lost.
Tracks recorded: "A Gal in Calico," "It's You or No One," "It Had to Be You," "Lost April," "Moonlight Becomes You," "The Night Has a Thousand Eyes," "Ginza" and "One Man's Famine." Guaraldi wrote "Ginza" and "One Man's Famine."
January 13-14
Sampson Air Force Base, Seneca Lake, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 15
Dellwood Ballroom, Buffalo, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 16-18
Palace Theater, Hamilton, Ontario, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 20-21
Basin Street, New York City, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
The Down Beat critic, reviewing this booking in the March 7 issue, had nice things to say about Guaraldi: "In the rhythm section, Woody has a find in pianist Vince Guaraldi, a San Franciscan recommended by Ralph Gleason. Guaraldi plays with rare economy of means, much warmth and taste, an excellent beat, and a real feeling for the blues vein in jazz."
January 22
Ritz Ballroom, Bridgeport, Connecticut, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 23-27
Peps Musical Bar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 28
Sunnybrook, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 29
New York (venue unspecified), with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
January 30-February 4
Peps Musical Bar, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 5
New York City (venue unspecified), with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 6
Patterson, New Jersey (venue unspecified), with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 7
Post Field House, Fort Meade, Maryland, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 8
Broyles Skateland, Salisbury, Maryland, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 10-11
Clemson Dining Hall, Clemson, South Carolina, with Woody Herman's Third Herd, performing at Clemson College's Midwinter Ball.
February 12
The Officers Club, Cherry Point, North Carolina, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 13-14
Camp Lejeune Marine Corps Base, Onslow County, North Carolina, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 17-18
Davidson College, Davidson, North Carolina, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 19
The Standard Club, Atlanta, Georgia, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 21
The Timuquana Country Club, Jacksonville, Florida, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 23
The Coliseum, St. Petersburg, Florida, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 24
The San Jose Country Club, Jacksonville, Florida, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 26
MacDill Air Force Base Officers Club, Tampa, Florida, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
February 29
The Officers Club, Fort Benning, Columbus, Georgia, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 3-4
The Walahaja Hotel, Atlanta, Georgia, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 7
In a New York studio, with Woody Herman's Third Herd, recording four tracks: "You Took Advantage of Me," "Wonderful One," "For All We Know" and "To Love Again."
The latter two are released on a single, Capitol 14578; the first two aren't released for decades until the arrival of Mosaic's six-CD box set, The Complete Capitol Recordings of Woody Herman, in 2000.
March 9
The Roger Sherman Theater, New Haven, Connecticut, with Woody Herman's Third Herd. For the rest of March, the tour shares the bill at each stop with Louis Armstrong and his All Stars.
March 9
Back in San Francisco, The Cellar -- also known as The Jazz Cellar -- opens at 576 Green. During a respectable five-year run, it becomes another of the city's jazz hot spots.
March 10
The Worchester Auditorium, Worchester, Massachusetts, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 11
Boston Symphony Hall, Boston, Massachusetts, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 12
The Veterans War Memorial Auditorium, Providence, Rhode Island, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 13
Fabian's Palace Theater, Albany, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 14
The Stanley Theater, Utica, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 15
Massey Hall, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
Mid-March
Fantasy releases Modern Music from San Francisco.
Down Beat gave the album a 3-star review on May 16, noting that "Guaraldi is a swinging two-hander who plays with a firm touch and good command."
March 16
The Auditorium Theater, Rochester, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 17
Carnegie Hall, New York City, with Woody Herman's Third Herd (a midnight show).
March 18
The Mosque Auditorium, Richmond, Virginia, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 20
Muhlenberg College, Allentown, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 21
The Syria Mosque, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 22
The Fox Theater, Brooklyn, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 23
The Academy of Music, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 26
Grand Rapids, Michigan (venue unspecified), with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 28
The George Huff Gym, University of Illinois, Urbana, Illinois, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 29
The RKO Orpheum, Davenport, Illinois, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
March 31
The Masonic Auditorium, Detroit, Michigan, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 9
In the Fantasy Records studio -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; and Dean Reilly, bass -- recording Guaraldi's debut Fantasy album, Vince Guaraldi Trio, released later the same year, in September.
Tracks recorded: "Chelsea Bridge," "Django," "Fascinatin' Rhythm," "Fenwyck Farfel," "It's De-Lovely," "The Lady's in Love with You," "Never Never Land," "Ossobucco," "Sweet and Lovely" and "Three Coins in the Fountain." Guaraldi wrote "Fenwyck Farfel."
(Guaraldi signed an exclusive contract with Fantasy while in San Francisco, on a brief vacation from his ongoing stint with Woody Herman.)
April 11
The Field House, Villanova, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 12
The Fort Miles Field House, Lewes, Delaware, with Woody Herman's Third Herd, performing for the St. Peter's Episcopal Church Spring Formal Dance.
April 13
Sunnybrook Park, Pottstown, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 14
The Broadwood Hotel, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 15
The Liberty Ballroom, South River, New Jersey, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 16
The State Armory, Gloversville, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 17
The State Armory, Rutland, Vermont, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 18
The Hartwick College Gym, Oneoneta, New York, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 20
The Men's Quad, Bloomington, Indiana, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 21
The Men's Quad, Ohio University, Athens, Ohio, with Woody Herman's Third Herd, helping to celebrate the university's Greek Week.
April 22
The Roof Ballroom, Indianapolis, Indiana, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 23
Live performance at an unspecified TV studio, Chicago Illinois, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 24
Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with Woody Herman's Third Herd, helping celebrate the university's 75th anniversary.
April 25
An unspecified high school gym, Oxford, Wisconsin, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 26
The Modernistic Ballroom, Clinton, Iowa, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 27
Illinois State University, Normal, Illinois, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 28
Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 29
Meadow Acres, Topeka, Kansas, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
April 30
The Trig Ballroom, Wichita, Kansas, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 1
Oklahoma A&M, Stillwater, Oklahoma, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 2
Union Concert, Norman, Oklahoma, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 3
Oklahoma City (venue unspecified), with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 4
The University of Arkansas Gym, Fayetteville, Arkansas, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 5
The University Memorial Center, Boulder, Colorado, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 6
The NCO Club, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado Springs, Colorado, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 7
Colorado Springs City Auditorium, Colorado, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 9
Kansas City Country Club, Kansas City, Kansas, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 10-12
Iowa State College, Ames, Iowa, with Woody Herman's Third Herd, celebrating the college's 35th annual Veishea Festival.
May 13
The Connolly Gym, Monroe City, Missouri, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 15-16
In Chicago's Universal Recorders studio with Herman's band, laying down tracks for what eventually would become Woody Herman's Capitol LP, Blue's Groove.
Tracks recorded: "Blues Groove," "Buttercup," "Call It Stormy Monday," "Dupree Blues," "5-10-15 Hours," "I Don't Want Nobody (To Have My Love but You)," "I Want a Little Girl," "Pinetop's Blues," "Smack Dab in the Middle" and "Trouble in Mind."
"Buttercup," "I Don't Want Nobody (To Have My Love but You)" and "5-10-15 Hours" do not make it onto the album. "I Don't Want Nobody" is paired with "To Love Again" and released on a Capitol single; the other two remain "lost" until resurrected for Mosaic's Complete Capitol Recordings of Woody Herman.
The band personnel has changed slightly: Cy Touff and Paul Serrano have moved on, the latter replaced by Bill Castagnino on trumpet; Bill Harris has joined the trombone section; Gus Gustafson has taken over for Will Bradley Jr. on drums; and guitarist Ray Biondi has joined the crew.
May 17
Valparaiso, Indiana (venue unspecified), with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 18
Jefferson High School, Lafayette, Indiana, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 19
The Edgewater Beach Hotel, Chicago, Illinois, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 20
The George Divine Ballroom, Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
May 26
The Crystal Palace, Paw Paw Lake, Coloma, Michigan, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
June 3
Meyers Lake Amusement Park, Canton, Ohio, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
June 9
The Palace Ballroom, Old Orchard Beach, Maine, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
June 11
Whalom Park, Lunenburg, Massachusetts, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
June 14
The New Bel-Air Ballroom, Mountain Park, Holyoke, Massachusetts, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
June 21-27
Basin Street, New York City, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
June 27
Back in San Francisco, the Andros Brothers move their jazz club, Fack's, to a new location at 960 Bush Street. They dub this "new and improved" venue Facks II (no apostrophe), acknowledging the fact that the original Fack's -- at 609 Market Street -- remains open, but only as a bar (with no music).
June 29
The Steel Pier, Atlantic City, New Jersey, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
July 6
Danceland, Ocean City, Maryland, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
July 7
Hersbey Park Ballroom, Derry Township, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
July 8
Crystal Beach Park, Vermilion, Ohio, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
July 9
Rainbow Gardens, Erie, Pennsylvania, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
July 23
The Cobblestone Ballroom, Storm Lake, Iowa, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
July 27-29
The Lagoon Amusement Park, Salt Lake City, Utah, with Woody Herman's Third Herd.
The performances on the second and third evenings were recorded and eventually released on CD in 2000, as Woody Herman and his Orchestra 1956.
August 3-late the same month
The Bal Tabarin Casino, Lake Tahoe, Nevada, performing with the downsized Woody Herman Octet: Herman, Dick Collins and John Coppola, trumpets; Bob Hardaway, tenor sax; Bill Harris, trombone; Guaraldi, piano; Monty Budwig, bass; and Victor Feldman, drums and vibes.
As the booking begins, Herman's Octet shares the bill with singer Herb Jeffries, and blues vocalist Diane Lefti and her Right Hand Men. Mid-month, the other two acts are replaced by the Mary Kaye Trio.
Although Herman's booking continues through September 2, Guaraldi leaves the band shortly before the end of the month, and is replaced by John Bunch.
August 19
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reports that Guaraldi will be reuniting with Cal Tjader. Guaraldi will be part of a new quintet, alongside Eugene "Gene" Wright, bass; Jesse Cooley, drums; and Luis Kant, congas.
Early September-September 16
The Macumba, San Francisco, as part of Cal Tjader's Quintet. They share the bill with Jeri Southern. (Tjader's combo has been at the club since August 17, so Guaraldi joins in mid-booking.)
Very shortly into this gig, Cooley bows out due to a family emergency; he is replaced by Al Torre, who becomes a permanent member of the band.
In his extremely generous coverage of the Macumba's current offerings in his September 11 column, the San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason cites Tjader's combo as "...one of the most satisfying small groups around. By one of those happy chances which all musicians pray for, and which none can predict, all four members of the Tjader group think in the same musical language, feel the same musical and rhythmic impulses, and fit together like the different parts of a jigsaw puzzle. This is a rare thing in jazz."
Mid-September
Fantasy Records releases Vince Guaraldi Trio.
In its September 29 review, Billboard noted, "Altho sales are unlikely to be spectacular, this is one of the pleasant surprises of the month. Guaraldi is a young San Francisco pianist who has been getting rave notices with the Woody Herman band. Evidence here says he's a tasteful, authoritative and façile modernist, and that he swings. Further, he has a sense of humor. Guitarist Eddie Duran and bassist Dean Reilly are worthy colleagues. Try their version of John Lewis' 'Django' for a real delight."
The Down Beat critic was more enthusiastic, in a 4-star review that read, in part, "In an era when too many jazz pianists limit themselves to a narrow range of moods and skills, San Franciscan Guaraldi is an expanding pleasure to hear. A jazzman with deep roots in his language, Vince projects clearly an individual musical personality: direct, emotional, inventive, tied-to-no-school. [He] is a man of wide-ranging sensitivity."
September 18-30
Peacock Lane, Hollywood, with Cal Tjader's Quintet; the band shares the bill with Chet Baker.
October 5-28
The Macumba, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
October 5
Stanford University, Palo Alto, California, at a benefit Jazz Festival hosted by Jimmy Lyons. Guaraldi performs both as the leader of his own trio, and as a member of Cal Tjader's Quintet; the program also features Brew Moore and Turk Murphy. Proceeds benefit the Stanford Club's Scholarship Fund.
October 5
Dave Glickman and Ray Gorum open a new San Francisco nightclub at 473 Broadway: the Jazz Workshop. Within a year, the venue becomes one of the city's top jazz hangouts.
October 9
The UC Davis Rec Hall, as a member of Cal Tjader's Quintet, with special guest Brew Moore.
The Quintet is known to have performed "Lady Be Good," "Battle Hymn of the Republic" and "The Night We Called It a Day." The student newspaper critic also later reported that "Tenor man Brew Moore appeared on the scene completely smashed."
Early through mid-November
A Pacific Northwest tour, with Cal Tjader's Quintet. The tour includes stops at Birdland and Dave's Fifth Avenue Tavern (the latter on November 12), both in Seattle.
November
At the Fantasy Records studio, for a recording session supporting baritone horn player Gus Mancusco, joined by Cal Tjader, drums; Richie Kamuca, tenor sax; and Gene Wright, bass). These three songs, along with others recorded during earlier sessions, eventually are used to fill the Fantasy LP Introducing Gus Mancuso, released in March of 1957.
Tracks recorded: "Brother Aintz," "And Baby Makes Three" and "A Hatful of Dandruff." Guaraldi wrote "A Hatful of Dandruff."
The Down Beat reviewer, in a 4-star review published May 2, 1957, made a point of noting that "Guaraldi is a particularly stimulating soloist (and isn't it time for another LP by him?)."
November 21
The Coyote Point Campus Cafeteria, College of San Mateo, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet. This booking is part of a Northern California college "mini-tour" that also includes appearances at Chico State University and the College of Marin, Kentfield [latter two dates unknown].
November 23 - December 20
The Macumba, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
November 24
The Pasadena Civic Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet (somebody subbed for Torre), as part of the bill featured in one of Gene Norman's "Modern Sounds" events. The other stars are the George Shearing Quintet, the Hi-Lo's and the Dave Pell Octet.
December 13
The Sacramento Junior College Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
December 26-January 20
The Blackhawk, San Francisco, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
The band initially shares billing with the Virgil Gonsalves Sextet.
Through January 20
The Blackhawk, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
From January 11-13, the band shares billing with Billie Holiday.
Tjader's Jazz at the Blackhawk is recorded live on the final evening (Tjader's first live album). Luis Kant sits the session out; the album is recorded with a quartet, because Tjader wanted a straight-ahead album; it's released four months later, in May.
Tracks recorded: "Bill B.," "Blues in the Night," "I'll Remember April," "I've Never Been in Love Before," "Land's End," "Lover, Come Back to Me," "Thinking of You, MJQ," "Two for Blues Suite" and "When the Sun Comes Out." Guaraldi wrote "Thinking of You, MJQ."
January 11
Phelan Hall, University of San Francisco, with Cal Tjader's Quintet. The bill includes Bob Scobey's Frisco Jazz Band, featuring Clancy Hayes, Ralph Sutton and Lizzie Miles.
January 25
The San Jose Civic Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet -- now billed as Cal Tjader's Mambo Jazz Quintet -- sharing the stage with Dizzy Gillespie's 17-piece orchestra.
January 26
The American Legion Hall, Redwood City, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for a dance concert.
January 27
Berkeley Community Theater, with Cal Tjader's Mambo Jazz Quintet, sharing the stage with Dizzy Gillespie's 17-piece orchestra.
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph Gleason reported that "The Cal Tjader Quintet offered an excellent sample of the sort of middle-of-the-road modern jazz it specializes in, with plenty of swing and a fine earthy feeling, and an occasional Latin number for good measure."
[A flawed PA system compromised the Tjader combo's performance.]
January 29
Stockton Junior High School, with Cal Tjader's Mambo Jazz Quintet, sharing the stage with Dizzy Gillespie's 17-piece orchestra.
January 30
Sweet's Ballroom, Oakland, with Cal Tjader's Mambo Jazz Quintet, sharing the stage with Dizzy Gillespie's 17-piece orchestra.
February 2
The Pasadena Civic Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for another Gene Norman "Modern Sounds" concert. The bill includes June Christy; Shelly Manne and his Trio, featuring Andre Previn; and the Four Freshmen.
February 7-17
Zucca's Cottage, Pasadena, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
February 10
The American Legion Hall, Pasadena, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for a concert sponsored by the San Gabriel Valley Jazz Club.
[This was in the afternoon, so that the band could keep its evening booking at Zucca's Cottage.]
February 11
A live studio appearance on KABC-TV's Stars of Jazz, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
The set list features "Bernie's Tune," "Jammin,' " "Lover Come Back to Me" and "The Night We Called It a Day."
This session eventually is released on the 1976 Calliope LP Sessions, Live: Cal Tjader/Chico Hamilton.
[The full video footage is believed lost.]
Mid-February
Capitol Records releases Woody Herman's Blues Groove.
February 17
Possibly repeating the previous Sunday's appearance at the American Legion Hall, Pasadena, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for a concert sponsored by the San Gabriel Valley Jazz Club.
[An ad in the 2/15/57 Pasadena Star News cites the Art Pepper Quintet as headliners, plus "the Afro-Jazz Quintet" as an opening act, without further identification.]
February 22-April 21
The Interlude, Hollywood, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
The Down Beat critic caught opening night; the review, published on April 4, noted in part that "Guaraldi's solo work is consistently flowing and frequently lyrical, his rhythm playing punching yet sensitive. ... [The band is] a swinging, all-around musical unit with two outstanding soloists in Tjader and Guaraldi."
March 22
The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for a Latin and Calypso Festival concert. The bill includes Noro Morales, Joe Loco, Josephine Premice and Tony Martinez
April 7
The Rainbow Gardens Ballroom, Pomona, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, sharing the bill with "Treni Menor and his Latin American music."
April 10, 11 and 15
At the Fantasy Records studios with Cal Tjader, Gene Wright and Al Torre -- once again, Luis Kant is left behind -- assembling the tracks for what becomes the LP Cal Tjader, released in January of 1958.
Tracks recorded April 10: "Line for Lyons" and a Porgy and Bess Suite.
Track recorded April 11: "And Baby Makes Three."
Tracks recorded April 15: "Our Blues" (written by Patricia Tjader and Shirley Guaraldi), "That's All," "When Lights Are Low" and a medley of "Lover Man," " 'Round Midnight" and "Willow Weep for Me."
April 16
At the Fantasy Records studios, fronting his own trio -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; and Dean Reilly, bass -- recording his second Fantasy album, A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing. The LP is released in late October.
Tracks recorded: "Autumn Leaves," "A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing," "Like a Mighty Rose," "Lonely Girl," "Looking for a Boy," "Softly, as in a Morning Sunrise," "Willow Weep for Me" and "Yesterdays." Guaraldi wrote "Like a Mighty Rose."
Mid April-Mid May (?)
The Sombrero Ballroom, Los Angeles, with Cal Tjader's Quintet (Sundays only).
May 16-25
Zucca's Cottage, Pasadena, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
May
Fantasy Records releases Tjader's Jazz at the Blackhawk.
May 26-27
The Vista de Oro recording studio, Los Angeles, as part of an octet -- Frank Rosolino, trombone; Conte Candoli and Ed Leddy, trumpet; Monty Budwig, bass; and Stan Levey, drums -- to support tenor saxman Richie Kamuca and baritone saxophonist/arranger Bill Hollman, for their LP Jazz Erotica.
Tracks recorded: "Angel Eyes," "Blue Jazz," "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," "Indiana," "It's You or No One," "Linger Awhile," "Star Eyes," "Stella by Starlight," "The Things We Did Last Summer" and "Way Down Under."
[This album, released in November 1957, soon undergoes a name change; it is re-released in 1959 as West Coast Jazz in Hifi. This leads to confusion that exists to this day, with numerous sources incorrectly claiming that the LP first was released in 1959.]
Early June-June 13
The Interlude, Hollywood, with Cal Tjader's Quintet
June
In a Hollywood recording studio, as part of a quintet -- along with Richie Kamuca, tenor sax; Monty Budwig, bass; and Stan Levey, drums -- to support trombonist Frank Rosolino, for his Mode Records LP The Legend of Frank Rosolino, released one month later.
Tracks recorded: "Cherry," "Fallout," "Fine Shape," "How Long Has This Been Going On," "Let's Make It," "They Say," "Thou Swell" and "Tuffy."
June
In a Hollywood recording studio, as part of a quartet -- along with Monty Budwig, bass; and Stan Levey, drums -- to support trumpeter Conte Candoli, for his Mode Records LP The Conte Candoli Quartet, released a few months later, in October.
Tracks recorded: "Flamingo," "Mambo Blues," "Mediolistic," "No Moon at All," "Something for Liza," "Tara Ferma" and "Walkie Talkie."
June 14-27
The Los Angeles Jazz Concert Hall, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for an ambitious program titled "A Salute to West Coast Jazz." The bill also features Shelly Manne and his Men, Jackie Chin and the Roy Kral/Ben Webster Group
[The program listed Guaraldi and Kant as "Vince Guroldi" and "Luis Grant."]
June 17
Cal Tjader signs with Universal Pictures to film a short musical sequence with his quintet for the movie The Big Beat. Filming probably takes place in late June.
A second taping session, possibly the same day, records the Tjader Quintet performing one song, "Tumbao," for the two-reeler short, Salute to Song.
June 28-July 11
Ciro's, West Hollywood, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
[Tjader canceled out of an already scheduled two-week booking at the Blackhawk, in favor of this four-week gig at Ciro's. It was a last-minute switch; both the Oakland Tribune and San Francisco Chronicle had advertised the Blackhawk booking for several days.]
July 12-18
Peacock Lane, Hollywood, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
July 19-25
Ciro's, as part of Cal Tjader's Quartet -- absent Luis Kant -- to help open the club's new Ciroette Room.
July 30-September 29
The Blackhawk, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
Dave Brubeck shares the bill August 17-18, and again September 7-15; the Jean Hoffman Trio shares the bill September 17-29.
July 31
Dave Glickman, an attorney who owns a piece of the Jazz Workshop, takes over the 90 Market Street venue that formerly belonged to the Downbeat. He christens his new club the Jazz Showcase, and -- hoping to attract the under-21 crowd that can't get into any of the other jazz joints -- sells nothing but soft drinks (!).
The experiment proves a fiasco, and the club closes after seven months.
September 10
In the Fantasy Records studio with Cal Tjader's Quintet, recording four tracks that wound up in all sorts of places. Drummer Al Torre is replaced by newcomer Bayardo "Benny" Velarde on timbales.
"Tumbao" wound up on Mas Ritmo Caliente, released in April 1958.
"I've Waited So Long" and "Mambo at the M" eventually were released on Cal Tjader Goes Latin, in August 1959.
"As I Love You" never is issued on an LP; it only was paired with "I've Waited So Long" and released as a Fantasy 45 single.
October 1-29
The London House, Chicago, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
October 11
In a Chicago recording studio with Cal Tjader's combo: Al McKibbon, bass; Armando "Cuco" Sanchez, timbales; Armando Peraza, conga and bongos; and Luis Kant, congas. The contents of this session also would become part of the Fantasy LP Mas Ritmo Caliente.
Tracks recorded: "Armando's Hideaway," "Big Noise from Winnetka," "Cuco on Timbales," "Poinciana Cha Cha," "Ritmo Africano" and "Ritmo Rumba."
October 14
Guaraldi drives Al Torre and his fiancee, Terry-Ann, to Illinois' Cook County courthouse, so they can be married. Guaraldi and Luis Kant served as witnesses.
Late October
Fantasy Records releases Guaraldi's A Flower Is a Lovesome Thing.
In a review finally published June 26, 1958, the Down Beat critic notes, in part, that "Guaraldi is serenely wistful in his interpretation of Billy Strayhorn's title song, is surely relaxed in the lightly swinging 'Softly.' He delightfully colors the impressionistic 'Yesterdays.' 'Like a Rose' is accorded a treatment almost elegiac in its poetic quietude."
October 30-November 20
Birdland, New York City, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, alternating sets with Dizzy Gillespie's big band.
Larry Vuckovich recalls Vince telling him, “Dizzy had me sit in every night; I wound up playing two sets!”
[Marlon Brando sat in with Tjader's group one evening, and promised to "whack the bongos" for the band's next West Coast recording date. Alas, this never came about.]
November 5
Tenor saxman Brew Moore records five tracks for an upcoming album at The Tropics, 512 Arguello Blvd., the earliest mention I can find of this San Francisco bar/jazz club. Guaraldi will bring a trio to this venue for an ongoing set of weekly gigs in the spring and summer of 1960.
November 20
In a New York recording studio with Cal Tjader's combo: Jose "Combo" Silva, tenor sax; Gerald Sanfino, alto sax and flute; Bobby Rodriguez, bass; Luis Kant, gourd and cowbell; Armando Peraza, conga and bongos; Ramon "Mongo" Santamaria, conga; and Willie Bobo, timbales. The contents of this session also would become part of the Fantasy LP Mas Ritmo Caliente.
Tracks recorded: "Mongorama," "Perdido" and "Perfidia Cha Cha."
Late November
Sonny's Lounge, Denver, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
November 30
San Francisco Civic Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for the opening night of impresario Irving Granz's "Jazz a la Carte" extravaganza. The bill also features Ella Fitzgerald, backed by the Lou Levy Trio; the Dave Brubeck Quartet, with Paul Desmond on alto sax; the Shorty Rogers Sextet; and the Rudy Salvini Big Band.
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph Gleason noted that "The Cal Tjader Quintet offered a selection of well-integrated modern jazz numbers, with particularly good rhythm work from Gene Wright and Vince Guaraldi, plus a selection of Latin tunes."
[Shorty Rogers' band filled in for the Gerry Mulligan Quartet when Mulligan was laid up in New York with Asian flu.]
December 1 or 2
Seattle, Washington (venue unspecified), with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for the second night of impresario Irving Granz's "Jazz a la Carte" extravaganza. The bill also features Ella Fitzgerald, backed by the Lou Levy Trio; the Dave Brubeck Quartet, with Paul Desmond on alto sax; the Shorty Rogers Sextet; and the Rudy Salvini Big Band.
December 3
Vancouver, British Columbia (venue unspecified), with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for the third and final night of impresario Irving Granz's "Jazz a la Carte" extravaganza. The bill also features Ella Fitzgerald, backed by the Lou Levy Trio; the Dave Brubeck Quartet, with Paul Desmond on alto sax; the Shorty Rogers Sextet; and the Rudy Salvini Big Band.
December 4
The University of Oregon, Eugene, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
December 6
The Salinas Union High School Auditorium, Salinas, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
December 16
Humboldt State College Men's Gymnasium, Arcata, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for the second annual Humboldt State College Jazz Concert.
An enthusiastic and quite lengthy review in the college newspaper, published three days later, noted that, during the combo's cover of Dizzy Gillespie's "With You," Guaraldi "... went wild as he bounced to the beat with his two hands, and rocked both feet."
December 17-January 26
The Blackhawk, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
December 18
San Francisco Civic Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, as one of many acts sharing the bill with headliner Johnny Mathis, returning to his home city for "Johnny Mathis Day." Tjader's combo -- along with Charles Stem's band, Ronny Draper, organist Earl Grant, comic Paul Desmond and the Zack Thompson Dancers -- helped stall and keep the crowd happy when Mathis was late.
December 20
Guaraldi is taken ill with the flu, and therefore unable to join Tjader's Quintet for a benefit concert at the Oakland Civic Theater for the widow of trombonist Charles Etter; Guaraldi is replaced by guitarist Eddie Duran. The event features more than 40 musicians, including the Rudy Salvini Big Band, vocalist Ernestine Anderson, the Lonnie Hewitt Trio, Earl "Fatha" Hines, the Dickie Mills/Brew Moore Quintet and the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Through January 26
The Blackhawk, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
The Dave Brubeck Quartet shares the bill January 2-4, 9-11 and 16-18
Tjader, claiming he wants a break, surprises everybody by saying that he's breaking up the band, as soon as this gig concludes.
Early January
Fantasy Records releases Cal Tjader.
In its January 4 LP review, Cashbox mentions that "Tjader's vibes receive the most able assistance of Vince Guaraldi (piano), Al Torres (drums) and Gene Wright (bass).
January 28-30
The Blackhawk, with Guaraldi heading his own trio (sidemen unknown).
February 3, 10, 17 and 24
The Jazz Workshop, San Francisco, performing with a trio headed by Dick Saltzman, vibes, that includes Norman Bates, bass. The group plays only on Monday nights.
February 7-March 28
The Jazz Showcase, San Francisco, performing with a quartet headed by Dick Saltzman, vibes, that includes Eddie Duran, guitar; and Norman Bates, bass. The group plays every Friday and Saturday night.
February 8
At the Fantasy studio, as part of a sextet that includes Cal Tjader, vibes; Stan Getz, tenor sax; Eddie Duran, guitar; Scott LaFaro, bass; and Billy Higgins, drums. The session, recorded very smoothly, results in the Fantasy LP The Stan Getz/Cal Tjader Sextet, released in late spring/early summer of the same year.
Tracks recorded: "Big Bear," "Crow's Nest," "For All We Know," "Ginza Samba," "I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face," "Liz-Anne" and "My Buddy." Guaraldi wrote "Ginza Samba."
[Despite its slightly different name, "Ginza Samba" is the same as Guaraldi's "Ginza."]
February 16
The Jazz Showcase closes, after seven short months. As San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen notes, "Death of another Noble Experiment: No booziness, no business."
Late February
Another one down: The Macumba closes, not quite four years after opening in July 1954.
February 21
The Pasadena Civic Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, sharing the stage with headliner Johnny Mathis, June Christy, the Lancers and Claude Gordon's 13-piece orchestra.
[Despite Tjader's desire to "rest," he agrees to gather his quintet for this Johnny Mathis tour.]
[The tour original was scheduled to open in Oakland on February 20, but that booking was canceled.]
February 22
The Russ Auditorium, San Diego, for the second date in the Johnny Mathis tour (same line-up).
February 23
The UC Berkeley Men's Gym (3:45 p.m.) and the Berkeley Community Theater (8 p.m.), for the third date in the Johnny Mathis tour (same line-up at both venues).
February 24
The San Jose Civic Auditorium, for fourth date in the Johnny Mathis tour (same line-up).
February 25
The Sacramento Memorial Auditorium, for the fifth and final date in the Johnny Mathis tour (same line-up).
February 26
The East Contra Costa Junior College Gymnasium, Concord, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
February 27 or 28
Sunset School Auditorium, Carmel, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
[This likely is the last appearance by this particular band.]
March
Fantasy releases Tjader's LP Mas Ritmo Caliente.
March 3, 10, 17, 24 and 31
The Jazz Workshop, San Francisco, performing with a trio headed by Dick Saltzman, vibes, that includes Norman Bates, bass. The group plays only on Monday nights.
April 1-May 4
The Interlude, Los Angeles, for a five-week gig with Cal Tjader's new quintet: Al McKibbon, bass; William Correa (soon to be dubbed Willie Bobo), drums and bongos; and Ramon (Mongo) Santamaria, congas.
[Despite his desire for "rest," Tjader wastes no time assembling this new Afro-Cuban group.]
In an April 7 review of this booking, Billboard noted, in part, "Vibrist Cal Tjader's five-week run at the intime Interlude is bound to draw a steady traffic of jazz enthusiasts ... There's plenty of room in Tjader's romp for the sidemen to shine too, particularly some top pianistics from Vince Guaraldi."
May 6 (?)-25
The M Club, Los Angeles, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
May 27-June 1
Harvey's Wagon Wheel, Lake Tahoe's South Shore, Stateline, Nevada, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
June 2-5
The Senator Hotel, Sacramento, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
June 6-22
Harvey's Wagon Wheel, Lake Tahoe's South Shore, Stateline, Nevada, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
June 30
A live studio appearance on KABC-TV's Stars of Jazz, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
The set list features "Bill B.," "Crow's Nest," "Liz-Anne" and "Tumbao."
This session eventually is released on the 1976 Calliope LP Sessions, Live: Cal Tjader, Chris Connor and Paul Togawa..
[The show footage exists, albeit only in private hands.]
July 1-September 15
The Blackhawk, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
July
Carmel (venue unspecified), with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
This performance serves as a Monterey Jazz Festival "preview concert" for Jimmy Lyons.
August 1
A live appearance on KGO-TV's The Don Sherwood Show, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
August 14, 21, 28; September 4
Live appearances at San Francisco's KQED-TV Channel 9, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for programs aired at 8:30 p.m.
August 26-31
Flutist Paul Horn joins Tjader's band at the Blackhawk for this single week.
Late August
At the Fantasy Records studio, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, to record Tjader's LP Latin for Lovers, released in December.
Flutist Paul Horn's San Francisco visit is prompted by his participation on this album, further augmented by a string quartet.
Tracks recorded: "Alone Together," "I Should Care," "Martha," "Ode to a Beat Generation," "Quizas, Quizas, Quizas," "Skylark," "Spring Is Here," "Star Eyes," "Stella by Starlight" and "Time Was."
August 30
Guaraldi is announced as the first musician signed to perform at the upcoming debut Monterey Jazz Festival. Although the announcement implies that he'll front his own band, in fact Guaraldi only performs as part of Cal Tjader's Quintet.
On the same day, the San Francisco Chronicle's Hal Schaefer, in his column The Owl Steps Out comments, "Pianist Vince Guaraldi, featured soloist with the Cal Tjader Quintet, is known to his fans as the 'Leprechaun of the Piano,' because of his elf-life style."
August 31
The Monterey Jazz Festival schedule, released on this day, confirms Guaraldi's presence as part of Cal Tjader's Quintet.
September
During this month of the long run at the Blackhawk, Tjader's Quintet records the live Fantasy LP Cal Tjader's Latin Concert, released just one month later, in October.
Tracks recorded: "The Continental," "Cubano Chant," "Lucero," "Mi Guaguanco," "Mood for Milt," "Theme," "Tu Crees Que," "Viva Cepeda" and "A Young Love."
September 19
The American Legion Hall, Redwood City, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for a dance concert.
September 20
The San Jose Civic Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, sharing the stage with headliner Nat King Cole, Jeri Southern, Gogi Grant and Nelson Riddle's 19-piece orchestra.
September 21
Berkeley Community Theater, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, sharing the stage with headliner Nat King Cole, Jeri Southern, Gogi Grant and Nelson Riddle's 19-piece orchestra.
Unfortunately, some problems with the microphones compromised the Tjader Quintet's performance.
October 4
The first annual Monterey Jazz Festival, with Cal Tjader's Quintet. The band is joined by clarinetist Buddy DeFranco on two songs.
Tjader's group takes the stage shortly after midnight, and wows the crowd with a history-making performance. As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason, "The crack Afro-Cuban group of Cal Tjader ended the evening with a real show-stopping performance by Mongo Santamaria, the congo player, Willie Bobo, the timbales player, and Vince Guaraldi, the pianist."
October
Fantasy Records releases Cal Tjader's album Cal Tjader's Latin Concert.
November 1
The Rainbow Gardens Ballroom, Pomona, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet. The bill includes the Luis Arcaraz Orchestra.
November 3
Sacramento State University, California, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, in a benefit for the World University Student Fund. Two shows were presented, both of which also featured "the modern jazz of pianist Vince Guaraldi."
[Gene Wright subs for Al McKibbon.]
November 6
Phillips Hall, Santa Ana College, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for a pair of concerts for the College Jazz Festival.
November 7
The Hacienda Fiesta Room, Bakersfield, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
November 8
Southern California's San Bernardino High School auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
November 18-mid January
The Blackhawk, with Cal Tjader's Quintet.
Jose "Chombo" Silva joins the group on on as this gig begins, and remains for the initial 10 weeks. Fantasy records several sessions during this visit.
Tracks recorded: "Bill B.," "Blue and Sentimental," "I Hadn't Anyone Till You," "I Love Paris," "A Night in Tunisia," "Stompin' at the Savoy" and "Mazacote."
The first six tracks becomes Tjader's album A Night at the Blackhawk, released in September 1959. The final track is saved for Mongo Santamaria's second Fantasy album, Mongo, also released in September 1959.
The club closes during Christmas week, and re-opens on December 29, with Tjader's combo continuing its run.
[Blackhawk ads for this appearance offer "Tjazz by Tjader."]
November 19-?
Guaraldi serves as guest piano instructor for Ilene Holmgren's adult education jazz piano class in Albany, California's University Village.
November 20
UC Berkeley's Wheeler Auditorium, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, for the annual Big Game Week Jazz Concert.
November 23 and 30
The Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, with Cal Tjader's Quintet, augmented by Manny and Carlos Duran and two unidentified horn players.
These Sunday dance concerts are billed as "Dance to Cal Tjader's Big Band."
December
Fantasy Records releases Cal Tjader's LP Latin for Lovers.
Early January
A modest little jazz joint dubbed Mr. Smith's opens at 250 Divisadero, initially offering music on Friday and Saturday evenings; first up is the Virgil Gonsalves Sextet. Very little is known about this venue, which never seems to have placed display ads in any area newspapers. It survives only nine months.
January 4
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reports [incorrectly, as it later turns out] that "Wynton Kelly is slated to replace Vince Guaraldi on piano shortly [in Tjader's Quintet]."
January 18
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reports that "Vince Guaraldi is rehearsing a group of his own for when he leaves the Cal Tjader Quintet this month."
January 18 or 19
Guaraldi leaves Cal Tjader's Quintet during its run at the Blackhawk, and is replaced by Lonnie Hewitt. (Tjader offered the spot to Kelly, but the pianist turned him down.)
[Tjader's new group remains at the Blackhawk through February 8.]
January 20 and 27
Lenny's, in Oakland, California, solely on Tuesday evenings, as part of tenor saxman Harold Wylie's Quartet: Jerry Goode, bass; and John Markham, drums.
January 30-February ?
Mr. Smith's, as a member of the Pony Poindexter Quintet, alongside Pony and Theresa Poindexter, alto sax; Eddie Kahn, bass; and Ray Fisher, drums. The combo plays Fridays through Sundays, for an unknown number of weekends.
Early February
According to Variety, Guaraldi is "rehearsing a group of his own."
February 3-?
The Jazz Workshop, San Francisco, as a member of Dick Saltzman's band -- dubbed "The Fabulous Mastersounds" -- alongside Brew Moore, on Monday evenings.
February 12
The Alcazar Theater, San Francisco, for "Pick Yourself Up," an informal variety show headlined by George Shearing and John Raitt. The bill includes Guaraldi's trio, along with Faith Winthrop; flamenco dancer Gruz Luna; guitarist Nino Bernardo; comedian Ronnie Schell; the Coachman Trio; and Lou Gottlieb, of the Gateway Singers. Proceeds benefit Youth for Service, which gathers teenagers for construction projects.
February 15
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reports that Guaraldi "...is now playing at the Hearth, in Oakland." There's no indication if this is a solo booking, or with a combo.
[I also can find no record of any such Oakland bar or nightclub; this appears to be its sole mention!]
February 21
The Berkeley Community Theater, backing singer Anita O'Day, as an opener for headliner Shelly Berman. With George Morrow, bass; and John Pool, drums. The bill also includes the Mastersounds Quartet.
March 2
In a Los Angeles recording studio, for the first session used on what becomes vibraphonist Victor Feldman's album Latinsville.
This session features Feldman, Guaraldi, Conte Candoli, trumpet; Frank Rosolino, trombone; Walter Benton, tenor sax; Scott LaFaro, bass; Stan Levey, drums; Willie Bobo, timbales; Mongo Santamaria, congas; and Armando Peraza, bongos.
Tracks recorded: "Cuban Love Song," "Poinciana," "Spain" and "Woody 'n' You."
March 3
In a Los Angeles recording studio, for the second session used on what becomes vibraphonist Victor Feldman's album Latinsville.
This session features Feldman, Guaraldi, Conte Candoli, trumpet; Walter Benton, tenor sax; Scott LaFaro, bass; Willie Bobo, timbales; Mongo Santamaria, congas; and Armando Peraza, bongos.
Tracks recorded: "The Gypsy" and "In a Little Spanish Town."
Mid-March
The Hearth, in Oakland (sidemen unspecified).
March 20
In a Los Angeles recording studio, for the third session used on what becomes vibraphonist Victor Feldman's album Latinsville.
This session features Feldman, Guaraldi, Conte Candoli, trumpet; Walter Benton, tenor sax; Al McKibbon, bass; Willie Bobo, timbales; Mongo Santamaria, congas; and Armando Peraza, bongos.
Tracks recorded: "Flying Down to Rio," "Lady of Spain" and "South of the Border."
[Feldman leads one more recording session on May 4, without Guaraldi, before deciding that he has enough for an album. Latinsville is released in January 1961.]
March 24
The UC Berkeley Men's Gym, fronting his own trio (sidemen unspecified), and sharing the stage with the headlining Kingston Trio. The bill also includes Ronnie Schell and the Dick McKibben Quartet.
March 25
The Westbay Room of Mr. Smith's, San Francisco, in a quartet headed by saxman Pony Poindexter, with Eddie Kahn, bass; and Frank Jones, drums.
The event is a Charlie Parker memorial concert; the bill also includes alto saxmen Bob Land and Leo Wright, and drummer Larry Marable.
April 4
Royal Festival Hall, London, England, performing with Woody Herman's "Anglo-American Herd," a blended band of American and British (and Canadian) musicians. Guaraldi remains with Herman's unit for about a month. For this British tour, he joins Americans Nat Adderley, cornet; Reunald Jones, trumpet; Bill Harris, trombone; Zoot Sims, tenor sax; Keter Betts, bass; Charlie Byrd, guitar; and Jimmy Campbell, drums. The British contingent is Les Condon, Kenny Wheeler and Bert Courtley, trumpets; Ken Wray and Eddie Harvey, trombones; Don Rendell, Art Ellefson and Johnny Scott, tenor saxes; and Ronnie Ross, baritone sax.
April 5
The Gaumont Cinema House, Southampton, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 6
Colston Hall, Bristol, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 7
The Odeon Cinema, Plymouth, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 8
The Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 9
City Hall, Sheffield, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 10
The Pavilion, Scunthorpe, North Lincolnshire, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 11
The Odeon Cinema, Leeds, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 12
The Odeon Cinema, Birmingham, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 13
De Montfort Hall, Leicester, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 14
City Hall, Hull, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 15
The Odeon Cinema, Newcastle, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 16
The Odeon Cinema, Glasgow, Scotland, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 17
Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 18
The Free Trade Hall, Manchester, England, performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
These two concerts are recorded and released many years later, in 1980, as the obscure British LP Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
April 19
The Granada, Walthamstow, England (4 p.m.), performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
The Granada, Tooting, England (7:30 p.m.), performing with Woody Herman's Anglo-American Herd.
Late April
Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, with an American septet headed by Woody Herman, performing for the employees of the Aramco Oil Company.
The booking runs eight days and is known to have included Herman, Guaraldi, Nat Adderley, Bill Harris, Keter Betts and Zoot Sims ... but the other player remains a mystery.
Following this booking, Herman returns to New York, where Guaraldi is replaced by French pianist Bernard Peiffer.
June 19-?
Crim's, Oakland, in a quartet billed as The Sensationals: Jim DeBaca, alto sax; Ted Spinola, string and electric bass; and Phil Martinez, drums.
The group played Friday and Saturday evenings.
July 26
Jinx Hone, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, makes first mention of the Troupe Theater, the resident theater group at Palo Alto's soon-to-open Caffe Court. The plays and "intimate musical revues" will be joined by live entertainment, jazz singers and instrumentalists. Vocalist Valerie Knight and the Vince Guaraldi Trio are booked for the venue's debut.
August 7-16
The Caffe Court, Palo Alto, California, with his own trio -- John Mosher, bass; drummer unspecified -- backing singer Valerie Knight, during a benefit for the new venue's gala opening. Backer Mike du Pont plans a rotating roster of ambitious entertainment productions.
[This venue is soon to be renamed Outside at the Inside.]
August 17-23
Las Vegas, "to join Woody Herman for a week."
August 27-29
The Caffe Court, Palo Alto, California -- sidemen unspecified -- backing singer Valerie Knight.
August 31-mid March 1960
The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, California, performing with bassist Howard Rumsey and the Lighthouse All-Stars: Art Pepper, saxophone; Conte Candoli, trumpet; and Nick Martinez, drums.
[Some sources claim that Guaraldi remains with the All-Stars for "roughly a year"; that simply isn't true. Some sources also claim that Guaraldi recorded with the All-Stars; that also isn't true.]
September
Fantasy Records releases Cal Tjader's A Night at the Blackhawk, Mongo Santamaria's Mongo and Tjader's Cal Tjader Goes Latin. The latter, which includes Guaraldi's participation on tracks recorded in September 1957 and December 1958, is Tjader's final album with "new" material by the pianist.
Mid-October
Mr. Smith's closes its doors, following a booking by the Frank Haynes Quintet. Toward the end, music was offered nightly except Tuesdays.
December 21
Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus) is released in the United States. Guaraldi sees the film many times, loves its music, and soon develops the notion to record his own jazz-hued arrangements of the score's four primary themes. A few years will pass before he turns this concept into reality.
Uncertain
At some point in late 1959 or early 1960, Fantasy Records moves from its original location, at 654 Natoma Street, to new headquarters at 855 Treat Avenue (not Treat Street, as popular lore has it).
(The date, and even the month, remain unknown. Oddly, Ralph Gleason said nothing about this in his San Francisco Chronicle column. The 1959 San Francisco telephone directory places Fantasy at Natoma, and the 1960 directory reflects the move.)
Through mid-March
The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, performing with bassist Howard Rumsey and the Lighthouse All-Stars.
February 3
A recording studio in Hollywood, supporting trumpeter Conte Candoli for what would become his album Little Band, Big Jazz, released later in the year. The combo also features Buddy Collette, tenor sax; Leroy Vinnegar, bass; and Stan Levey, drums.
Tracks recorded: "Countin' the Blues," "Little David," "Macedonia," "Mambo Diane," "Muggin' the Minor" and "Zizanie." Guaraldi wrote "Little David" and "Macedonia," the former in honor of his young son.
Guaraldi's mention in the Down Beat review, not published until April 27, 1961 (!), is brief but telling: "As for Guaraldi, I can only say that it is a disappointment that he fails to record more often."
February 16
Guaraldi briefly returns to San Francisco, to celebrate the birth of his daughter, Dia Lisa.
March 17
Pierce College cafetorium, Woodland Hills, California, with the Lighthouse All-Stars.
March 21, 28 and ???
The Tropics, San Francisco, on Monday nights, heading his own trio: Jerry Goode, bass; and Hank Uribe, drums.
Guaraldi continues to be a regular once- or twice-weekly booking at this club during the spring and summer, even after his trio becomes house band at Outside at the Inside.
April 12
The Blackhawk, as an emergency fill-in for Thelonious Monk, who missed his plane; Guaraldi played with Monk's group: Charles Rouse, tenor sax; John Ore, bass; and Billy Higgins, drums.
May 5-June 29
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays. Saxman Brew Moore and trombonist Bob Collins join on Thursday evenings.
The show also features comic Lord Buckley, singers Ada Moore and Letti Luz, and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
Beginning May 13, the Friday evening performances are broadcast live at 11:30 p.m. on KPUP 106.9 FM's Taylor at Large jazz show.
The Wayfarers join the bill in mid-June.
[Guaraldi's combo remains the house band for close to a full year.]
Late May
Sausalito's French restaurant, Ondine, opens a second dining establishment on the ground floor of their building, at 558 Bridgeway Street. The new supper club is called the Yacht Dock, reflecting the fact that customers can arrive by boat, if so desired.
[By this time next year, it will become a second home for Guaraldi, particularly when the venue's name changes.]
June 26
As of this week, the Guaraldi Trio's booking at The Tropics shifts to Tuesday evenings, alongside Jerry Goode, bass; and Hank Uribe, drums.
June 30-July 30
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
Guaraldi's trio is made part of venue owner Michael DuPont's "intimate jazz revue," titled Things Are Swingin'. The bill includes singers Mary Ann McCall and Ada Moore; David Allen; and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
July 8
Fack's II is closed by the Internal Revenue Service, for nonpayment of taxes. Headliner Duke Ellington and his band played three sold-out shows on opening night (July 7), and then -- less than two hours prior to the first July 8 set -- were locked out of the club by IRS agents. (Contrary to some reports, the band's instruments were not locked inside; the band boy managed to get all wardrobe and instruments out of the club minutes before the doors were shuttered.)
"It was my fault," admitted owner George Andros, to the San Francisco Chronicle. "I owed them money. I shouldn't have hired such expensive talent. You're competing with Las Vegas, and it is impossible to pay the high prices. I just don't know what will happen now."
[Andros didn't wonder for long. Half a year later, he opened New Fack's. See February 1961.]
Mid-July
KPUP changes its call letters to KHIP, and becomes an all-jazz station. Taylor at Large continues its live broadcasts of Outside at the Inside's late Friday evening performances.
August
As of this month, Guaraldi's appearances at The Tropics add Sunday afternoons to his ongoing Tuesday evening bookings, alongside Monty Budwig or Jerry Goode, bass; and Benny Barth, drums.
August 4-7, 11-14
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
Jackie Cain and Roy Kral replace Mary Ann McCall and Ada Moore, in Things Are Swingin'. The revue, accompanied by Guaraldi's Trio, now runs four nights: Thursday through Sunday.
August 18-21
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The bill stars headliner Red Norvo and his Quintet, along with comedian George Lemont, singer David Allyn, and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
August 25-27
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The bill also features singers David Allyn and Irene Kral.
August 29-September 14
Basin Street East, New York, accompanying singer June Christie (sidemen unspecified).
[Guaraldi's protege, Larry Vuckovich, holds his spot at Outside at the Inside, supporting Irene Kral and David Allyn.]
September 15-18, 22-25
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is Cal Tjader's Quintet, along with comedian George Lemont, Freddie Paris and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
September 25
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph Gleason reports that "The Tropics has been offering jazz for a long time. Starting first as a Sunday afternoon session, The Tropics has gradually built its audience until now jazz is available there almost every night of the week, with a group revolving around Brew Moore, Allen Smith, Harold Wiley, Cedric Heywood and Vince Guaraldi."
Unfortunately, this is the club's final mention in the Chronicle or anywhere else, so it must've closed shortly after Gleason's article was published.
September 26
Not content with all the activity at Outside at the Inside, Mike du Pont opens a second jazz club, Neve, at 960 Bush Street, the site formerly occupied by Fack's II. The opening act is no less than Duke Ellington "and his world-famous orchestra."
The opening night audience includes Teddy Wilson and his Trio, the Modern Jazz Quartet, Sylvia Syms, Julie Wilson and scores of show business luminaries.
Alas, this club won't be as successful, lasting not quite eight months.
September 29-October 2
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
Guaraldi's trio is made part of another jazz revue, this one titled Having Fun, starring singer Bobbie Norris and also featuring comedian George Lemont, Freddie Paris and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
October 6-9
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is the Barney Kessell Quintet, along with comedian George Lemont and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
Beginning this month, and continuing through February 1961, concerts by this club's headliners -- backed by Guaraldi's trio -- were broadcast live each Friday evening on San Francisco's KHIP-FM.
October 8
The Coffee Gallery, San Francisco, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- participating in a massive, six-hour benefit for The Cellar, a nearby jazz club that needed help raising enough money to make a down payment on a sprinkler system, so the SF Fire Department would let it re-open. Performers included Duke Ellington, Jimmy Rushing, Teddy Edwards and Pony Poindexter (with whom the Guaraldi Trio also played).
October 13-16, 20-23
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is Red Norvo and his Quintet, along with comedian George Lemont.
October 27-30
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Don Joham, drums -- as house band. (This may when the photo above was taken: the only known shot of Joham, Budwig and Guaraldi.)
The headliners are Jackie Cain and Roy Kral, along with comedian George Lemont.
November 3-6
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Don Joham, drums -- as house band.
The headliners are the Montgomery Brothers, along with comedian George Lemont.
November 10
Although not mentioned in the article itself, Guaraldi is included in a group photo on the cover of the November 10 issue of Downbeat, which features an article on the San Francisco jazz scene.
November 10-13
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliners are tenor saxman Ben Webster and blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon, along with RCA Victor recording stars Penny and Jean.
November 17-20
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is jazz vocalist Toni Harper, along with comedian George Lemont and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
November 24-27, December 1-4
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is jazz vocalist Helen Humes, along with comedian George Lemont and the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
December 8-11
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The bill includes comedian George Lemont, Three for the Show, and Tony Mendell.
December 15-18
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is jazz vocalist Miriam Makeba, along with comedian George Lemont.
December 23-24
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The bill includes Freddy Paris, and Three for the Show.
December 29-31
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is Red Norvo and his Quintet.
January 6-8, 13-15
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The headliner is vocalist Faith Winthrop, along with the Tommy Conine Dance Trio.
KHIP-FM continues to broadcast the Friday evening performances live.
January
The Contemporary label releases Victor Feldman's album, Latinsville.
January 20-22, 27-29, February 3-5
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The bill includes song-and-dance comic Reggie Mason, and folk singer Carolyn Joyce.
February 5
The Gold Nugget -- at 5126 Telegraph, in Oakland -- kicks off a new series of in-person jazz workshops dubbed "Meet the Musicians," with Stu Williamson and Bill Holman as the initial guests.
Starting October 7, 1962, the venue will begin weekly Sunday evening jazz concerts, and soon will become another of the Bay Area's noteworthy jazz haunts.
February 9
Guaraldi and his trio -- sidemen unidentified -- give a concert in the KQED Channel 9 studio, which is broadcast live at 8:30 p.m.
February 10-12
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The bill includes Johnny Martin ("versatile vocalist who sings in four languages") and flamenco guitarist Freddie Mejia.
February 17
George Andros, rebounding from the embarrassment of the IRS seizure of Facks II, opens New Fack's at 2215 Powell.
February 17-19
Outside at the Inside, Palo Alto, heading his own trio -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as house band.
The bill includes Joe and Eddy, and Christine Pernot.
This concludes Guaraldi's lengthy run at this venue.
February 21-March 19
The Jazz Workshop, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- supporting Ben Webster, Jimmy Witherspoon and trumpeter Benny Harris on weekends.
Early March
The Cellar, also known as The Jazz Cellar, closes its doors after a five-year run.
The site eventually devolves into an unoccupied basement beneath a restaurant dubbed PJ Mulhern..
April 4-9
The Jazz Workshop, with his trio (sidemen unspecified), supporting vocalist King Pleasure.
April 16
Mike du Pont closes Outside at the Inside, focusing his energy entirely on Neve.
Mid-April
Jazz/pop singer Champ Butler purchases Opus One, 738 Montgomery, formerly a French-style restaurant offering classical music, and transforms it into a jazz club, with himself as featured vocalist. Guaraldi backs him on piano -- likely without his trio -- for at least several weeks (days/dates unknown).
The endeavor proves unsuccessful, and closes after slightly more than six months.
April 21
San Francisco's KQED-TV Channel 9 studio, for a "battle of talent" with children's book author and illustrator Don Freeman (creator of the Corduroy series, among other titles) and pantomimist Bernard Bragg. The half-hour event, titled "Trio," likely was broadcast live.
May 2-?
Opus One, San Francisco, continuing to support Champ Butler.
May 7
San Francisco State, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; Benny Barth, drums -- for the first Intercollegiate Jazz Festival.
The performers include Frank Rosolino, trombone; Richie Kamuca, tenor sax; and Conte Condoli, trumpet.
May 9-21
The Jazz Workshop, San Francisco, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; Benny Barth, drums -- supporting singer Bill Henderson and alto saxman Frank Strozier.
May 14
Mills College, with his trio -- sidemen unspecified -- for an afternoon performance.
May 14
Mike du Pont's focused energy doesn't help. Neve quietly closes after its final offering: the Johnny Hamlin Quintet, with singer Marcie Miller and the Van Dorn Sisters (a multiple booking likely moved over from Outside at the Inside, due to its closure).
The 960 Bush Street location will be resurrected many times, during the next decade: the Theatre Lab, in 1966; The Quake, starting December 31, 1967; and The Troubadour (North), starting August 4, 1970. Its next and final incarnation -- as The Boarding House, which opens March 26, 1971 -- once again will bring Guaraldi onto its stage.
May 19
The Trois Couleur club opens in Berkeley.
[This club will prove important to Guaraldi in a few years.]
May 23
Singer Barbara Dain opens her own club, Sugar Hill, at 430 Broadway. She initially functions as both hostess and star attraction, backed by bassist Wellman Braud and pianist/trumpeter Kenny Whitson, but soon begins to book more ambitious acts. The club becomes another of San Francisco's hot jazz venues.
May 28
A "rehearsal jazz band" led by drummer Herb Barman performs at San Francisco's Marines' Memorial Theater. As reported by Ralph Gleason two days later, the program includes "Stella," an excerpt from a suite by Vince Guaraldi titled Saints Day, which "...was played with feeling and delicacy by the band." It's the only mention of this otherwise unknown Guaraldi work.
May 29, June 5, 12, 19, 26
The Jazz Workshop, with his trio -- sidemen unspecified -- as the "fill-in" act on Monday nights, which the headlining James Moody Septet has off.
June 3
The San Francisco Chronicle's Bob Keely, in his The Owl Steps Out column, reports that "Vince Guaraldi has offers from Decca, Capitol and Columbia, to record for them." Alas, nothing comes of any of these offers...
June 9-mid July
The Yacht Dock, Sausalito, California, Fridays through Sundays, with Monty Budwig, bass; and Benny Barth, drums. (Starting July 18, these Yacht Dock appearances are daytime and evening gigs that don't conflict with the simultaneous Jazz Workshop booking.)
July 16
Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that drummer Colin Bailey has replaced Benny Barth.
July 18-30
The Jazz Workshop, with Guaraldi's trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; Colin Bailey, drums -- backing blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and saxman Ben Webster.
Mid-July
The Yacht Dock closes for renovation and transformation, soon to re-emerge under a new -- and, in time, much more famous -- identity. The controlling partners in this new venue are Brad McNutt, the Kingston Trio (two of whom, Nick Reynolds and Bob Shane, are Marin residents) and their manager, Frank Werber.
August 1-6
The Jazz Workshop, with Guaraldi's trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; Colin Bailey, drums -- backing tenor saxman Gene Ammons.
August 8-December 3
The Trident, Sausalito, with Monty Budwig, bass, and Colin Bailey, drums.
The Trident is the new identity of the wholly renovated and remodeled Yacht Dock. Guaraldi's trio opens the place and remains the name entertainment, six nights per week, for four months.
Guaraldi loves it. "This is one place a jazz musician won't have to work pianissimo, to keep from breaking the customers' glasses. The only place we couldn't get complete acoustical control is on the speakers outside, on the yacht deck. On foggy nights we'll have to compete with the Alcatraz fog horn. I feel bad about it. The seagulls really dig us."
September 10
Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that Guaraldi's Trio "...will probably record for one of two major labels currently interested in the group." Alas, that never happened.
October 6-November 11
Jack Gelber's The Connection, a dramatic play about drug addiction, opens at San Francisco's Contemporary Dancers Center. The production features "new music" by Guaraldi, although he doesn't perform the score; that honor goes to the Paul Humphrey Quartet (Humphrey, drums; Fred Maxwell, bass; Sonny King, alto sax; and Flip Nunez, piano).
[No recordings of Guaraldi's score are known to have survived.]
October 12
Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, notes that "In the context of last weekend's opening performance [of The Connection], the jazz music did not come through successfully. The band has since been changed and this may, or may not, help." Alas, the changes -- the new players -- don't seem to have been mentioned anywhere.
Early November
Champ Butler quietly closes Opus One, after a run of not quite seven months.
November 8
Humboldt State College Men's Gymnasium, Arcata, California, in a quartet headed by Cal Tjader, alongside Gene Wright, bass; and Louis Kant, congas.
November
Guaraldi, Monty Budwig (bass) and Colin Bailey (drums) record two trial tracks -- "Moon River" and "Since I Fell for You" -- for the upcoming Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus album (probably at the Fantasy studios, but this is uncertain).
Early December
A posh San Francisco dance club (identity unknown), with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- for a one-week engagement.
December 26-January 7
The Jazz Workshop, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- supporting blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and tenor saxman Ben Webster.
At some point during this booking, the British Stateside label records an evening performance, for an album eventually released in 1968 and titled Live: Jimmy Witherspoon.
Tracks recorded: "C.C. Rider," "Confessin' the Blues," "Goin' Down Slow," "Money's Getting' Cheaper," "I'm Gonna Move Way on the Outskirts of Town," "Please Send Me Someone to Love," "Roll 'em Pete," "S.K. Blues," "St. Louis Blues," "T'Ain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do" and "Trouble in Mind."
[The precise recording date of this album remains unknown. But the participation of Monty Budwig and Colin Bailey, along with this gig's proximity to the upcoming Jazz Casual taping, strongly suggests this two-week window in late December/early January.]
The Verve label also records an evening of the Guaraldi Trio's Jazz Workshop performances with Webster and Witherspoon, for an album eventually released in 1973 and titled Jimmy Witherspoon & Ben Webster.
Dean Reilly, bass, fills in for an absent Monty Budwig.
Tracks recorded: "C.C. Rider," "Every Day I Have the Blues," "Goin' Down Slow," "How Long, How Long Blues," "I'll Always Be in Love with You," "Roll 'em Pete," "St. Louis Blues" and "T'Ain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do."
[As with the British Stateside release, the precise recording date of this album also remains unknown. But -- again -- the participation of Colin Bailey, and this gig's proximity to the Jazz Casual taping, strongly suggests the same two-week window in late December/early January.]
Through January 7
The Jazz Workshop, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- supporting blues singer Jimmy Witherspoon and tenor saxman Ben Webster.
January 1
San Quentin Prison -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- as part of the ambitious bill for the prison's 47th annual Show of Stars. The other performers include Ben Webster and Jimmy Witherspoon, Luz Garcia's Sinaloa Club, singer Ketty Lester, comedians Higgy King and JoAnne, and the performance group Three for the Show.
January 4
At San Francisco's KQED-TV Channel 9 studio, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- recording an episode of Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual show, backing Ben Webster and Jimmy Witherspoon.
The set features "Chelsea Bridge," "I'm Gonna Move to the Outskirts of Town," "Cottontail," "Roll 'em Pete," "T'Ain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do" and "Times Getting Tougher." The audio eventually is released on CD in 2001; the full show also is made available on VHS tape and DVD (the latter only in the Region 2 format, however).
January 7-July 1
The Trident, with his trio: Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums. They're joined by "the warm guitar of Jorge Morel," as a nod to Guaraldi's growing interest in adding a bossa nova element to his sound.
They play Monday through Saturday until mid-April, and then shift to Wednesday through Sunday.
January 26
Dominic's Harbor Restaurant, San Rafael, California, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- for a March of Dimes benefit dance. The program also includes emcee John Moore, a British comic; and Ree Brunell, Freddie Paris, The Talleymen and The Gold Coast Singers.
February
At San Francisco's KQED-TV Channel 9 studio, with Colin Bailey and Monty Budwig, recording Guaraldi's Fantasy album, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus.
The album is cut in one session, from midnight to 4 a.m., and released a few months later.
Tracks recorded: "Alma-Ville," "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," "A Felicidade" (incorrectly titled "Generique" on the original LP), "Manha de Carnaval," "Moon River," "O Nosso Amor," "Samba de Orpheus" and "Since I Fell for You." Guaraldi wrote "Alma-Ville" and "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."
March 6-18
The Blackhawk, with his trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- backing headliner Carmen McRae.
April 4 and 11
The Trio Room, Willow Glen, San Jose, with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums. These two bookings are a favor to tenor saxman Chuck Travis, who has just assumed ownership of the club, with partners Bill Leonard and Duane Pillette (both from the sports world).
April 10
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, columnist Herb Caen observes "Although I've always felt there's something vaguely indecent about jazz in broad daylight, pianist Vince Guaraldi's Sunday afternoon musings at the Trident in Sausalito are a pleasant diversion -- in spite of the sun streaming through the big windows. So put on your dark glasses and puff hard on your cigarette."
April 12
Phelan Hall, University of San Francisco, with Guaraldi's Trio -- Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- sharing the bill with the R&B dance band, The Apollos.
April 18
Fantasy Records releases Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus.
In its June 23 review, a few months later -- and with an uncanny sense of what was to come -- Billboard noted, "The alternately bright and brooding moods of the music from the film Black Orpheus are detailed with sensitivity and style by pianist Guaraldi and his rhythm section. This jazz version is a superior outing for the group and its vastly underrated leader. The four tunes from the score fill out one side of the LP, while standards and originals take up the other. Of these, the Calypso-tinged 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' is a wonderful track indeed."
The July 7 Cashbox review was equally enthusiastic: "Once in a great while, a jazz version of a film has exceptional merit in its own right. Such a case is Vince Guaraldi's impressive reading of four selections from Black Orpheus. The 88'er, along with bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey, put a new swingin' vitality to the flick's Latin and African-flavored melodies."
May 5
San Francisco State University -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- for the second annual Contemporary Arts Festival. Guaraldi's trio shared the stage with the Larry Vuckovich Quintet, the Mose Allison Trio, and alto saxman Lee Konitz. Clarinetist Vince Cattolica joined Guaraldi's Trio for one set.
May 8-10
Lee Konitz headlines alongside the Guaraldi Trio, during the latter's lengthy stay at The Trident.
May 12
Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that Monty Budwig has left Guaraldi, and joined Shelly Manne's group. Guaraldi initially replaces Budwig with Tom Beeson.
May 28
The Seventh Annual Pageant of Arts, Walnut Creek, California, billed as Vince Guaraldi's Progressive Jazz Trio, with Tom Beeson, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums.
June 21-24
The San Francisco Museum of Arts, for the first annual San Francisco Poetry Festival, sharing the bill with numerous poets and musicians, along with eight films, three short plays, a dance troupe, a mime troupe, a comedy act and much more.
Guaraldi's trio played several times during the four-day festival.
Bassist Al Obidinski likely has replaced Tom Beeson by this point, alongside drummer Colin Bailey.
July 8
Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that Eddie Coleman has replaced Al Obidinski as the bassist in Guaraldi's trio.
July 10-15
The Carter Barron outdoor theater, Washington D.C. -- with Eddie Coleman, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- sharing the stage with the headlining Kingston Trio and comedian Ronnie Schell.
July 19 (?)
The Washington, D.C., Department of Corrections Youth Center, Lorton Virginia, with Eddie Coleman, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums.
[This was a courtesy gig involving only the trio.]
July 23-28
The Broadmoor International Theatre, Colorado Springs, Colorado -- with Eddie Coleman, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- continuing the tour with the Kingston Trio and comedian Ronnie Schell.
At least one additional tour booking is known to have taken place at the Red Rocks Auditorium, in Morrison, Colorado.
September 10-October 28
The Blackhawk -- with Eddie Coleman, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- sharing the bill first with the Ramsey Lewis Trio, and later with the John Handy Quartet.
Beginning with this booking, the club presents entertainment seven nights a week. Guaraldi's trio "rests" on Wednesdays, and the other group is off on Mondays.
Writing in the San Francisco Chronice on September 19, after having taken in a few shows, Ralph Gleason notes, "Guaraldi's group has long been one of my favorites. Vince's LP of Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus is one of the nicest jazz albums so far this year, and he rightly features this music nightly, as well as many of his own compositions. I'm particularly fond of an arrangement he has of Fats Waller's 'Jitterbug Waltz.'"
September 15
Hal Schaefer, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that "Fantasy Records recording artist Vince Guaraldi is the first West Coast Jazz pianist to sell over 50,000 albums in less than five weeks. The next album that Vince will record will be taped live and direct from the Blackhawk." [That top-selling album, of course, is Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus ... and, as it turns out, Guaraldi's next album is recorded at the Trident, not the Blackhawk.]
Mid-September
Guaraldi, on his own, drops by a Sherman Clay music store in Oakland, intending to purchase some LPs; he lingers long enough to entertain patrons and employees with an hour-long concert on a handy Steinway.
September 22
The Monterey Jazz Festival, with Eddie Coleman, bass, and Colin Bailey, drums.
The trio does three sets this evening, alternating with other acts. Guaraldi doubles as pianist with the afternoon Festival Orchestra, and also joins a septet that features Benny Carter, Phil Woods (alto sax), Bill Perkins (tenor sax), Ben Webster (tenor sax) Buddy Clark (bass) and Mel Lewis (drums).
This same day, Hal Schaefer, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, rather dubiously claims that "Mustachioed pianist Vince Guaraldi has had designed for himself a false upper lip to conceal his mustache. This way he can roam the streets of San Francisco unrecognized by his thousands of fans."
September 30
Guitarist Bola Sete returns to the Tudor Room of the Sheraton Palace Hotel, as a soloist.
October 14
Guaraldi's revolving bassists continue: Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that Eddie Coleman has been replaced by Fred Marshall.
Late October
Lounge/exotica orchestra leader Martin Denny releases a single on the Liberty label; the A side offers "The Payoff," while the B side features his cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."
October 28
All proceeds from this evening's performances at the Blackhawk are donated to the United Bay Area Crusade.
October 29-November 4
Held over at The Blackhawk -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- sharing the bill with Cal Tjader's Afro-Cuban Quintet.
November 4
Writing in the Oakland Tribune, columnist Russ Wilson notes that Guaraldi has been signed by the Associated Booking Corporation.
November 6-January 6
The Trident, Sausalito, with Fred Marshall, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums.
November 21
Guaraldi is granted a lengthy segment -- slightly more than 8 minutes -- on KCRA-TV's Channel 3 Reports (Sacramento's NBC affiliate).
November 24
UC Berkeley, as a soloist, playing at the annual Cal/Stanford game.
December 1
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" enters Billboard magazine's charts, "bubbling under the Hot 100" at No. 127.
Martin Denny's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" also enters the Billboard charts, also "bubbling under the Hot 100," but at No. 124. It's the only time Denny's version will chart higher than Guaraldi's.
December 3
Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, reports that Guaraldi has been signed as a guest on the Steve Allen Show. [Alas, nobody seems to have saved a tape of this appearance.]
December 4
Fantasy records this evening's sets at the Trident, to be released as Guaraldi's album In Person. His standard trio -- Fred Marshall, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- is augmented by Eddie Duran, guitar; and Benny Velarde, scratcher (gueiro).
Tracks recorded: "Chora Tua Tristeza (Cry Your Blues Away)," "Forgive Me if I'm Late," "Freeway," "Jitterbug Waltz," "The Love of a Rose," "Misirlou," "On Green Dolphin Street," "Outra Vez" and "Zelao." Guaraldi wrote "Freeway."
December 8
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" enters Billboard's Hot 100, at No. 94.
Martin Denny's cover of the same song remains "bubbling under the Hot 100," this week at No. 126.
December 15
Martin Denny's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" makes one final appearance on the Billboard chart, still "bubbling under the Hot 100," again at No. 124. It never reaches the Hot 100, and vanishes after this brief flurry.
On the same day, Billboard notes that "Vince Guaraldi on San Francisco's Fantasy label is grabbing solid sales action. Guaraldi's Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus has gone over 7,000 in album sales within six weeks, and is spreading to other areas. The single 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind," a segment of the album, started in Sacramento, spread to all of Northern California with 10,000 discs out, and is now moving strongly in Southern California."
Through January 6
The Trident, Sausalito, with Fred Marshall, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums.
January 2
Juanita's Galley, Sausalito, a bohemian waterfront café on board an old ferryboat -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- joining numerous other entertainers, in an effort to save the venue from "the clutches of Federal tax collectors." The bill includes the George Dukes Trio, the Belchfire Five Plus One, the Gold Coast Singers, comedian John Moore and many others.
Unspecified
Barnaby Conrad sells El Matador to Walter Pastore, at which point the club's primary music focus shifts from pianists to guitarists.
January 5
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" reaches No. 70 on Billboard's Hot 100.
January 6
The Fellowship Church, San Francisco -- sidemen unspecified -- for "Jazz in the Sanctuary," with the musicians interpreting "traditional church hymns, religious anthems and the written and spoken word [while trying] to find and speak the religious language of jazz."
[This is an intriguing foreshadowing of Guaraldi's activities, two years later, at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral.]
January 19
Cashbox reports that "Fantasy's Saul Zantz pens that both the Vince Guaraldi Trio's 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' single and Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus LP are climbing the charts all across the country."
January 27
Fantasy announces that it has sold nearly 200,000 45 singles of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," with the Black Orpheus album "following up fast."
January 27
Drummer Colin Bailey leaves the trio, to join Victor Feldman's band in Hollywood.
February 2
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" reaches No. 44 on Billboard's Hot 100.
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus debuts on Billboard's Top 150 album chart, at No. 130.
February 8
Bear's Lair Cabaret, UC Berkeley, with his trio (sidemen unspecified).
February 15-17
Town Market (a club), Del Mar (California), with his trio (sidemen unspecified).
February 21-23
The Berry Patch, Sacramento, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums.
This gig marks Granelli's debut with the band.
February 23
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" peaks at No. 22 on Billboard's Hot 100, and thereafter starts to drop.
February 26-March 3
The Blackhawk, as a last-moment fill-in for Miles Davis, who is delayed a week.
[Guaraldi's sidemen aren't mentioned; he probably played with Davis' band.]
March 5
Phelan Hall, University of San Francisco, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums.
The trio is known to have performed "On Green Dolphin Street," Monk's "Little Rooty Tooty" and "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."
March 7-27
Sugar Hill, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums. Comedian Redd Foxx is the headliner.
March 9
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus reaches No. 69 on Billboard's Top 150 album chart.
April 3
The Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley (sidemen unspecified).
April 6
"Cast Your Fate to the Wind" makes its final appearance on Billboard's Hot 100, at No. 70. All told, the song has charted for 19 weeks.
April 8-14
The It Club, Los Angeles -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- sharing the bill with Phineas Newborn and Frank Butler.
April 16-May 12
The Trident, Sausalito, with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums.
April 20
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus reaches No. 28 on Billboard's Top 150 album chart, where it appears to peak; it drops the following week.
April 26
The Redwood Room, San Francisco State University -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli drums -- as a "warm up" for the weekend's third annual Contemporary Arts Festival.
[The band gives three shows, all to standing-room-only crowds.]
April 27
The San Francisco State University Auditorium -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- at the campus' third annual Contemporary Arts Festival. Guaraldi's band shares the afternoon bill with John Handy, Turk Murphy and Mary Stallings.
May 11
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus rallies, once again reaching No. 28 on Billboard's Top 150 album chart.
May 15
Grammy Awards dinner and ceremony, in the Grand Ballroom of the Beverly Hilton Hotel, Beverly Hills (at least, this was Guaraldi's intention).
[Guaraldi's category -- Original Jazz Composition -- was not among those televised.]
[Although Guaraldi flew to Southern California specifically to attend this event, he neglected to pack his tux and was not allowed to attend the banquet. His winning Grammy Award -- for "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" -- was accepted by Shelly Manne.]
May 18
Thanks to the Grammy Award victory for "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus climbs to a new high on Billboard's Top 150 album chart, at No. 24.
May 20-June 23
The hungry i, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums.
The trio shares the bill with activist comedian Dick Gregory and singer Margie McCoy.
After catching the show during one of its initial evenings, the San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason notes that "Vince, now that he's had a hit record and won a Grammy Award, plays with a lot more confidence than he sometimes exhibited in the past. He has authority now, and he swings like mad. His versions of the Black Orpheus music, of 'Moon River' and of his own tunes, 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' and 'Treat Street,' reach almost any kind of an audience, and bring a breath of fresh air to the hungry i."
May 25
The Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley (sidemen unspecified).
June 2
ILMU Auditorium, San Francisco -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- for a Civil Rights benefit. Guaraldi' trio opened the show, because they had to leave early for another gig in Walnut Creek [see next entry].
The bill also included the John Handy Quartet, Red Rodney's band, Carmen McRae and the Ahmad Jamal Trio. Sadly, the hall's acoustics were terrible; one critic likened the experience to "listening from the bottom of a swimming pool."
[Perhaps more dramatically, one of the grand piano's three legs fell off during Guaraldi's set, prompting him to mutter "Unbelievable."]
June 2
The Walnut Creek Library, Walnut Creek, California, for a late afternoon concert, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums.
June 8
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus drops precipitously to No. 150 on Billboard's Top 150 album chart. Everybody assumes the ride is over...
June 10
Fantasy Records releases Guaraldi's album In Person.
In a "Best Bets" review of the companion single, Cashbox notes that "Vince Guaraldi, who scored last time out with 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind,' could duplicate that success with 'Zelao,' a top-flight bossa nova follow-up stanza. The tune is a contagious, easy-going lyrical ballad with a danceable, rapidly changing beat. 'Jitterbug Waltz' is a catchy, medium-paced novelty which spotlights Guaraldi's distinctive keyboard style. Loads of airplay potential here."
Alas, this single never cracks the charts.
June 15
...but no. Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus rallies again, rising to No. 146 on Billboard's Top 150 album chart. It will continue to rise for the next month.
June 25-September 14
The Trident, Sausalito, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums.
[Guaraldi's trio was booked through September 21, but he became ill the final week; his combo was replaced by singer/pianist Bob Dorough.]
July 20
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus hits its final "aftershock peak" on Billboard's Top 150 album chart, at No. 78.
July 21
In a disturbing sign of things to come, the Blackhawk closes, leaving San Francisco without one of its seminal jazz clubs. Performers on this final evening include Guaraldi, Cal Tjader, John Handy and Lonnie Hewitt.
The site is razed and turned into a parking lot.
August
At the Fantasy studios -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- recording the album Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends.
Tracks recorded: "The Days of Wine and Roses," "Casaba," "Mambossa," "Moon Rays" and "Star Song." Guaraldi wrote "Casaba" (aka "Jambo's") and "Star Song."
["The first time I ever played with Bola was at my house, the day before we cut the LP," Guaraldi claimed, on the liner notes. "We rehearsed at my house, and the next day went to the studio and cut the album. And nothing came out the way we rehearsed it. It was beautiful!"]
August 1
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph Gleason reports that "There'll be a Vince Guaraldi Day at St. Ignatius High School later this fall." [It doesn't appear to have taken place.]
August 2
Bear's Lair Cabaret, UC Berkeley, with his trio (sidemen unspecified).
August 10
Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus makes its final appearance on Billboard's Top 150 album chart, at No. 146. All told, the album has charted for 28 weeks.
August 11
New Facks closes, concluding owner George Andros' lengthy run as a San Francisco jazz club impresario.
Summer
At San Francisco's KQED-TV studio, recording a segment of Ralph Gleason's Jazz Casual with guitarist Bola Sete and the trio: Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums.
The set features "Mambossa," "Outra Vez," "Star Song," "Tango El Bongo" and "Tour de Force." The audio eventually is released on CD in 2001; the full show also is made available on VHS tape and DVD (the latter only in the Region 2 format, however).
[Guaraldi's participation in this session is much less aggressive than usual, because he had injured the middle finger of his left hand; it was in a splint.]
Summer
At the Fantasy studios -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- recording the album The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi, which is released the following summer. The trio is augmented, on some cuts, by Eddie Duran, guitar; Bill Fitch, congas; Benny Velarde, timbales; and a strong quartet.
Tracks recorded: "Brasilia," "Corcovado (Quiet Nights)," "Dor Que Faz Doer," "Mr. Lucky," "Star Song," "Treat Street," "What Kind of Fool Am I," "Whirlpool" and "Work Song." Guaraldi wrote "Brasilia," "Star Song," "Treat Street" and "Whirlpool."
August 30
During one of his trio's sets at The Trident, Guaraldi becomes annoyed by the volume of noise made by a group of women at one table. He tells them to quiet down via the microphone; they later claim they did, but apparently it doesn't satisfy him. When the set concludes, he appears at the bar, curses one of the women and tosses a carte blanche machine at one of her friends. The first woman calls the police and charges him with battery.
A court appearance is set for September 27; Guaraldi fails to show, and the judge issues an arrest warrant.
The warrant apparently having been dealt with, Guaraldi subsequently handles the matter through his attorney. On October 25, Marin Municipal Court's Judge Harold J. Haley finds Guaraldi guilty of disturbing the peace, fines him $110 and places him on nine months' probation. The charge of battery is dropped.
September 17
Olney Hall, College of Marian, with his trio -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- for a concert to help launch the school's "Kickoff Week."
September 28
Stanford University -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- playing during halftime of the Stanford-Oregon football game, because the Stanford Marching Band is on strike.
September 29
The Oakland Auditorium -- with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums -- for the jazz portion of an event dubbed "Grodin's Music Festival."
The jazz bill also included the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Four Freshmen, the Brothers Four and other musicians, along with "seven Playboy Playmates."
October (?)
The Reverend Charles Gompertz, hearing "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" on the radio, contacts Vince Guaraldi and asks him to compose and perform a Jazz Mass, as part of the "Year of Grace" celebrations honoring San Francisco's renovated Grace Cathedral.
October 6
A Man Named Mays, the debut documentary from Lee Mendelson Productions, airs on national television, earning strong ratings against a higher-profile Elizabeth Taylor special. On the basis of this success, Mendelson decides to make a documentary about Charles M. Schulz and Charlie Brown, and contacts Guaraldi.
October 7-20
The Scene, Los Angeles, with Fred Marshall, bass, Jerry Granelli, drums, and vocalist Margie McCoy.
October 23
Sacramento State University, Sacramento, California -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- for the opening performance of a "one-month string of college campus one-nighters" that featured headliner Dick Gregory and singer Margie McCoy.
October 24
Chico State University, Chico, California, with the Dick Gregory tour.
October 25
Fresno State University, Fresno, California, with the Dick Gregory tour.
October 27
UC Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, California, with the Dick Gregory tour.
October 28
Awalt High School, Los Altos, California, with the Dick Gregory tour.
October 29
The College of San Mateo, San Mateo, California, with the Dick Gregory tour.
October 31
Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, California, with the Dick Gregory tour.
The trio is known to have performed "Limehouse Blues," "Fly Me to the Moon," "Mr. Lucky" and "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."
November 1
The San Jose Civic Auditorium, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 3
UC Davis, Davis, California, with the Dick Gregory tour.
The trio is known to have performed "Samba de Orpheus," "Mr. Lucky," "Treat Street," "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "Jitterbug Waltz" (the latter amusingly mis-titled "Litter Bug Waltz" by the UC Davis newspaper critic).
November 4
Utah State University, Logan, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 6
Arizona State University, Metro Phoenix, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 10
The University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 13
The University of Colorado, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 14
Colorado State University, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 15
Denver University, Colorado, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 16
Bloch Auditorium, University of Kansas, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 17
Kansas State College, Pittsburgh, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 18
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 19
The University of South Dakota, Vermillion, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 20
Drake University, Des Moines, Iowa, with the Dick Gregory tour.
November 21
Western Illinois University, Macomb, with the Dick Gregory tour.
[Additional dates -- November 22 at the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; and November 23 at Detroit University, Michigan -- are canceled when President John F. Kennedy is shot. Upon landing in Pittsburgh, all the tour members are greeted by U.S. Secret Service and sent home.]
November 29
Rickey's Hyatt House, Palo Alto, as part of the entertainment for Stanford University's "Pre-Big Game Rally," sharing the bill with the Stanford Band and comedian Doodles Weaver (sidemen unspecified).
December 12
Denver, Colorado -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- as part of promoter Irving Granz's "Jazz a la Carte" tour.
The bill included Sonny Stitt, Dizzy Gillespie, Zoot Sims, Al Cohn, the Wynton Kelly Trio, J.J. Johnson, Gerry Mulligan, Joe Newman, Coleman Hawkins and singer Dakota Staton.
December 13
The Masonic Memorial, San Francisco, for the second "Jazz a la Carte" appearance.
December 14
The Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, for the third "Jazz a la Carte" appearance.
December 15
Keil Auditorium, St. Louis, Missouri, for the fourth and final "Jazz a la Carte" appearance.
December 27-31
The Penthouse, Seattle (sidemen unspecified, but probably Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums).
December 28
In Cashbox's year-end bios of the year's leading artists, the entry for Guaraldi reads, in part, "When he is not on the road playing club dates, Vince spends his spare time gardening and working in his home workshop."
(Gardening?!?! Seriously???)
January 5
The Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- for a benefit concert dubbed "Freedom Mississippi: 1964."
The bill includes Dick Gregory, The Committee, the Art Farmer Quartet and others
[Guaraldi's trio waited all afternoon to perform, but the event ran too long, so they played later at the reception.]
Late January
Fantasy Records releases the LP Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends.
Cashbox tags it a "Jazz Pick" on January 25, with a review that reads, "Here's a delightful musical marriage spotlighting the distinctive musical talents of Bola Sete and Vince Guaraldi ... The two jazzmen compliment each other as they turn in superlative renditions of 'Days of Wine and Roses,' 'Star Song' and 'Moon Rays.' Loads of sales potential here."
About a month later, on February 22, Billboard noted that "...Vince Guaraldi/Bola Sete LP is moving. Over 2,600 sold in Northern California as of February 1, with brisk action in Los Angeles and Washington."
February 7
The Men's Gym, San Jose City College, with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums.
Guaraldi's trio shares the bill with the Cal Tjader Quintet and the Gateway Trio.
[Guaraldi's group plays early, since they're also scheduled to open at Trois Couleur the same evening.]
February 7-May 31
Trois Couleur, Berkeley, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums. What begins as just a two-weekend booking continues to expand, due to public demand.
February 23
Foothill College, Los Altos Hills, with Fred Marshall, bass, and Jerry Granelli, drums.
February 26
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Herb Caen reports that "Pianist Vince Guaraldi's 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' broke Fantasy Records' perfect record of 13-1/2 solid years without a hit, and Co-Owner Max Weiss is appropriately disturbed: 'Where did we go wrong?'"
Late February
Fantasy Records releases the album Jazz Impressions: Vince Guaraldi, a "greatest hits" collection of tracks from the pianist's first two Fantasy albums.
March 2
The Trident, Sausalito, for a "preview party" for Ralph Gleason's film, Anatomy of a Hit.
[There's no indication that Guaraldi performed, either solo or with a combo.]
March 6
Bola Sete permanently joins Guaraldi's combo at Trois Couleur, beginning an association with Guaraldi that will last two years.
The quartet becomes so popular, that it soon sells out the venue's 122 seats during every show.
(Intriguingly, an October 1965 pre-concert publicity article for the quartet's upcoming appearance at Sacramento City College -- with information that must have been lifted from Guaraldi's prepared press packet -- included this sentence: "Pianist Guaraldi and Sete were ordered to combine their acts by 'President' Dizzy Gillispie after they appeared at the Monterey Jazz Fest in 1962." That claim never has appeared anywhere else...!)
March 7
Riordan High School, San Francisco, where Guaraldi is a special guest at the South San Francisco Unified School District's firth annual Dance Band Tournament.
[There's no indication that Guaraldi performed, either solo or with a combo.]
March 11
San Francisco's KQED-TV Channel 9 begins airing Ralph Gleason's three-part Anatomy of a Hit, with episodes two and three following on March 18 and 25.
[These dates are echoed in Boston, Chicago and New York; all other National Educational Television affiliates begin one month later, with broadcast dates in April.]
March 15
The San Francisco Museum of Art, with Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified), for an afternoon performance to support Ralph Gleason's critical commentary presentation: "Jazz as an Art Form." Guaraldi's combo and Sete also did their usual Trois Couleur gig that evening.
Spring
At the Fantasy studios -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- recording tracks for what eventually will become the album From All Sides, eventually released in February 1965.
Tracks recorded: "Ballad of Pancho Villa," "Choro," "Little Fishes," "Menino Pequeno da Bateria" and "A Taste of Honey." Guaraldi wrote "Ballad of Pancho Villa," "Choro" and "Menino Pequeno da Bateria."
March 23
International House, UC Berkeley, without Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified), for a variety show sponsored by the Chinese Students Inter-Collegiate Organization.
[Guaraldi's combo followed a talent contest of student singers, dancers and actors.]
March 24
Live appearance on San Francisco KGO-TV Channel 7's The Dick Stewart Show, with Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified).
April
San Francisco magazine runs a cover story on Lee Mendelson's recently announced television documentary, A Boy Named Charlie Brown, with original music to be supplied by Guaraldi.
[Sadly, Mendelson never will be able to market this show; it will remain "lost" until being released on DVD by the Charles M. Schulz Museum, in December 2005.]
April 3
Live appearance on San Francisco KGO-TV Channel 7's The Dick Stewart Show, with Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified).
April 10
Bear's Lair Cabaret, UC Berkeley, with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums.
Guaraldi's trio did this gig without Bola Sete, who was supported by his own rhythm section at Trois Couleur that evening.
April 12
Sir Francis High School gym, California, for an afternoon "hootenanny," with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums. The bill includes Lou Gottleib, of the Limeliters; singer-composer Malvina Reynolds; and the folksinging duo Bob Waldron and Mike Turney. The event raises funds for the school's exchange student program.
Later that evening, Guaraldi and the other performers are guests at a no-host dinner at Deer Park Villa, in Fairfax.
April (?)
St. Paul's Church, San Rafael
At about this time, Guaraldi begins rehearsing for the upcoming Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass -- on most Saturday mornings -- with the St. Paul Church Choir, alongside choirmaster and organist Barret (Barry) Mineah. These rehearsals continue for a year, Guaraldi participating without sidemen until early 1965.
May 14
Diablo Valley College, Concord, California, with Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified), for a benefit raising funds for the Rumford Housing Law.
The bill also features singers Elmerlee Thomas and Malvina Reynolds.
May 16
The Little Theater, Berkeley High School, with Bola Sete, guitar; Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums.
The Guaraldi/Sete Quartet is joined by the Berkeley High School Band, in a benefit concert for school's 19-piece jazz orchestra.
During an initial set, the Guaraldi Trio is known to have performed his original "My Loneliness," along with covers of "Hello Dolly," "Green Dolphin Street," "In Other Words" and "What Kind of Fool Am I?"
[Earlier in the afternoon, Lee Mendelson and Charles M. Schulz appear at San Francisco's Candlestick Park, to celebrate "Charlie Brown Day" and film some footage for what Mendelson has decided to call A Boy Named Charlie Brown.]
May 17 (?)
La Val's Pizza Restaurant, Berkeley, as part of the audience enjoying a concert by veteran bassist George Murphy "Pops" Foster.
May 18
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified, and without Bola Sete), for a "Save the Park" rally.
May 23
University of San Francisco Gym, with Bola Sete -- sidemen unspecified -- for a benefit staged by St. Ignatius High School.
The Guaraldi/Sete Quartet shares the bill with the Gateway Trio and Ronnie Schell.
May 31
After a row with Guaraldi, Fred Marshall and Jerry Granelli both quit the band on the final weekend of the Trois Couleur gig.
Mid-June
Fantasy Records releases The Latin Side of Vince Guaraldi.
The June 13 issue of Cashbox notes that "Vince Guaraldi makes a musical about-face and injects strings and a lush Latin beat on this new package of standards, newies and originals. Guaraldi demonstrates that he can swing in any idiom, as he dishes up extremely appealing readings of 'Mr. Lucky,' 'What Kind of Fool Am I' and 'Treat Street.' Album should sell like hotcakes."
June 14
Marine's Memorial Building, San Francisco -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- for the first "Sunday Salon" jazz concert.
June 22
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Ralph Gleason reports that the Vince Guaraldi Quartet (with Bola Sete) have been booked into this year's seventh annual Monterey Jazz Festival.
Late June
Stamford, Connecticut, at the home of clarinetist Benny Goodman, in order to rehearse for an upcoming tour.
July 2
Princeton, New Jersey, on the first stop of the tour with the Benny Goodman Sextet. The band also includes Monty Budwig, bass; Colin Bailey, drums; Theodore Marcus "Teddy" Edwards, tenor sax; and Bobby Hackett, cornet.
July 3
Stamford, Connecticut, touring with the Benny Goodman Sextet.
July 10
Mystic, Connecticut, touring with the Benny Goodman Sextet. The venue is a "fancy yacht club."
July 13-18
The Shoreline Hotel, Washington, D.C., touring with Benny Goodman. Teddy Edwards and Bobby Hackett have dropped out, and the group is now just a quartet: Goodman, clarinet; Guaraldi, piano; Monty Budwig, bass; Colin Bailey, drums.
July 16
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ralph Gleason touts the pending arrival of a new jazz club, The Royal Room, which will open in September in the Broadway location formerly occupied by Buich's. The already scheduled performers will include Louis Armstrong, for the opening show; he'll be followed by Duke Ellington (October 29), and the Guaraldi/Sete Quartet will share billing with the Mary Kaye Trio on November 12.
Alas, partners Artie Samuel and Jack Yanoff have a falling out during the summer. When the dust settles, the entire concept has changed, all those initial bookings are scrapped, and the new club is renamed Basin Street West. (See September 30 entry.)
In this same column, Gleason also mentions that Guaraldi and Bola Sete are scheduled to record seven "short programs," known as "fills," for NET member stations. (Such short spots are used when an NET program -- often imported from the UK -- runs only 54 minutes or so, which forces the station to "fill" the remaining time.)
[See August 21 entry for additional information.]
Summer
The impressively colorful Pete Douglas, who since 1958 has been hosting beatniks, artists and musicians for impromptu jams in his beachfront home in Half Moon Bay, California -- constantly renovating and enlarging the building and its music room, along the way -- formalizes this endeavour as a registered non-profit and cheekily dubs it the Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society. Over time, it will draw an astonishing roster of jazz and classical performers, many of whom regard the Douglas Beach House as "the best small venue in the United States."
Guaraldi takes awhile to find the place, but he eventually becomes an occasional performer beginning in early autumn 1973.
July 31
Cushing Memorial Amphitheater, Mount Tamalpais, for "Jazz on the Mountain" (sidemen unspecified). The bill includes Bola Sete (as a soloist) and singer/songwriter Malvina Reynolds.
Guaraldi is known to have played "Hello Dolly," "What Kind of Fool Am I" and "Linus and Lucy" (a very early appearance of that tune!).
August 8
Sugar Hill closes, following a final booking by Jackie Cain & Roy Kral.
The venue subsequently becomes a rock 'n' roll club dubbed D.J.'s.
August 14, 15, 22, 23 and 28-30
The Gold Nugget, Oakland, with Tom Beeson, bass; and John Rae, drums.
August 17
And another one lost: Trois Couleur is condemned and closes down.
August 21
KQED Channel 9's studio -- with Bola Sete; Tom Beeson, bass; and John Rae, drums -- recording short segments that will be used as "fills" at the end of episodes of the NET series Stories of Guy de Maupassant. Sete supplies two solo spots: a medley of "My Dear" and "Little Fish," followed by "Sevillana." He then joins the Guaraldi Trio for a reading of "Star Song," which concludes Sete's involvement. Guaraldi's trio then performs "Linus and Lucy" (two takes), "Twilight of Youth" and "Water Street." Finally, Guaraldi solos on two takes of "Treat Street."
These are the only known recordings of "Twilight of Youth" and "Water Street."
See this blog post for a full discussion of how all of these performances were used.
August 27
Foothill Square Shopping Center, Oakland -- with Bola Sete, guitar (sidemen unspecified) -- for a free evening concert.
August 30
The Mountain Theater, Mount Tamalpais, Mill Valley, California -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and John Rae, drums -- for a "Jazz on the Mountain" benefit for the Stinson Beach Arts Foundation.
The bill includes Malvina Reynolds and the John Coppola/Fred Mergy Band.
September 4-6
Berkeley's Hotel Claremont, to inaugurate its new jazz room, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
September 11-12
The Gold Nugget, Oakland, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass, and (probably) Benny Barth, drums.
September 14
The Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco -- with Bola Sete, guitar (sidemen unspecified) -- for "Jazz at the Masonic."
The bill includes Bill Cosby, Dizzy Gillespie, Carol Sloane and John Handy and the Freedom Band.
On this same day, Ralph Gleason reports that drummer Benny Barth has rejoined Guaraldi's band.
September 16
Crown-Zellerbach Plaza, San Francisco -- absent Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified) -- for the "Little World's Fair" benefit for the United Bay Area Crusades.
September 20
The seventh annual Monterey Jazz Festival, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Benny Barth, drums.
Ralph Gleason reports that "Guaraldi and Bola Sete presented a lyrical and beautiful interlude in the exuberant atmosphere. Guaraldi's playing on 'My Loneliness' and Sete's on his medley of Brazilian numbers really projected to the audience."
Gleason further notes that "Guaraldi attended all [the other] shows. His afternoon costume included a purple sweatshirt, dark glasses, a straw hat and a cigar stuck under his mafioso mustache."
September 21-October 17
El Matador, San Francisco, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Benny Barth, drums.
September 30
Jack Yanoff opens Basin Street West at 401 Broadway, with the Hampton Hawes Trio as the debut act. The club quickly becomes one of San Francisco's premier jazz hot spots. The Guaraldi/Sete Quartet will make their first appearance in February 1965.
October 3
Live appearance on San Francisco KGO-TV Channel 7's The Dick Stewart Show (no mention of Bola Sete, and sidemen unspecified). Bill Cosby and Barbara McNair also are on the program, which is rerun several times during the next year.
October 4
Napa Valley Fairgrounds, with Bola Sete, guitar (sidemen unmentioned), in a benefit for the Napa Youth Against Proposition 14. The bill includes singer/songwriter Malvina Reynolds, Ike McDonald, Janet Smith, Jackson and Anne, Paul Richards, and Les Brewster.
Guaraldi and his trio members arrive late, having gotten lost during the drive from San Francisco.
October 5
The San Francisco Chronicle's Herb Caen reports that "Barnaby Conrad was babbling so loudly during the Vince Guaraldi/Bola Sete show at El Matador Thursday night [October 1] that cries of 'T'row da bum out!' were heard, but how do you t'row out an owner?"
October 6
The Peacock Gap Country Club, San Rafael (sidemen unmentioned), sharing his "fabulous jazz piano" chops at a Democratic Party dinner benefit to help fund the campaigns of presidential candidate Lyndon B. Johnson and Congressional candidate George McCabe.
October 24
The Veterans Memorial Auditorium, San Francisco, with Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified), as featured performers at the Negro Historical and Cultural Society's fifth cultural festival. The program, titled "Swing High, Sweet Chariot," also features the New Freedom Minstrels.
October 26
Whitney Studios, Glendale, California, with Monty Budwig (bass) and Colin Bailey (drums), recording the album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
Tracks recorded: "Baseball Theme," "Blue Charlie Brown," "Charlie Brown Theme," "Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair)," "Happiness Is," "Linus and Lucy," "Oh, Good Grief," "Pebble Beach" and "Schroeder." Guaraldi wrote all the songs.
October 30-31, November 6-7, 13-14
The Gold Nugget, Oakland, with Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified). The initial two-weekend booking is extended, by popular demand, to a third weekend.
November 16-December 12
El Matador, San Francisco, with Bola Sete, guitar (sidemen unspecified). The quartet performs nightly except Sunday, when bull-fight movies are shown.
November 21
San Francisco's Grace Cathedral is consecrated.
November 25
Cal State Hayward, California (absent Bola Sete, sidemen unspecified).
December 13
2350 Webster Street, San Francisco, for a chat with San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ralph Gleason, titled "The Jazz Artist in the Atheneum." The discussion focuses on what Stinson Beach's Atheneum Arts Foundation can do to help promote jazz.
December 14
The Finnish Hall, Berkeley (sidemen unspecified) sharing the bill with Jon Hendricks and Les McCann, for a benefit concert to raise money for the 779 defendents -- members of the UC Berkeley student political organization SLATE -- arrested during a December 3 free speech march.
The concert was intended to take place at UC Berkeley's Wheeler Auditorium, but -- with only three hours prior to performance time -- campus administrators refused use of the venue. SLATE immediately re-located to the nearby Finnish Hall.
Mid-December
Fantasy Records releases the album Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
Cashbox was impressed, granting a sparkling review in its December 19 issue: "There are no familiar tunes here, but Guaraldi's personal brand of inventiveness and superb keyboard artistry shine throughout. The 88'er could easily repeat some of his earlier successes with this top-drawer effort on Fantasy." The same issue also enthused over the single, granting a B+ to the 45: "The Vince Guaraldi Trio can get back to their 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind' money-making ways with this delightful, low-key mid-stream jazz instrumental obviously inspired by the Peanuts comic strip. Fine change-of-pace programming fare."
December 22-January 3
Shelly's Manne-Hole, Hollywood, with Bola Sete, guitar; Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums.
Through January 3
Shelly's Manne-Hole, Hollywood, with Bola Sete, guitar; Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums.
Early January (?)
At the Fantasy studios -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Monty Budwig, bass; and Nick Martinez, drums -- recording the remaining tracks for From All Sides, released later this month.
Tracks recorded: "Ginza," "The Girl from Ipanema" and "Mambeando." Guaraldi wrote "Ginza."
January 8-17
The Hotel Claremont, Berkeley, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Benny Barth, drums. They debut songs from their new album, Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown; Charles Schulz is present on opening night.
Peanuts character dolls and copies of the LP are given away as door prizes each evening.
January 15
The NET series Stories of Guy de Maupassant begins to air weekly on San Francisco's KQED Channel 9. The Guaraldi/Sete "fills" recorded back in August are heard following the end of 10 of the 13 episodes.
January 19-30
El Matador -- with Bola Sete, guitar (sidemen unspecified) -- filling in for an absent Jose Feliciano, who canceled at the last minute.
January 27
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ralph Gleason reports that "a series of solo 'fills' of five and six minutes, which Guaraldi did for Educational TV, now is being shown on [San Francisco's] KQED before dramas."
[Actually, none runs longer than 5 minutes, and they're shown after the dramas, not before.]
January 29
Guaraldi guests at an afternoon gathering of the National Educational Television Group.
[This appearance likely resulted from the "fills" that Guaraldi recorded for NET. No mention is made as to whether he appeared alone, or performed solo or with his trio.]
January 29
The Oakland Auditorium, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Benny Barth, drums.
Guaraldi's Trio is known to have performed "Fly Me to the Moon," "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and the title theme from Gone with the Wind.
Early February
Fantasy Records releases the album From All Sides.
In a "Jazz Special Merit" review that ran March 6, Billboard noted that "Vince Guaraldi on piano and Bola Sete on guitar demonstrate that the Latin musical idiom can be combined with a U.S. sound to form good jazz. The two work so well together that it's often difficult to distinguish the piano from the guitar sounds."
February 7
The Del Mar School Auditorium, Tiburon -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- as part of the Belvedere-Tiburon Peninsula Cultural Series.
Mid-February (one night only)
Basin Street West, San Francisco, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Benny Barth, drums.
Guaraldi's quartet is filmed for Ralph Gleason's BBC-TV profile on the series Inside America. A musicians' union contract, dated February 15, shows that the four musicians were paid a total of $250 by the BBC, for half an hour of filming that took place at clubs along "Montgomery and Kearny streets." Although the footage implies that Guaraldi's combo is holding forth at Basin Street West, that wasn't the case; they merely took the stage for a brief bit of filming.
Given the poster promoting the upcoming appearance by the Modern Jazz Quartet, which Guaraldi and Gleason pass on their way out of the club, filming likely took place toward the end of the Basin Street West run by Lenny Bruce (February 8-16), or the beginning of the run by Jimmy Smith (February 17-March 9).
The resulting episode, titled The Gleason Beat, debuts later this summer, on August 29.
February 14
During a feature story and interview, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Ralph Gleason once again mentions that Guaraldi has "just cut nine short 5-minute 'fills' for National Educational TV."
[That number is a bit too high.]
Gleason further reports that Guaraldi is "busy putting the finishing touches on his recording of the music which he composed for [Lee Mendelson's] TV documentary, Bay of Gold.
Finally, Gleason notes that Guaraldi "is sketching out the compositions he will do for a film on the satirical theatrical company, The Committee, which novelist Herb Gold is writing" (a project that never came to fruition).
February 19
The planned departure date of a package tour to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, with Bola Sete, to celebrate the city's 400th anniversary during the annual Carnival festivities.
The entire trip is canceled at the last moment, due to unknown reasons.
Late February-Early March
Shelly's Manne-Hole, Hollywood -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums, for a gig that probably ran two weeks.
Down Beat critic John A. Tynan caught one show and was favorably impressed: "First comes the Vince Guaraldi Trio, with the pianist demonstrating his tremendous vitality, yet displaying essential lyricism in ballads ... [then] Sete ensconces himself on a stool out front [and] makes the group a bossa nova quartet for awhile, and Sete is bossa nova at its best. Sete [next] launches into a solo set, [after which he] creates a liberally a-teamp introduction to "Corcovado" before Budwig and Bailey rejoin the guitarist, to bring the song up to a gay, even ebullient tempo and treatment. Guaraldi returns to the piano bench almost unnoticed. Then, in a leap of rushing excitement, he is back in the ball game and into a solo of much freshness and imagination in his fleet, full-bodied style. As with the Charlie Byrd Trio, Guaraldi and Sete work their music in intelligent routine."
March 4
Guaraldi is a guest on Lloyd Thaxton's afternoon TV chat show, on Oakland's KTVU Channel 2..
March 6
Whitney Studio, Glendale -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- working some holiday standards that eventually will appear in the score for A Charlie Brown Christmas.
March ??
San Mateo College, California, with Bola Sete, guitar (sidemen unspecified).
The bill also includes pianist Ralph Sutton.
March 14
The Queen Elizabeth Theater, Vancouver, British Columbia, with Bola Sete, guitar (sidemen unspecified).
The bill also includes the Gerry Mulligan Quartet and the Modern Jazz Quartet.
March 20
The British instrumental group Sounds Orchestral's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" enters the Billboard Hot 100 chart, at No. 79. It also enters Billboard's MOR (middle of the road) Pop Standard Single chart, at No. 19.
March 25
Guaraldi plays "victim" for jazz critic/historian Leonard Feather's regular "Blindfold Test" column in Downbeat magazine.
March 29-April 3
The Showboat Lounge, Washington D.C., with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums.
During this engagement, Guaraldi is known to have performed at least two original compositions -- "My Loneliness" and " 'n the Rail" -- which he'd never get around to recording on an album.
March 31
The Both/And opens at 350 Divisadero, on the site of the former Stereo Club. Monte Waters' big band is the initial attraction, and the club quickly becomes another of San Francisco's jazz hot spots.
April 5
The Memorial Auditorium, Cotati, California -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- in a performance for Sonoma State College (photo by Peggy Tillman).
[The recently opened campus still was under construction, and did not yet have a concert hall, so Guaraldi's quartet performed at this nearby off-site venue.]
On this same day, the San Francisco Chronicle's Bob Barron reports that "Lee Mendelson Film Productions, Burlingame, is entering industrial film production with The Revolutionary Track for Minnesota Mining & Manufacturing Co (3M) of St. Paul. Mendelson will have Vince Guaraldi and Cal Tjader providing the musical background, and Bud Palmer as narrator."
The project never comes to fruition.
April 6-May 16
El Matador, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums.
[The short travelogue film San Francisco, San Francisco, San Francisco -- which includes a brief segment showing Guaraldi and Sete at El Matador -- likely is filmed during this gig.]
Spring
With the Grace Cathedral performance date approaching, Guaraldi begins to bring his sidemen to St. Paul's Church in San Rafael, during rehearsals with the choir.
April or early May
Fantasy brings in equipment to record live sets during the Guaraldi/Sete Quartet's appearance at El Matador, resulting in the album Live at El Matador, held back for release until October 1966.
Track listing: "Black Orpheus Suite," "El Matador," "Favela," "I'm a Loser," "More," "Nobody Else" and "People." Guaraldi wrote "El Matador" and "Nobody Else."
April 17
The Circle Star Theater, San Carlos -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- sharing the bill with headliner Glenn Yarbrough.
The program also includes Bud & Travis.
The Guaraldi/Sete Quartet is known to have performed "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," "The Girl from Ipanema" and "People."
[The concert sells out, with more than 1,500 patrons turned away, prompting a second outing a month later.]
April 20
Although initial publicity schedules the Guaraldi/Sete Quartet to share the bill with comic Ronnie Schell and headliners The Kingston Trio, at San Carlos' Circle Star Theater, something goes awry; the booking instead goes to Jack Jones, Miriam Makeba and the Hugh Masekela Quartet.
May 1
Sounds Orchestral's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" reaches No. 12 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and No. 1 on the MOR Pop Standard Single chart. It remains at No. 1 on the latter for three weeks.
May 8
Sounds Orchestral's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" peaks on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, at No. 10 (several notches higher than Guaraldi's own version, back in 1963).
May 10
The Circle Star Theater, San Carlos -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- sharing the bill with headliner Glenn Yarbrough.
The program also includes Bud & Travis.
[Repeat of the April 17 event.]
May 14 (15?)
Lee Mendelson's new documentary, Bay of Gold, has its world premiere screening at San Francisco's Stage Door Theatre.
Writing about this event in the May 17 San Francisco Examiner, Jeanne Miller notes that "Vince Guaraldi's jazz score effectively complements Fred Van Amburg's informative and witty narrative."
May 15
The music industry weekly publication Record World tags Steve Alaimo's vocal cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" as a four-star pick, noting that "The eerie, irresistible Vince Guaraldi ditty gets a new treatment with haunting lyrics added. Deserves recognition."
May 16
Notre Dame College Auditorium, Belmont, California -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- for "A Capsule of Jazz History," a benefit for the Carlmont chapter of the Children's Home Society.
The bill includes the Jean Hoffman Trio, the John Coppola Orchestra; the event is emceed by Jimmy Lyons.
May 18
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, for a rehearsal of Guaraldi's Jazz Mass, with Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums. The rehearsal also includes the St. Paul Church Choir, along with Bishop James Pike and the Reverend David Crump, serving as Celebrant.
May 21
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, for Guaraldi's Jazz Mass, with Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums. The service also includes the St. Paul Church Choir, along with Bishop James Pike and the Reverend David Crump, serving as Celebrant.
Fantasy records the entire service; the Reverend Charles Gompertz later helps edit the material down for an album, Vince Guaraldi at Grace Cathedral, released in mid-summer.
May 22
Vocalist Steve Alaimo's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" hovers near the Billboard Hot 100 Chart, "bubbling under" at No. 114.
Mid- to late May
Thanks to his increased financial stature, Guaraldi and his family move from their cramped Daly City residence to a larger home, at 31 Millay Place, in Mill Valley.
May 27
A fire "of undetermined origin" breaks out at Guaraldi's unoccupied Daly City house at 10:45 p.m. The fire destroys the garage basement, burns through the kitchen floor and shoots upward into the attic. Damages include the total loss of Guaraldi's stereo system and a valuable collection of phonograph records.
May 28-June 6
The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums.
May 29
Sounds Orchestral's version of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" drops to No. 15 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, and makes its final appearance -- at No. 4 -- on the MOR Pop Standard Single chart.
The group's LP of the same title enters Billboard's Top 150 album chart, at No. 135.
Early June
A Southern California recording studio -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- taping four sessions of the 15-minute public service radio show, The Navy Swings.
[The exact recording date remains unknown, but -- given the musicians involved -- it probably took place during the Guaraldi/Sete Quartet's stay at The Lighthouse.]
June 5
Steve Alaimo's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" debuts on the Billboard Easy Listening Chart, at No. 38, although it's still "bubbling under" the Hot 100 Pop Chart (at No. 123).
June 8-9
The Colony Club, Monterey, with Bola Sete, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums.
June 10-12
The Gilded Cage, Sacramento, with his trio (sidemen not identified).
June 12
Sounds Orchestral's version of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" makes its final appearance on Billboard's Hot 100 chart, at No. 36.
The group's LP of the same title reaches No. 50 on Billboard's Top 150 album chart.
June 26
Steve Alaimo's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart, at No. 90; it also remains on the Easy Listening Chart, at No. 27.
July 3
Steve Alaimo's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" peaks on the Billboard Hot 100 Pop Chart, at No. 89, and then vanishes after just two weeks. It also peaks on the Easy Listening Chart, at No. 22.
July 6-18
Shelly's Manne Hole, Hollywood, with Bola Sete, guitar. Bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey (briefly) leave Benny Goodman in order to re-join Guaraldi.
July 9
Guaraldi and his trio -- Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- are pictured in a Time magazine article that discusses the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass.
July 10
Steve Alaimo's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" makes its final appearance on Billboard's Easy Listening Chart, at No. 38. All told, the song has charted for six weeks.
July 17
Sounds Orchestral's Cast Your Fate to the Wind LP peaks on Billboard's Top 150 album chart. It will remain on this chart for the rest of the year, finally dropping to No. 136 on December 4.
July 29
In a studio -- location and sidemen unknown -- recording several versions of two songs: "Track Meet" and "Camptown Races." The former would be re-titled "Christmas Is Coming" later this year, when Guaraldi decided to use it in his score for A Charlie Brown Christmas, but would retain its original "working title" (causing all sorts of confusion) when these two tracks were included in the 1998 album Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits.
July 30-31
Foothill College, Los Altos, California -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums -- for the Festival of the Performing Arts.
The Guaraldi/Sete Quartet is joined by a 125-voice community chorus.
Advance publicity claims that the program will include "several original compositions written especially for the choral group by Guaraldi." (This seems doubtful; it's much more likely that Guaraldi revived "Theme to Grace" and other selections from his recent Jazz Mass.)
The collaboration is so successful that Guaraldi is asked to compose a jazz opera for the same series in 1966 (another project that never happens).
Mid-summer
An "Eastern tour" -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums -- initially billed to include Peoria, Illinois; New York, Boston and Philadelphia. Verified gigs are cited in the next few entries.
August 3-8
The Rubiot, South Peoria, Illinois, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
August 13
Singer Marty Balin and three partners open a San Francisco music club at 3138 Fillmore Street, initially as a venue for his own house band, Jefferson Airplane. Before long, the Matrix will become one of the city's favorite performance spaces for rising folk, rock and blues acts (with the occasional jazz interloper).
August 13-22
Baker's Keyboard Lounge, Detroit, Illinois, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
August 23 -- September 4
The Showboat Lounge, Washington, D.C., with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
Guaraldi's Trio is known to have performed "I Could Write a Book" and "Jambo's."
August 29
The Mountain Theater, Mount Tamalpais, Mill Valley, California -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Al Obidinski, bass; and Benny Barth, drums -- for "Jazz on the Mountain II."
The bill includes the Gerry Olds Jazz Band.
Guaraldi's combo is known to have performed "Limehouse Blues" and "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."
[Guaraldi and Sete flew back from D.C. to make this gig, then returned to the Showboat Lounge.]
Early September
Shelly's Manne Hole, Hollywood, with Bola Sete, guitar. Bassist Monty Budwig and drummer Colin Bailey once again re-join Guaraldi for a gig that runs one, possibly two weeks.
September 14
Bay of Gold, a documentary about San Francisco Bay, directed by Lee Mendelson, premieres on San Francisco's KPIX-TV Channel 5. The score, by Guaraldi, includes several new themes and a reprise of "Macedonia," which had debuted on the album Little Band, Big Jazz.
The film can be viewed here, courtesy of the Bay Area Television Archive.
Mid-September
Fantasy Records releases the album Vince Guaraldi at Grace Cathedral.
September 17, 19, 21-22
At the Fantasy Studios -- with Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- recording the TV soundtrack for A Charlie Brown Christmas.
At least three evening sessions -- one known to have taken place September 19 -- include young members of San Rafael's St. Paul's Church Choir.
Tracks recorded: "Christmas Is Coming," "Christmas Time Is Here," "Fur Elise," "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing," "Linus and Lucy," "My Little Drum," "Skating" and "O Tannenbaum." Guaraldi wrote "Christmas Is Coming," "Christmas Time Is Here," "Linus and Lucy," "My Little Drum" and "Skating."
September 18
Billboard speculates that Guaraldi's single, "Theme to Grace"/"Humbly I Adore Thee" is "predicted to reach the Hot 100 Chart." (Alas, it doesn't happen.)
September 25
The music industry weekly publication Record World notes that "Much good music play in S.F. on 'Theme to Grace' -- Vince Guaraldi, Fantasy -- plus other areas."
September 30-October 3
The Gilded Cage, Sacramento, billed as "The Vince Guaraldi Group," with Bola Sete, guitar; sidemen remain unspecified.
Autumn/Early winter
At some point during late 1965, Jimbo's Bop City closes. Guaraldi and many of his sidemen often played at this after-hours club, which catered to jazz cats from 2 to 6 a.m.
October
Leonard Sheftman and Delanor Dean open the Both/And Club at 350 Divisadero; it soon will become one of San Francisco's last great jazz clubs.
October 4
Cabrillo College Theater, Aptos, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums. (Photo courtesy of Peggy Tillman.)
This is the first of a 26-gig tour of California colleges.
The program is known to have included "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "The Girl from Ipanema."
October 5
West Valley College Auditorium, Saratoga, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
October 6
Napa Junior College, Napa, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
October 8
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, San Rafael (sidemen unspecified), for an art festival, sharing the bill with Bola Sete and the church's children's choir. The program included selections for the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass.
October 9
College of Marin Gym, Kentfield, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
October 12
Sacramento City College, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
The quartet is known to have played "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," Jimmie Rodgers' "The World I Used to Know" and "Skating" ... the latter more than a month before it debuted in A Charlie Brown Christmas.
October 14
Russ Auditorium, San Diego City College, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
October 19
The Fantasy studios, recording tracks for A Charlie Brown Christmas, with Al Obidinski, bass; and Benny Barth, drums.
[Were any of these recordings used on the LP? Unknown. Four different sets of sidemen -- Monty Budwig and Colin Bailey, Fred Marshall and Jerry Granelli, Al Obidinski and Benny Barth, and Puzzy Firth and Paul Distel -- have claimed credit for part or all of this album, over the years. Guaraldi was notoriously lax about keeping good records; Fantasy was no better. To this day, the subject remains mired in controversy.]
October 22
American River Junior College, Sacramento, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums. The Guaraldi Quartet is the featured entertainment, during a late-morning concert, at the college's 1965 Homecoming celebration.
Hartnell College Men's Gym, Salinas, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums. This evening performance takes place on the same day ... after a long drive!
October 26
Southwestern College, Chula Vista, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums. The Guaraldi Quartet kicks off the season's artist/lecture series.
October 28 (afternoon)
Whitney Studio, Glendale, California -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- recording two tracks, "The Christmas Song" and "Greensleeves," for the album A Charlie Brown Christmas.
October 28 (evening)
St. Mary's College, Moraga, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
[At least one review claims the sidemen were Monty Budwig and Colin Bailey; this is false.]
October 29
Citrus College, Glendora, California, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
November
St. Paul's Church, San Rafael, with the church's children's choir (sidemen unspecified).
November 27
Enhancing its earlier endorsement, the music industry weekly publication Record World notes that " 'Theme to Grace' -- Vince Guaraldi, Fantasy -- selling well in Chicago and Detroit off good music play (plus California)."
Elsewhere in the same issue, Record World may have been the first to express enthusiasm about Guaraldi's soundtrack to the upcoming Peanuts special, A Charlie Brown Christmas: "Guaraldi plays the jazz score of the new cartoon coming by for Christmas consumption. Most of the album is Guaraldi improvisations on familiar seasonal standards and carols -- all getting fresh treatment from the piano player. The movie should give buyers a big push toward counters."
December 3
The Tresidder Large Lounge, Stanford University, Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
December 4
Sounds Orchestral's Cast Your Fate to the Wind LP makes its final appearance on Billboard's Top 150 album chart, at No. 136. All told, the album has charted for 38 weeks ... far longer than Guaraldi's Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus.
December 4
Fantasy Records releases the album soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas (as reported in Billboard on this same day).
December 9
A Charlie Brown Christmas debuts on CBS-TV.
December 20-January 16
El Matador, San Francisco, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
Through January 16
El Matador, San Francisco, with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums.
January 1
San Quentin -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums -- as part of the ambitious bill for the prison's annual Show of Stars.
The Guaraldi combo is known to have performed "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," "It's Not Unusual" and "The Girl from Ipanema."
January 8
Creative Arts Auditorium, Pittsburgh, California -- with Bola Sete, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums -- for the Contra Costa Concert Guild's "Concert in Jazz."
The event is hosted by Ralph Gleason.
January 9
The Sacramento Bee reports that Guaraldi and Alex Gould, minister of music at the Fremont Presbyterian Church, will collaborate on an "unusual worship service" that will blend traditional sacred music and jazz, to be presented by the church's 70-voice Sanctuary Choir and the Guaraldi Trio. The service is tentatively scheduled for June 1 (but stay tuned...)
January 17
The 100 Club, Sheraton-Palace Hotel, San Francisco, as "Les Divertissments," with Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified). The bill also included a Gypsy Trio, the Barbary Coasters and the Jack Fisher Orchestra.
January 23
The Church in Ignacio, Marin County, California -- with Puzzy Firth, bass; and Paul Distel, drums -- for a reprise of the Grace Cathedral Mass.
San Francisco's KPIX-TV Channel 5 films the entire service, portions of which appear in the public affairs show In the Marketplace, eventually aired September 6.
The film can be viewed here, courtesy of the Bay Area Television Archive.
February 7
Bola Sete concludes his performance relationship with Guaraldi, and -- after a brief vacation -- forms his own band.
[As of March, Sete is fronting a trio at the Trident, accompanied by Sebastian Neto, bass; and Paulinho, drums.]
February 13
UC Davis -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- for an afternoon performance.
February 15
Marin County Day School, for an evening panel discussion on "The Development of the Creative Potential," alongside Philip S. Boone, president of the San Francisco Symphony Association; Barnaby Conrad, author and owner of the El Matador club; Alex Fried, San Francisco Examiner art and music critic; and concert pianist Milton Salkind. The audience comprised roughly 300 parents and teachers.
February 19
San Quentin Prison (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Eartha Kitt, Dick Contino, George McKelvey and others.
February 20
Live TV appearance on San Francisco KPIX-TV's Pow!, hosted by Rolfe Peterson (no mention of sidemen).
February 26
Claremont Men's College, California (sidemen unspecified), sharing the stage with Roger Miller, for the college's 15th annual spring concert. This is one stop in a series of Southern California bookings with Miller.
February 27
Live TV appearance on San Francisco KPIX-TV's Pow!, hosted by Rolfe Peterson (no mention of sidemen).
March 3-6
The Gilded Cage, Sacramento with his trio (sidemen unspecified).
March 8
At a San Francisco-area recording studio (unspecified) -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; Puzzy Firth, bass; and Pete Magadini, drums -- taping an original score for the industrial film An Adventure with Spice Islands, directed by Lee Mendelson.
March 26
The College of Marin gymnasium, Kentfield (sidemen unknown), with the Cal Tjader Quintet, for a one-day "Jazz Festival." Guaraldi's trio is known to have performed covers of "Yesterday" and "Call Me," along with "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and an original titled "New Waltz."
March 28
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reports that Argentine guitarist Jorge Morel has joined Guaraldi's combo.
April 11-May 16
El Matador, San Francisco, with guitarist Jorge Morel (other sidemen unspecified).
On May 9, the San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reported that "Earlier in the weekend, I had a chance to hear the Vince Guaraldi group at El Matador, and thoroughly enjoyed Vince's new version of Paul McCartney's 'Yesterday.' Jorge Morel, the Argentine guitarist who is working with Guaraldi, is a very effective soloist with great facility, and his 'Samba Blue,' a new composition which he played with the trio, was well done."
April 12
The annual BMI Awards, honoring songwriters for success in the field of popular music during the calendar year 1965, are presented during a ceremony at New York's Hotel Pierre. Guaraldi once again receives a BMI Citation of Achievement for "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."
April 13-14
San Francisco-area newspapers report that Guaraldi has sued Fantasy Records, in an effort to sever all relationships with the label. Fantasy promptly countersues Guaraldi.
April 17
The Sacramento Bee reports that the new musical service being written by Guaraldi, for performance by his trio and Alexander Gould's choir at the Fremont Presbyterian Church, has been delayed. Due to "a press of concert commitments" that has held up Guaraldi's work on the score, the original June 1 service has been re-scheduled to later in the year, "probably in the fall." (In fact, it never happens.)
April 20
Lee Mendelson flies to New York, to accept the prestigious Peabody Award for A Charlie Brown Christmas.
April 21
Guaraldi's wife Shirley files for divorce, citing "extreme cruelty." This must have been designed to get Vince's attention, because in fact they didn't divorce ... this time. She withdraws the complaint two months later.
(But stay tuned...)
April 24
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Lightning Hopkins, Robert Baker, Don Garrett, and The Outfit, for a "Blues for Bogalusa" benefit.
May 7
In the wake of Guaraldi's lawsuit against Fantasy, on this day Billboard reports that he is "currently looking for a new disk affiliation."
May 8
Frost Amphitheater, Stanford, with guitarist Jorge Morel (other sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with headliner Glenn Yarbrough, in a benefit for the Stanford Children's Convalescent Hospital.
Guaraldi's combo is known to have performed "Samba de Orpheus" and "Rain, Rain, Go Away."
May 20
The Oriental Theatre, Portland, Oregon (sidemen unspecified).
[Three short afternoon sets don't interfere with his higher-profile gig elsewhere that evening.]
May 20-21
Portland State College, Oregon (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Miles Davis, for the campus' second annual Jazz Festival.
[Because of an engagement elsewhere on May 21, Guaraldi and his trio probably play only on the first day.]
May 21
Oregon State University Coliseum (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Bill Cosby, as part of the campus' Junior Weekend Concert.
May 22
Hollywood, California, as A Charlie Brown Christmas wins an Emmy Award for Outstanding Children's Program.
May 24-June 5
Nero's Nook at The Cabana, Palo Alto, with Jorge Morel, guitar; Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums.
June 3
Lee Mendelson's documentary, Bay of Gold (scored by Guaraldi), is screened as part of a benefit event at Mill Valley's Brown's Hall.
June 8
Charlie Brown's All-Stars debuts on CBS-TV.
June 12
Live TV appearance on San Francisco KPIX-TV's Pow! at 1:30 p.m. (sidemen unspecified), hosted by Rolfe Peterson.
The show's guest list also includes Anna Leaf.
June 25
Cashbox, in a lengthy appreciation of the recently aired Charlie Brown's All-Stars, notes that "Guaraldi is now in the process of filing suit against the Fantasy label. As a result, there are no plans at this time to release the soundtrack from the All-Stars show. We hear that Charlie Brown will be seen about four times each year on television. Tho' CBS and Coke would like to go weekly, Schulz is unwilling to saturate the tube with the world's greatest failure."
(Four times a year?!? Weekly?!?!? Thank goodness saner heads prevailed!)
Late June
The Ghirardelli Square patio, where the "Vince Guaraldi Orchestra" provides the entertainment when KGO-TV hosts American Broadcasting Co. officials, industry personalities and TV columnists at an eight-hour party (!) promoting the network's upcoming fall shows.
Early August
California-born singer Shelby Flint releases a cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind."
Tagging the single a "Best Bet," Cashbox notes that "Shelby Flint could make lots of playlists with this sweet, lyrical reading of this oft-cut ditty. The lark does a smooth, lilting job on the tender lyric. Watch closely."
(Elsewhere in the same issue, in the "Record Ramblings" column, Cashbox mentions that Guaraldi "...currently is scoring A Charlie Brown Halloween, to be presented on CBS in the fall." The special's title clearly changed, during the next few months!)
August 7
Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), for the first annual "Jazz in Stern Grove Music Festival."
The bill includes the John Handy Quintet, and the Turk Murphy and Rudy Salvini bands. Jimmy Lyons and Al "Jazzbo" Collins serve as hosts.
["They were hanging from the trees!" Guaraldi later recalled.]
August 13
Shelby Flint's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" enters the Billboard Top 100 chart, at No. 94.
[Flint's only other Top 100 hit was 1961's "Angel on My Shoulder."]
August 20
Shelby Flint's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" climbs to No. 79 on Billboard's Top 100 chart, and enters the Top 40 Easy Listening chart, at No. 34.
Late August
At Lee Mendelson Film Productions' San Francisco studio -- with Puzzy Firth, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- taping an original score for a Pacific Bell TV commercial, produced and directed by Mendelson.
Late August
At Lee Mendelson Film Productions' Beverly Hills studio -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; Fred Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- taping an original score for a Granny Goose TV commercial, produced and directed by Lee Mendelson.
September 6
TV broadcast of the KPIX Channel 5 public affairs show, In the Marketplace, which includes portions of the Grace Cathedral Mass performed at the Church of Ignacio in January.
September 12-18
Malcolm Boyd appears at San Francisco's hungry i for a month, following Dick Gregory on the bill and "performing" his prayer/poems to musical accompaniment.
Boyd's regular accompanist, guitarist Charlie Byrd, can't make the first week because of a conflicting gig at El Matador; Guaraldi steps in -- perhaps once, perhaps for the entire week -- to provide piano accompaniment instead.
September 17
In the audience at the Monterey Jazz Festival, when Bola Sete's combo receives a standing ovation.
Shelby Flint's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" peaks on Billboard's Top 100 chart, at No. 61 ... and then vanishes. All told, it has charted (on this list) for six weeks.
September 24
Shelby Flint's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" peaks on Billboard's Top 40 Easy Listening chart, at No. 11.
September 30
The Gustine High School Auditorium, California, for a late morning performance (sidemen unknown). This is followed by an early afternoon performance at the Orestimba High School Continuity Theatre, in Newman, California.
During the latter concert, the trio is known to have performed "Cast Your Fate the Wind" and "The Red Baron."
October 4
Desilu Studios, Hollywood, recording the score for It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. The band features Emanuel Klein, trumpet; Ronald Lang, sax and woodwinds; John Gray, guitar; Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums; with orchestration by John Scott Trotter.
Shelby Flint's cover of "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" makes its final appearance on Billboard's Top 40 Easy Listening chart, at No. 24. All told, it has charted (on this list) for seven weeks.
October 7
Orange County Fairgrounds, California -- with Kelly Bryan, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums -- for the first Pacific Jazz Festival.
The bill includes the Cal Tjader Quintet, Jimmy Rushing, Jefferson Airplane (!), Don Ellis, Stan Kenton, Bola Sete, Ornette Coleman's Big Band and all sorts of other folks.
Although the Billboard critic wasn't happy with the three-day fest as a whole, he had high praise for Guaraldi's brisk 35-minute set: "Had it not been for Guaraldi's funky piano playing, the opening concert might have fallen on its non-creative face. His cohorts, Lee Charlton on drums, and Kelly Bryan on bass, provided strong support. Guaraldi mixed bossa nova rhythms with the 4/4 of New York and Los Angeles. He included two Beatles tunes, 'Yesterday' and 'Taxman,' among his selections, and the Top 40 ditties took on a bright new character."
October 14
Bear's Lair, UC Berkeley, with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
Unfortunately, this appearance proves much too popular. Hundreds of students are turned away, due to the number of general public attendees. As a result, university officials decree that henceforth only UC students with valid reg cards will be admitted to "the most popular programs" booked by the Student Union, and taking place on campus.
October 27
It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
November 1
San Francisco's KPIX-TV Channel 5 airs The Gospel According to Peanuts, a half-hour chat between Charles Schulz and Robert Short, concerning the latter's recently published book of the same title. The program opens and closes with excerpts from the Vince Guaraldi Trio's recording of "Linus and Lucy" ... likely the first time this theme was employed and broadcast outside of its Peanuts TV special and album origins. (The program was filmed much earlier in the year, on February 17.)
November 10
St. Francis College, Loretto, Pennsylvania -- with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums -- as part of the College Culture Series Program.
November 12
University of Iowa Memorial Union, Iowa City, Iowa -- with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums -- as the opening act for headliner Allan Sherman.
Bryan and Rae actually pulled double duty at this gig.
"John and I also had to accompany Sherman's act," Bryan recalls, "along with his music director and pianist, Billy Goldenberg. I remember rehearsing in Sherman's hotel room. Sherman was sitting on his double bed in his underwear, directing us, and I was thinking, 'Is this the real show biz, now?' "
November 14-20
The Jazz Workshop, Boston, with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
Early December
Fantasy Records finally releases the LP Live at El Matador, the last Guaraldi album on its label.
December 11
Live TV appearance on San Francisco KPIX-TV's Pow! at 1:30 p.m. (sidemen unspecified), hosted by Rolfe Peterson.
December 13
Tamalpais High School, in the audience with Charles Gompertz, watching young pianist Brian Mann perform the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass.
The show's guest list also includes Michael Caine.
December 16
In his San Francisco Chronicle column, Ralph Gleason reports that Fantasy Records is being sold. (Guaraldi's lawsuit has yet to be resolved.)
December 31
San Francisco's KPIX Channel 5 kicks off a new "youth-oriented" Saturday afternoon series titled Tempo. Guests on the debut episode include the Vince Guaraldi Trio, the Rev. Charles Gompertz, the Mojo Men, entertainer Gale Garnet, and City College Dean of Education Dr. Lloyd Luckman.
February 4 and 11
The Trident, Sausalito (sidemen unspecified), to replace Bola Sete during his ongoing run; on these Saturdays Sete is performing with Nancy Wilson.
February 12
State University College of Potsdam, Syracuse, New York -- with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums -- for a concert that concludes the 37th annual Ice Carnival.
The bill includes Dick Gregory.
February 25
The Tamalpais High School Choir presents Guaraldi's Jazz Mass at the annual conference of the California Music Educators Association, held at San Jose City College. The Rev. Charles Gompertz is present; Guaraldi is not. (One assumes a trio led by Brian Mann again accompanied the singers; see December 13, 1966.)
Late February-Early March
The Hotel Jerome, Aspen, Colorado, subbing for pianist Flip Nunez; the sidemen are Paul Warburton, bass; and Al Coster, drums.
March 7
At the Sound Recorders Studio -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; Roland Haynes, bass; and John Rae, drums -- taping an original score for the industrial film '67 West, directed by Lee Mendelson.
The score includes the compositions "Pebble Beach" and "Newport Theme," both (eventually) released on different albums.
March 10
San Diego, California (location unspecified) -- with Roland Haynes, bass; and John Rae, drums -- sharing the bill with headliner Dionne Warwick.
Mid-March
The Hotel Jerome, Aspen, Colorado, with Paul Warburton, bass; and Al Coster, drums.
Early spring
Saxman/clarinetist John Markley Teel Jr. -- better known as Mark Teel -- opens Club Francisco at 2223 Market Street. The venue quickly becomes a popular jazz spot, particularly when Teel begins a "Swinger Night," with free buffet, on the first Monday of each month. Over time, all manner of jazz cats would drop in, to participate in an evening-long jam session.
April 7
The San Francisco Theological Seminary's Alexander Hall (sidemen unspecified), for a Holy Communion service of the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass. Guaraldi's trio was joined by Rev. Charles Gompertz, presiding; and Rev. Martin A. Schmidt, preaching.
April 11-May 7
The Trident, Sausalito, with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
During a set on April 20, Guaraldi and the trio perform "Goin' Out of My Head," "It Was a Very Good Year," "Eleanor Rigby" and at least one original composition -- "Swan Sung Blue" -- which he'd never get around to recording on an album.
Mid-April
The Poppycock, which soon becomes a popular folk/rock club, opens at 135 University in Palo Alto. After folding and then enjoying a very brief resurrection as Mom's, from October 1970 through late winter 1971, the club would re-open a third time on May 20, 1971, as In Your Ear (by which identity most folks remember the venue).
April 16
Stanford Memorial Church, for a Communion Celebration for Modern Martyrs, during which Guaraldi and his trio (sidemen unspecified) performed the jazz accompaniment for the Eucharist that he originally composed for 1965's iconic Grace Cathedral Mass. Chuck Gompertz is known to have been in the audience.
April 19
The Bohemian Club, San Francisco, as solo pianist during a KQED-TV Channel 9 fund drive. Guaraldi played for the cocktail reception that preceded the dinner.
April 23
Live TV appearance on San Francisco KPIX-TV's Pow! at 1 p.m., with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
The show's guest list also includes the Goodtime Washboard Three.
May 6
Billboard publishes a special "Spotlight on San Francisco" section, which includes several pages devoted to the city's jazz scene. Guaraldi takes advantage of this to promote his new business: D and D Associates, named for his children, David and Dia.
May 8-15
Shelly's Manne-Hole, Hollywood, with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
On opening night, the trio is known to have performed "One Two Three," "Eleanor Rigby," "Goin' Out of My Head," "Yesterday" and numerous Peanuts themes.
May 16
Jazz pianist Chris Ibanez opens C'est Bon, San Francisco's last "old style" jazz club, at 659 Montgomery Street. Initially, the music is supplied by Ibanez's trio -- Vernon Alley, bass; and Dave Black, drums -- but the performance roster soon expands.
Alas, keeping the club alive proves a struggle in an environment now dominated by rock 'n' roll, and C'est Bon survives for only a year and a half.
May 17
United Recorders, Hollywood, recording the score for You're in Love, Charlie Brown. The band features Frank Rosolino, trombone; Ronald Lang, woodwinds; John Gray, guitar; Monty Budwig, bass; and John Rae, drums; with orchestration by John Scott Trotter.
May 21
Santa Clara University's North Lawn, California (sidemen unspecified), as a benefit for the new Alviso Medical Clinic.
The bill includes the Cal Tjader Quintet and Jefferson Airplane.
May 25
Pauley Ballroom, UC Berkeley, with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
The bill includes the Lockheed Pipers.
June 1-3
The Gilded Cage, Sacramento, with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
June 10
The Marin Country Club, Novato, sharing the bill with The Charlatans, performing for the Redwood High School Senior Ball. (No mention is made of Guaraldi's sidemen.)
June 12
You're in Love, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
June 14
Guaraldi is a special guest on Art Linkletter's House Party, syncicated across the entire country. (No mention of sidemen.)
July 21
By way of helping to publicize the upcoming "Jazz in Stern Grove Music Festival," San Francisco's KPIX-TV Action News devotes a brief segment to Guaraldi rehearsing with members of the San Francisco Boys Chorus. The segment can be viewed here.
July 23
Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, San Francisco -- Kelly Bryan, acoustic bass; and Vince Lateano, drums -- for the second annual "Jazz in Stern Grove Music Festival." The Guaraldi Trio is joined by the 58-member San Francisco Boys Chorus. The bill also includes Turk Murphy's Jazz Band, The Only Alternative, and John Coppola and the Friends of Bebop.
Guaraldi's program closes the show. The trio plays alone for the first three numbers, and then the SF Boys Chorus joins in for the final five tunes: "mostly Beatles-Dylan-Donovan material," notes San Francisco Chronicle critic John L. Wasserman. "Guaraldi is one of the most enjoyable of all pianists, and the boys' high, clear voices gave his appearance another dimension."
This performance anticipates the LP that Guaraldi is prepping for the debut of his own record label, D&D.
August 19
Mount Tamalpais Amphitheater, Marin County, California (sidemen unspecified). Guaraldi's trio is known to have performed covers of The Beatles' "Yesterday" and "All the Lonely People."
The bill includes Count Basie and Jon Hendricks.
August 21
Ralph Gleason, writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, casually mentions that Guaraldi has formed his own record company: D&D Records, named after his children David and Dia.
The label's debut has just been released nationally: a 45 single with "Eleanor Rigby" on the A side, and "Peppermint Patty" on the B-side.
A second single would follow a few weeks later, with "Blowin' in the Wind" on the A side, and "Monterey" on the B-side.
August 22-September 16
C'est Bon, San Francisco, with Tom Beeson, bass; and John Rae, drums.
August 25
In his column for the San Mateo Times, Lloyd Johnson reports that Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" has sold more than seven million copies. Johnson also notes that Guaraldi's Trio "recently completed the musical score for the next cCharles Schulz Peanuts special, to be televised some time in January."
[That latter item is wrong on a couple of counts. While Guaraldi may have finished composing the primary cues for the next special -- He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown -- his combo didn't record the score until entering the studio on January 11, and the special didn't air until February 14.]
Late summer/early autumn
During the course of several different recording sessions, with different personnel, Guaraldi oversees the production of his album Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus, released in December of the same year. He's joined, at varying times, by Eddie Duran, guitar; Tom Beeson, Kelly Bryan and Roland Haynes, bass; and Lee Charlton and John Rae, drums.
Tracks recorded: "Blowin' in the Wind," "Eleanor Rigby," "Monterey," "My Little Drum," "Newport Theme," "Spice Island Theme," "Theme to Grace" and "Think Drink." Guaraldi wrote "Monterey," "My Little Drum," "Newport Theme," "Spice Island Theme" and "Theme to Grace."
September 1
Max and Soul Weiss complete their sale of Fantasy Records to Saul Zaentz.
[Guaraldi's lawsuit against the label remains unresolved.]
September 9
23 Presidio Terrace (a San Francisco residence), sidemen unspecified, to entertain during a fund-raising party for Supervisor candidate Ed Stern.
(He appears to have lost.)
October 6
Orange County Fairgrounds, California (sidemen unspecified), for the second Pacific Jazz Festival.
The bill includes the Modern Jazz Quartet, Don Ellis, the Four Freshmen, the Bola Set Trio, the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Band and many others.
October 17-29
Old Town Theatre, Los Gatos, California, with Eddie Duran, guitar; Al Coster, drums; and Andy Acosta, bass.
It's a busy booking: 8:30 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 8:30 and 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; and 3:30 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday.
At least three sets are known to have been recorded, and -- decades later -- nine tunes are cherry-picked for release on the 2011 album, An Afternoon with the Vince Guaraldi Quartet.
October 19
Steninger Gym, UC San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
October 20
Chabot College Community Auditorium, Hayward, California (sidemen unspecified).
The bill includes jazz lyricist/singer Jon Hendricks.
October 28-29
Peacock Country Club, McNear's Beach, San Rafael, California, with Kelly Bryan, bass, and Al Coster, drums.
This "Rock Jazz Art" festival also features Big Brother and the Holding Company, the Youngbloods, Sopwith Camel, The Cycle, Tom and Lee (on the 29th only), the Chris Ibanez Trio and the George Duke Trio, from noon until dark.
October 30
The Straight Theater, San Francisco, with guitarist Eddie Duran (other sidemen unspecified), for a benefit for radio station KPFA.
The program includes Richie Havens, the Flamin' Groovies, Jon Hendricks, The Charlatans, and Congress of Wonders.
November 10
Kaiser Center's Garden Room, Oakland (sidemen unspecified), for a concert sponsored by St. Mary's College.
November 14-25
C'est Bon, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
November 30-December 3
The Gilded Cage, Sacramento (sidemen unspecified).
December 15
Masonic Auditorium, San Francisco, with Eddie Duran, electric guitar; Kelly Bryan, bass; and Paul Distel, drums. The quartet is joined by the San Francisco Boys Chorus, in a benefit for that ensemble.
December 16
Palo Alto High School Gymnasium, sharing the bill with Jon Hendricks, Eddie Duran and Liberty Street.
Mid-December
Guaraldi releases the LP Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus, the only album put out on his own D&D label.
December 17
Las Lomas High School, Walnut Creek, California, with Kelly Bryan, bass, and Paul Distel, drums. The trio is joined by the San Francisco Boys Chorus, for a concert in Walnut Creek's 1967-68 Art Forum Series.
December 27
San Francisco's Superior Court accepts a submission to dismiss the twin lawsuits between Guaraldi and Fantasy Records, leaving Guaraldi a free agent.
Early January
Bear Valley Ski Resort, California, with Tom Beeson, bass; and Lee Charlton, drums.
Guaraldi's trio helped open the resort, joined by DJ Al "Jazzbo" Collins.
January 11
United Recorders Studio, Hollywood, recording the original score for He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown. The band features Frank Strozier, alto sax; John Gray, guitar; Ralph Pena, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums; with orchestration by John Scott Trotter.
January 20-21
The Colony Club, Monterey (sidemen unspecified).
January 21
The Berkeley Community Theater, California (sidemen unspecified).
The bill includes South African singer Miriam Makeba and comic Murray Roman.
Late January/early February
Bear Valley Ski Resort, California, with Kelly Bryan, bass; and John Rae, drums.
("It might have been after the Bear Valley job," Bryan recalled, "that Vince said, 'Well, Kel, now we've played every kind of gig there is ... except a hanging.' ”)
February 14
He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
February 19
The Hall of Flowers, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), as part of the Camara Concert Series. The band is billed as The Vince Guaraldi Group.
February 29-March 9
El Matador, with Kelly Bryan, bass; Bob Addison, electric guitar; and Bobby Natenson, drums.
March 20
Dominic's Restaurant, South San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), at a benefit to re-elect Supervisor Tom Storer.
March 22
Golden State Recorders, San Francisco, laying down the tracks for what will become Guaraldi's debut Warner Bros. LP, Oh, Good Grief. He's joined by Eddie Duran, electric guitar; Stanley Gilbert, bass; and Carl Burnett, drums.
Tracks recorded: "Great Pumpkin Waltz," "It's Your Dog, Charlie Brown," "Linus and Lucy," "Oh, Good Grief," "Peppermint Patty," "Rain, Rain, Go Away," "Red Baron" and "You're in Love, Charlie Brown." Guaraldi wrote all selections.
Late March-mid May
A college tour with Guaraldi's new trio -- Bob Maize, bass; and Fritz Kasten, drums -- that includes known stops at Southern Illinois University (April 20); the University of the Pacific, in Stockton (May 11); and the tour's final stop, at Monterey Peninsula College.
April 6
Cashbox reports that Guaraldi has been signed to an exclusive recording contract by Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Records, Inc., and will produce his own sessions at Warners. "His initial album under the new pact will be a compilation of tunes from the Charlie Brown specials, and will be entitled Oh Good Grief!"
May 1
The Legion of Honor, San Francisco, as a solo performer during a reception for Italian Ambassador Egidio Ortona and his wife.
Early May
Warner Bros. releases the album Oh, Good Grief.
May 10
The New Committee Theater, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), to help open the city's first "political discotheque" in order to help support Senator Eugene J. McCarthy.
Guaraldi shares the bill with actress Angela Lansbury.
May 17
Oakland's Gold Nugget disappears, following Jack Sheldon't two-night booking May 17-18.
May 18
Guaraldi sprains a finger while disembarking from a plane, forcing him to cancel a second Camera Concert Series performance at San Francisco's Hall of Flowers (May 20) and a three-week gig at the Trident (May 21-June 9).
June 2
The College of Marin gym, Marin, California (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with the Cal Tjader Quintet.
June 20
Shirley Guaraldi once again sues Vince for divorce, again citing "extreme cruelty." She apparently means it this time, and they'll soon split for good.
Late June (?)
The St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), at the Navy's Midshipmen's Ball, for visiting members of the United States First Fleet.
June 29
Oh, Good Grief enters Billboard's Best-Selling Jazz LPs chart, in last place at No. 20; it remains there for a second week, then vanishes.
July 2
Variety announces that Guaraldi has been signed to score the first big-screen Peanuts film, A Boy Named Charlie Brown (not to be confused with the earlier TV documentary of the same title).
July 4-6
Bear Valley Ski Resort, California (sidemen unspecified).
July 9-21
The Trident, Sausalito, with Jimmy Stewart, electric guitar; Bob Maize, electric bass; and Bob Dominguez, drums.
This gig marks the debut of Guaraldi's Baldwin electric harpsichord, with its "big super-sound electronic amplifier." San Francisco Chronicle critic John L. Wasserman, writing on July 16, notes that Guaraldi "spent much of the first set and all of the second plunking away on [the harpsichord]." Guaraldi also sings and plays the electric guitar at times.
That evening's set list included "a swaying 'Eleanor Rigby,' two goes at 'Going Out of My Head,' 'Ode to Billie Joe,' 'Corcovado,' 'It Was a Very Good Year' and the very dumb 'Do You Know the Way to San Jose?'"
July 29-August 3
El Matador, San Francisco, with Jimmy Stewart, electric guitar; Bob Maize, electric bass; and Bobby Natenson, drums. The group is dubbed Vince Guaraldi's Electric Umbrella Quartet.
On August 2, San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen writes "Incidentally, Vince Guaraldi is at the Matador. I say incidentally, because Vince has been around so long that San Franciscans tend to take him for granted, like the fog, and that's too bad, since he's making the brightest and most modern sounds of his career these nights -- hunched like Toulouse-Lautrec over his new electric harpsichord, dragging on his cigarette, taking alternate sips of cognac and coffee, and chuckling through his beard at some particularly telling chord. His new group is now completely plugged in ('My electric unbrella,' he calls it) and it's the first happy marriage of rock and jazz that I've heard. Yet he had only half a house Wednesday night, and he closes tomorrow night. The new Guaraldi deserves better than that."
August
Guaraldi begins collaborating with cellist/arranger Lynn Shurtleff and conductor Richard Williams, of the Saratoga-based Amici della Musica Orchestra, on what eventually will become The Charlie Brown Suite.
August 11
Guaraldi's combo is announced as part of the roster at the upcoming Monterey Jazz Festival.
August 13-18
The Trident, Sausalito, with the Electric Umbrella Quartet: Jimmy Stewart, electric guitar; Bob Maize, electric bass; and Bob Dominguez, drums.
Guaraldi's Quartet is a last-minute substitute for Stan Getz, who was taken ill.
August 18
Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, San Francisco -- with the Electric Umbrella Quartet: Jimmy Stewart, electric guitar; Bob Maize, electric bass; and Bob Dominguez, drums -- for the third annual "Jazz in Stern Grove Music Festival."
Guaraldi's Quartet is known to have played "Eleanor Rigby," "Ode to Billie Joe" and "Out of My Head." On another song, he joined the string section with his own electric guitar (!).
The bill includes the John Handy Concert Ensemble.
September 14
The garden of the Charles W. Bonner home, as one of the featured performers (sidemen unspecified) at the Fresno (California) Jazz Festival, organized by the Women's Symphony League. The event includes Cal Tjader.
El Matador closes to undergo "an extensive job of renovation."
September 21
The 11th annual Monterey Jazz Festival, with Bob Addison, guitar; Bob Maize, electric bass; and Bobby Natenson, drums.
Guaraldi's set is filmed by Lee Mendelson, for use in an upcoming project. Their combo is known to have performed "The Beat Goes On."
September 26
Freeborn Hall, UC Davis, California, with Bob Addison, guitar; Bob Maize, electric bass; and Bobby Natenson, drums.
September 30
El Matador re-opens with a booking by Cal Tjader's new combo. The club promises to bring Guaraldi back soon (and does).
October 11
Golden State Recorders, San Francisco -- with unspecified sidemen -- working on tracks for an upcoming Warner Bros. album.
One of the two songs recorded -- "The Beat Goes On" -- is included on Guaraldi's second Warners album, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi. The other, a cover of Bacharach/David's "Do You Know the Way to San Jose," never makes it onto an album. Half a century later, it's included as a bonus track on Omnivore's Vince Guaraldi: The Complete Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Recordings.
October 12
The original hungry i closes, with its Ghirardelli Square replacement opening not quite two weeks later.
Autumn and winter
Guaraldi spends all kinds of time in the studio, with numerous sets of sidemen, recording the tracks for his second Warner Bros. album, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi. The personnel include Eddie Duran and Robert Addison, electric guitar; Peter Marshall, bass; Bob Maize and Jim McCabe, electric bass; and Jerry Granelli and Al Coster, drums. It's not know who performed on what.
Tracks recorded: "The Beat Goes On," "Black Sheep Boy," "Coffee and Doe-Nuts," "It Was a Very Good Year," "Lucifer's Lady," "Nobody Else," "Once I Loved," "Reason to Believe" and "Yesterday." Guaraldi wrote "Coffee and Doe-Nuts," "Lucifer's Lady" and "Nobody Else."
October 21-November 14
El Matador, San Francisco, with Bob Addison, guitar; and an unspecified bassist and drummer.
Writing in the San Francisco Examiner on November 5, Philip Elwood notes that, during the previous evening, "...[Addison's] work was often off-pitch, a circumstance made more glaring by the frightful tuning of the Matador's piano."
October 22
Enrico Banducci opens the "new" hungry i in Ghirardelli Square.
[Guaraldi is not known to have performed at this location, which catered mostly to rock acts. It would last just two years.]
Mid-November
A new Palo Alto club -- The Exit-In (or simply "The Exit") -- opens at 3489 El Camino, in the space formerly occupied by a hamburger/pool joint dubbed The Tiger Pit.
The attempt to make it a jazz club seems to have been only fleeting, with early appearances by Ernestine Anderson, the John Handy Quintet and Guaraldi. The musical emphasis apparently then changes, and the club limps along until early 1970.
Late November
C'est Bon closes its doors for the last time.
December 14
The Thunderbolt Hotel ballroom, Millbrae, California (sidemen unspecified.)
Guaraldi's combo shared billing with Cal Tjader.
December 21
Oakland Auditorium (sidemen unspecified), following a basketball game between the upstart American Basketball Association's Oakland Oaks and New Orleans Buccaneers.
Guaraldi's combo shared billing with Cal Tjader and Stan Wilson.
December 31
Winterland, San Francisco. Could this have been when Guaraldi jammed onstage with the Grateful Dead?
This ambitious, all-night New Year's Eve bash featured the Dead, Santana, It's a Beautiful Day and Quicksilver Messenger Service. Guaraldi's girlfriend, Gretchen, would have been present as a representative of concert promoter Bill Graham's Millard Agency. Guaraldi likely would have been at her side ... but would he have joined the Dead onstage, at some point during the night? Grateful Dead historian Corey Arnold believes so; check out his lengthy discussion here.
We await proof...
January
The January issue of the Bear Valley News Bear (Alpine, California) reports that Vince Guaraldi, DJ Al Collins and ski school director Rick Carney will be featured in an upcoming KRON-TV hour-long special on Bear Valley.
(There's no indication, in KRON's program logs, that this actually happened.)
January 7-11, 14-18
The Exit-In, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified).
January 24-25
The Colony Club, Monterey (sidemen unspecified).
Feb 27-March 12
El Matador, San Francisco, with his trio (sidemen unspecified).
March 7
Bear's Lair Cabaret, UC Berkeley, with his trio (sidemen unspecified).
Mid-March
Music producer and studio engineer Wally Heider opens his own studio, Wally Heider Recording, at 245 Hyde Street in San Francisco. Guaraldi soon will spend plenty of time within its walls.
Mid-March
Warner Bros. releases the album The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi.
March 14-15
The Matrix, San Francisco, as a quartet (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with The Melting Pot.
March 23
The San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reviews The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi, calling it "altogether a pleasant album" (far kinder than it deserved).
April 11
Mission Church, University of Santa Clara (sidemen unspecified), for an afternoon performance of the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass with the 60-member Santa Clara University Choir. And, later that same day...
University of Santa Clara, performing alongside Sun Ra and his Astro-Infinity Arkestra; Guaraldi accompanies them on guitar (!).
April 19
Coast Recorders, San Francisco -- with Peter Marshall, bass; and Jerry Granelli, drums -- laying down tracks for the big-screen film A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
April 21-May 3
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
(Given how this conflicts with the May 1-4 Sacramento booking, below, either this El Matador gig concluded earlier, or the Gilded Cage booking was canceled.)
April 23
Chabot College Auditorium, Hayward, California, as a quartet (sidemen unspecified), for the "Maid of San Lorenzo Pageant."
April 28
Santa Rosa, California -- with Peter Marshall, bass; and Bob Belanski, drums -- for the opening of Charles Schulz's Redwood Empire Ice Arena.
Guaraldi's trio shared the stage with emcee Joe Garagiola, the San Francisco cast of the stage play You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown and numerous skating celebrities. In addition to performing their own material, Guaraldi's trio backed the cast members during their presentation of songs and scenes from the stage play: the only time that he is known to have accompanied that material.
April 30
Aboard the Harbor Emperor, chugging around San Francisco Bay (sidemen unspecified), for a "Barge-In" with conductor Richard Williams and his Amici della Musica orchestra.
May 1-4
The Gilded Cage, Sacramento (sidemen unspecified).
May 9-11
Bluesman Charlie Musselwhite headlines a three-night gig at Palo Alto's Poppycock. Guaraldi and harmonica player Robert Price are in the audience one evening, and invited onstage to jam together.
May 16
Los Gatos High School, California -- with Peter Marshall, bass; and Bob Belanski, drums -- for "The Classics and All That Jazz," along with the Amici Della Musica orchestra.
The program features the world premiere of The Charlie Brown Suite.
May 17
Burke School, San Francisco, as a quartet (sidemen unspecified), to benefit a Haight-Ashbury medical clinic.
The program also features the Cleveland Wrecking Company, the Richmond Blues Band and numerous other acts.
May 18
Mr. D's, San Francisco's North Beach -- with Peter Marshall, bass; and Bob Belanski, drums -- for "The Classics and All That Jazz," along with the Amici Della Musica orchestra.
The event, a benefit for Amici Della Musica, (mostly) repeats the May 16 Los Gatos gig.
May 24
Charlie Brown and Charles Schulz debuts on CBS-TV.
Lee Mendelson made this "new" documentary by re-purposing material from the never-aired A Boy Named Charlie Brown and adding new scenes, including the footage of Guaraldi's combo shot at the 1968 Monterey Jazz Festival.
May 29
Golden State Recorders, San Francisco -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; Peter Marshall, bass; and Bob Belanski, drums -- working on tracks for an upcoming Warner Bros. album.
As it happens, the two songs recorded -- "Oh Happy Day" and a Guaraldi original titled "The Sharecropper's Daughter" -- never make it onto an album. Half a century later, both are included as bonus tracks on Omnivore's Vince Guaraldi: The Complete Warner Bros.-Seven Arts Recordings.
June 6-7
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
June 26-28
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
July 23
The San Francisco Civic Auditorium, with comic songwriter Allan Sherman and Arthur Fiedler and the San Francisco Pops.
Sherman's "Peter & the Commissar" requires the participation of a jazz quintet; Guaraldi gathers a combo that features Eddie Duran, guitar; Mel Martin, sax; Fred Mergy, trombone; and Al Coster, drums.
August 9
Downtown San Francisco -- three vacant lots at Market and 7th streets -- for a Synanon Fair, sharing the bill with Marvin Gardens, Freedom Highway, Esther Phillips and numerous other acts. (Guaraldi's sidemen aren't identified.)
August 14
Western Recorders, Hollywood, recording tracks for the big-screen film A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
The ambitious band includes Monty Budwig, bass; Conte Candoli, trumpet; Milton Bernhart, trombone; Herb Ellis, guitar; Victor Feldman, percussion; and Jack Sperling, drums. As also has become customary with the scoring sessions for the Peanuts TV specials, this session is supervised by John Scott Trotter.
August 16
San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen reports that "Pianist Vince Guaraldi's Fu Manchu moustache caught fire at Les Crepes on North Point the other night, and was saved from extinction only by the heroic efforts of owner Peter Slizyk, wielding a bottle of 7-Up." (Caen was known to joke a bit, so one should perhaps approach this claim with a raised eyebrow.)
August 22-24
Golden Gate Park, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), for the "Wild West Festival."
The program features 150 (!) groups and individuals from the genres of rock, folk, jazz and classical, ranging from Carlos Santana and the Grateful Dead to the San Francisco Symphony.
August 27
Concord Boulevard Park, Concord, for a Summer Festival concert.
The program includes Guaraldi's "Charlie Brown Suite," backed by Amici Della Musica. Guaraldi, accompanied by bass and tap (identities unknown), is known to have also performed "Take Me to the Moon," "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "Eleanor Rigby."
The bill also included the Romeros, a Spanish guitar quartet.
September 11-12
United Western Recorders, Hollywood, scoring the TV special It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown. The band features Conte and Pete Candoli, trumpets; Frank Rosolino, trombone; William Hood and Peter Christlieb, woodwinds; Herb Ellis, guitar; Monty Budwig, double bass; Victor Feldman, percussion; and Jack Sperling, drums; with orchestration by John Scott Trotter.
Mid-September
According to rock legend, songwriter Nick Gravenites wanders into a no-account San Francisco strip club dubbed Keystone Korner, at 750 Vallejo Street, and persuades owner Freddie Herrara to start booking rock acts. The Mike Bloomfield Band takes up residency on September 19 and remains for the better part of a year, by which time the reinvigorated club has become famous. It will transform again in July 1972, when new owner Todd Barkan turns it into a jazz club.
September 27
It Was a Short Summer, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
October 10
Amigo Studios, Los Angeles -- with Monty Budwig, bass; and Colin Bailey, drums -- working on the Warner Bros. album Alma-Ville.
Tracks recorded: "Alma-Ville," "Detained in San Ysidro" and "Jambo's," all written by Guaraldi.
October 14
Western Recorders, Hollywood, recording tracks for the big-screen film A Boy Named Charlie Brown.
This session involves a full-blown orchestra, with support from jazzmen Guaraldi, Monty Budwig, bass; Pete Candoli, trumpet; Herb Ellis, guitar; and Jack Sperling, drums.
Mid- to late October
Guaraldi books several more studio sessions, working with various combos, in order to complete his album Alma-Ville.
Tracks recorded: "Cristo Redentor," "Eleanor Rigby," "The Masked Marvel," "Rio from the Air," "Uno Y Uno" and "Watch What Happens." Guaraldi wrote "The Masked Marvel," "Rio from the Air" and "Uno Y Uno."
November 10
The Trident, Sausalito (sidemen unspecified), joining Mort Sahl as the evening's entertainment during a benefit for Professionals for Peace.
November 16
The First Presbyterian Church of San Rafael (sidemen unknown), along with Charles Gompertz and a mixed choir directed by Mrs. William O. Leidel, for a presentation of the Grace Cathedral Mass.
November 20-22
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified). [This entry and the next one appear to be in conflict, unless the bookings were afternoon/evening.]
November 21-22
The Lion's Share, San Anselmo (sidemen unspecified).
December 4
A Boy Named Charlie Brown premiers at New York's Radio City Music Hall.
Mid-December
Warner Bros. releases the album Alma-Ville.
In one of the album's rare reviews, Cashbox notes that "Pianist/composer Vince Guaraldi is represented here with a fine, up-tempo, Latin-flavored set. The latest Guaraldi LP contains six of his own tunes, including the title number, which may possibly turn out to be as commercially successful as 'Cast Your Fate to the Wind.' Guaraldi's piano work is featured throughout, and on one cut, 'Uno Y Uno,' he does a guitar solo."
Record World was similarly enthusiastic: "That subtle, fluid, melodic mind of Vince Guaraldi's is at it again. Vince has come up with some exquisite melodies on this album, and plays them better than anybody can, or probably ever will. He also does a striking guitar solo. Watch every cut."
(Alas, the album quickly faded into obscurity, and the title track never got anywhere near chart action. On a more somber note, nobody could have realized that this would be Guaraldi's final album release during his lifetime.)
January 8-10
The Matrix, San Francisco, as a trio (sidemen unspecified).
January 28
The Plantation, Ghirardelli Square, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), for "The Age of Analysis," a fundraiser involving astrologists, numerologists and "various other psychics." The bill includes the Rick McGarvin Trio.
Early February (for two weeks)
The Four Seasons, Aspen, Colorado, with Koji Kataoka, bass; and Jimmy Peluso, drums.
February 20-21
The Matrix, San Francisco, with Vince Denham, sax and flute; Koji Kataoka, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
Early March
At San Francisco's KRON-TV Channel 4 studio (sidemen unspecified), to tape an episode of the public affairs program Like It Is, accompanied by the Rev. Charles Gompertz.
March 14
San Francisco's KRON-TV airs Guaraldi's episode of Like It Is.
March 18
A Boy Named Charlie Brown finally opens in the greater San Francisco area.
March 22
Los Angeles County Museum (sidemen unspecified), for a jazz festival concert broadcast live on KBCA 105.1 FM.
The program includes Bola Sete, Stanley Turrentine and B.B. King.
April 17-18
The Matrix, San Francisco, with Vince Denham, sax and flute; Koji Kataoka, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
May 16
Abraham Lincoln High School, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Terry Dolan and Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks.
A second concert took place on this same day, with the same roster, at San Francisco's A.P. Giannini Junior High School.
June 12-13
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with The Rhythm Dukes.
June 22
The Matrix, San Francisco, jamming with an impressive combo that included Jerry Garcia, Bill Champlin, Curly Cooke, Vince Denham, John Kahn and Bill Vitt.
[This was one of the many Monday evening drop-in jam sessions that took place at the Matrix during this period. Guaraldi wouldn't have been booked; the only name on the bill likely would have been Garcia's.]
Early Summer
Aspen, Colorado (venue unspecified), with Koji Kataoka, bass; and Frank Lagioia, drums.
July 7-11
Gatsby's, in Sausalito (sidemen unknown), as a last-minute replacement for the scheduled Al Jarreau.
July 26
The second annual Robert Mondavi Winery Summer Music Festival, Oakville, California, as a trio (sidemen unspecified).
July 28-August 8
El Matador, San Francisco, with Koji Kataoka, electric bass; and Frank Lagioia, drums. Guaraldi is doubling on piano and electronic harpsichord.
August 7-8
Scheduled at New Orleans House, Berkeley, but replaced by Mendelbaum and Redwing, when the El Matador booking is extended for a second week.
September 18-19
Scheduled at New Orleans House, Berkeley, but replaced by Mendelbaum and The Fourth Way.
September 19
Guaraldi appears on KPIX Channel 5's live broadcast of Ron Magers' Electric Impressions, spontaneously composing music for cartoons.
September 21
The Matrix, San Francisco, with Vince Denham, sax and flute; Koji Kataoka, bass, and Mike Clark, drums.
Late September
The Ghirardelli Square hungry i closes. The final booking -- the Flamin' Groovies and singer Inez Jones -- takes place September 23.
The former Jackson Street location is razed to become a parking lot, and shortly thereafter former club owner Enrico Banducci sells the name to a strip joint.
September 28
The Matrix, San Francisco, billed as "Vince Guaraldi and Friends," with Vince Denham, sax and flute; Koji Kataoka, bass, and Mike Clark, drums.
October 8-10
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
October 16-18
Mandrake's, Berkeley, with Vince Denham, sax and flute; Koji Kataoka, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
Guaraldi's quartet is billed opposite Ornette Coleman.
October 23
Western Recorders, Hollywood, recording the score for Play It Again, Charlie Brown. The band features Herb Ellis, guitar; Charles Berghofer, bass; and Dick Shanahan, drums; with orchestration by John Scott Trotter.
October 27-28
Keystone Korner, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with The Loading Zone.
November 7
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
November 9-25
El Matador, as a quartet (sidemen unspecified), playing Mondays through Wednesdays, with Cal Tjader's Quintet handling Thursdays through Saturdays.
November 13-14
The Lion's Share, San Anselmo (sidemen unspecified).
November 21
Sonoma State College, Rohnert Park, as a quartet (sidemen unspecified), at the first annual Redwood Empire Stage Band Festival.
November 26
Family Dog at the Great Highway, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), for the 350th Mayflower Reunion Festival, sharing the bill with Dan Hicks and His Hot Licks.
November 27-28, ??
The Lodge, Bear Valley Ski Resort (sidemen unspecified). Guaraldi's trio continues to perform intermittent one- and two-night bookings through the end of the year.
December 4-5
New Orleans House, Berkeley (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Sunset.
December 8
Vince and Shirley Guaraldi's 17-year marriage is ordered dissolved by San Rafael Superior Judge Samuel W. Gardiner. Community property is divided equally; Vince agrees to pay Shirley $300 in monthly support, plus $150 monthly for each of their two children.
December 11
Mission Church, Santa Clara University, California -- with Peter Marshall, bass; and Mike Clark, drums -sharing the bill with the 115-voice Santa Clara Chorale.
This concert marks the world premiere of Lynn Shurtleff's "Sing Unto the Lord a New Song," written for Guaraldi.
December 12
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco -- with Peter Marshall, bass; and Mike Clark, drums -- sharing the bill with the 115-voice Santa Clara Chorale.
A repeat of the previous evening's program in Santa Clara.
December 26
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified)
January 16
The Matrix (sidemen unspecified)
January 30
The Matrix (sidemen unspecified)
Winter
In unspecified studios (sidemen also unspecified), recording the score for the TV special Play It Again, Charlie Brown.
February 11
Mandrake's, Berkeley (sidemen unspecified).
February 23
Guaraldi, Rod McKuen, John Scott Trotter, Bill Melendez and Al Shean share an Academy Award nomination for the big-screen film A Boy Named Charlie Brown, in the category Best Original Song Score.
February 24
Memorial Church, Stanford University (sidemen unspecified), with the Santa Clara Chorale, for an Ash Wednesday presentation of the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass.
March 5
Booked as solo pianist at the Coe College Auditorium, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a concert titled "The Classics and All That Jazz."
Guaraldi, scheduled to perform his Charlie Brown Suite, becomes ill and cancels; the event is postponed to April 16-17.
March 26
San Francisco's 960 Bush Street location rises from the ashes one final time, as The Boarding House, operated by former hungry i and Troubadour manager David Allen.
March 28
Play it Again, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
March 31
Golden State Recorders, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), recording tracks for an unfinished album.
Tracks recorded: "Oaxaca," "We've Only Just Begun," "Play It Again, Charlie Brown" and "You Never Give Me Your Money."
April 15
The Dorothy Chandler Pavilion, Los Angeles, for the annual Academy Awards ceremony. Alas, Guaraldi and his fellow nominees from A Boy Named Charlie Brown lose to The Beatles, for their film Let It Be.
April 16-17
Scheduled to perform as solo pianist at the Washington High School Auditorium, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, for a concert titled "The Classics and All That Jazz."
Guaraldi, once again a last-minute no-show, is replaced by pianist Lynn Shurtleff.
April 23-24
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
May 6
The Fairmont Hotel, San Francisco, as a quartet (sidemen unspecified) to celebrate and perform at baseball legend Willie Mays' 40th birthday party. The entertainment bill includes Carl Reiner.
May 20
In Your Ear becomes the third nightclub/music venue to open at 135 University Avenue, in Palo Alto, California, following The Poppycock (1967-70) and Mom's (1970-71). Guaraldi will become a fixture at In Your Ear, later this year.
May 23
After gaining fame as Ground Zero in the San Francisco music scene, the Matrix closes its doors.
(But not for the last time. On August 24, 1973, the "new" Matrix opens at 412 Broadway, formerly the site of Mr. D's. Alas, this revived Matrix won't even survive until the end of that year.)
May 31
Mark Teel's Club Francisco, San Francisco, as a quartet (sidemen unspecified), for the club's monthly jam session.
June 18-19
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified).
Late June
The Jazz Workshop closes, immediately after -- or shortly after -- the Todd Cochran Trio's booking concludes on June 27.
The 473 Broadway venue soon re-opens as a strip joint dubbed The Woffer.
July 4
Fillmore West, San Francisco, for the final night of the "Live at Fillmore Closing Week," as part of the San Francisco Musicians Jam. Guaraldi played electronic organ during the all-night extravaganza that heralded Fillmore West's closing.
July 20-31
El Matador, San Francisco, with Vince Denham, sax, clarinet and flute; Seward McCain, electric bass; and John Waller, drums.
During this engagement, Guaraldi returns to acoustic piano, after having focused on electric piano for the past eight months. He's also known to have introduced an original composition titled "Oaxaca," which he'd never get around to placing on an album during his lifetime. Happily, the song would be resurrected for a CD many decades later.
August 8
Concord's third annual Summer Festival, with Vince Denham, sax, clarinet and flute; Seward McCain, electric bass; and John Waller, drums. The Guaraldi Quartet shares the stage with Oscar Peterson, the Cal Tjader Quintet, and the Count Basie Orchestra.
August 13-19 (?)
The Cal Neva Lodge Lounge, North Lake Tahoe (sidemen unspecified).
October 21
Guaraldi, playing electric piano, appears in a previously taped episode of KQED Channel 9's public affairs show Scan, sharing the stage with poets Andrei Voznesensky and Lawrence Ferlinghetti.
October 21-24
In Your Ear, Palo Alto, with Vince Denham, sax and flute; John Wilmeth, bass; and John Waller, drums.
During one evening, the quartet is known to have played "We've Only Just Begun" and "Watch What Happens."
[A young George Winston met Guaraldi while playing intermission piano on one of these dates, probably October 24.]
November 2
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified)
November 9
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified)
Starting on this day, Guaraldi's combo becomes a semi-regular weekly booking each Tuesday, for the next several months.
November 23
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified)
November 30-December 11
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
December 14
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified).
[George Winston once again played intermission piano on this date, between Guaraldi's sets.]
December 21, 22, 24, 26 and 28
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified).
January 4, 11, 18 and 25
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified).
January 16
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, California, with Vince Denham, sax and flute (other sidemen unspecified).
January 22
Santa Clara University's deSaisset Art Gallery (sidemen unspecified).
January 28
Zellerbach Playhouse, UC Berkeley (sidemen unspecified).
January 29
The College of Marin's Fine Arts Auditorium, Kentfield (sidemen unspecified).
February 1, 8, 15, 22 and 29
In Your Ear, Palo Alto (sidemen unspecified).
[Guaraldi shared the bill with Kathie Marion during these five gigs.]
[A young Robben Ford is known to have jammed with Guaraldi's combo during some of his gigs in this club, likely one or more of these dates in February 1972. Ford recalls switching instruments with Guaraldi, with "interesting" results.]
[Following these February bookings, a sign appears on the door at In Your Ear, indicating that the club's relationship with Guaraldi has been "severed."]
February 14
Funky Quarters, San Diego (sidemen unspecified).
March 15
Morris Dailey Auditorium, San Jose State University -- with Eddie Duran, guitar; and an unspecified drummer -- opening for Cheech and Chong.
March 25
Modesto Swim and Raquet Club, Modesto, California (sidemen unspecified), performing during the dinner dance that takes place as a concluding event of the 11th annual Men's Open Tennis Tournament.
April 21
The Golden Semi Seminary in Strawberry, an unincorporated community in California's Tuolumne County (sidemen unspecified), at a benefit concert to raise funds to send a sixth-grade class to Yosemite National Park.
April 22
The Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary Auditorium, Mill Valley (sidemen unspecified).
April 26-May 13
El Matador, San Francisco, with Vince Denham, sax and flute; Seward McCain, electric bass; and John Waller, drums.
April 28
Scheduled to perform at the Inn of the Beginning, in Cotati, sharing the bill with Jimmy Witherspoon. The booking is canceled.
May 7
University of Santa Clara, for an art and music festival, alongside Bola Sete (sidemen unspecified).
May 19
Santa Clara University's Pipestage coffeehouse, in the basement of the Graham Residence Hall (sidemen unspecified).
June 7
Mark Teel's Club Francisco, San Francisco. Guaraldi -- by himself -- drops in to jam for the evening, and also to bid the club adieu. (See June 18 entry.)
June 16-17
Inn of the Beginning, Cotati, California (sidemen unspecified).
June 18
Mark Teel closes his Club Francisco, and goes out with a splash: a gala farewell party and free buffet.
July 5-14 (perhaps longer)
The New Twin Flame Room, Tucson, Arizona (sidemen unspecified).
July 7
Keystone Korner undergoes a total transformation under the guidance of new owner Todd Barkan, changing from a well-respected rock venue into one of San Francisco's last, great jazz clubs.
Summer
The Pierce Street Annex -- with Seward McCain, bass; Vince Denham, tenor sax; and Mike Clark, drums -- where Guaraldi "tries some electric stuff," according to Clark. Jerry Garcia is known to have joined the quartet on occasion, at which point the group was known as the Vince Guaraldi/Jerry Garcia Band.
Although McCain recalls these gigs taking place at the Matrix, that probably isn't correct, since that club had closed more than a year earlier. But McCain has the location correct, if not the name ... because shortly after the Matrix closed, its space was taken over by the nearby Pierce Street Annex, which remodeled the club and re-opened under its own name.
[Clark recalls doing "about six months' worth of these gigs," so it's possible they actually began a few months earlier, in the spring, and continued through late summer. Alternatively, the gigs could have begun in the summer and continued through autumn; precious little is known about Guaraldi's bookings through most of 1972.]
July 23
The Robert Mondavi Winery Summer Music Festival, Oakville, California, as a trio (sidemen unspecified).
August 22
Wally Heider Recording Studios, San Francisco, scoring the TV special You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Pat O'Hara, trombone; Mel Martin, soprano sax; Seward McCain, bass and flute; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
September 8-9
Inn of the Beginning, Cotati, California (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Billy Faier.
September 10, 12-17
The Boarding House, San Francisco, with Seward McCain, electric bass; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
Violinist Michael White opened each evening.
September 23-24
Paul Masson Vineyards, Saratoga, (sidemen unspecified), supporting jazz singer Jon Hendricks and Family.
These concerts, and the previous weekend's performances by John Fahey and Dave Van Ronk, raised $1,740 for San Francisco's Palace of Fine Arts League, to replace birds at the Palance of Fine Arts Lagoon. These new birds will re-stock the lagoon, after the existing birds had to be exterminated in June, because of a rare virus disease.
October 7
The College of Marin, Kentfield (sidemen unspecified), for an afternoon benefit concert with Carlos Santana and Pete Escovedo.
UC Davis, California (sidemen unspecified), for an evening concert.
October 23
The Trident, Sausalito (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with the Cal Tjader Quintet, in a benefit for South Dakota Sen. George McGovern's bid to become U.S. President.
October 26
Lincoln Mercury Showroom, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), for the California Brandy Cabaret and Fashion Show.
The program also features the Leland Stanford Jr. University Marching Band and a flamenco dancer.
On this same day, entrepreneurs Tom Bradshaw and Sam Duvall unveil their new endeavour at 859 O'Farrell Street, most recently the site of Charles' Restaurant. The venerable building actually dates back to 1907, when it was built during the city-wide reconstruction that followed the 1906 earthquake. It began life as Blanco's, became The Music Box in 1936, closed at the end of World War II, re-opened in 1948 as a jazz club -- once again called Blanco's -- and then, from the 1950s onward, began a long, slow decline that nearly saw it demolished. Newly refurbished and painted, it opens on this day as The Great American Music Hall: the sole venue, of those important to Guaraldi's career, that remains active to this day. He wastes little time getting booked onto its stage.
October 29
You're Not Elected, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
November 14-18
Great American Music Hall, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), subbing for an absent Shelly Manne, whose visit is postponed.
November 24-25
Great American Music Hall, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
December 1
The Alhambra Theater, Sacramento (sidemen unspecified), opening for Van Morrison, during a benefit concert intended to help save the theater.
[The effort failed.]
December 6
Great American Music Hall, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
December 15
Berkeley Community Theater (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Van Morrison and Alice Stuart and Snake.
December 31
Palo Alto's In Your Ear is destroyed by a massive fire started by a gas leak in a pizza oven. The club never re-opens.
January 8, 15, 22, 25 and 29
The Village, San Francisco, as a trio (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with the Cleveland Wrecking Company jazz trio.
January 14
San Francisco Examiner columnist John L. Wasserman, catching up with Guaraldi during a plane flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco, learns that Vince has "tentative plans to write the music for a four-part animated television series created by Gus Arriola," famed for the Gordo newspaper comic strip. (Alas, it never happens.)
January 15 (daytime)
Wally Heider Recording Studios, San Francisco, scoring the TV special There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Pat O'Hara, flute; Seward McCain, bass; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
January 17, 24 and 31
The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, billed as the band Powder Keg: Guaraldi, Fender Rhodes (usually); Larry Vuckovich, piano; Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
January 19-20
Inn of the Beginning, Cotati, California (sidemen unspecified), joined by the Fairfax Street Choir.
January 26
Santa Clara University's Pipestage coffeehouse, in the basement of the Graham Residence Hall (sidemen unspecified).
February 2-3
The Lion's Share, San Anselmo (sidemen unspecified), billed as "Vince Guaraldi and One" ... an ambiguous newspaper entry that actually meant Guaraldi's combo was the featured act, with an opener by the group One.
[One -- or, actually, 1 -- was perhaps the psychedelic scene's most notorious band. The nine-piece "aural experience" was signed by RCA for an album that was released on Jefferson Airplane's vanity label, Grunt. 1 was fronted by a gentleman who, all involved swear, legally changed his named to -- I'm not making this up -- Reality D. Blipcrotch. The whole marvelous saga is recounted in biographer Jeff Tamarkin's Got a Revolution: The Turbulent Flight of Jefferson Airplane. It makes great reading.]
February 5
The Lion's Share, San Anselmo, as a guest keyboardist with Van Morrison and his band.
February 7, 14, 21 and 28
The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, billed as the band Powder Keg: Guaraldi, Fender Rhodes (usually); Larry Vuckovich, piano; Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
Carmen McRae headlines the first week, Bill Evans thereafter.
February 8
San Francisco, for a toast and roast of Lee Mendelson. Guaraldi performs solo alongside Josh Logan and two stars from the San Francisco production of You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
February 9-10
Mandrake's, Berkeley (sidemen unspecified).
February 20-25
The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, where Bill Evans is headlining for the week. According to George Winston, Guaraldi is in the audience "every night."
February 22 and 26
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, recording the score for the TV special There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown. The combo features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
March 7, 14, 21 and 28
The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, billed as the band Powder Keg: Guaraldi, Fender Rhodes (usually); Larry Vuckovich, piano; Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
March 11
There's No Time for Love, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
April 4
The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, billed as the band Powder Keg: Guaraldi, Fender Rhodes (usually); Larry Vuckovich, piano; Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Glenn Cronkhite, drums.
April 27-28
Cal-Neva Lodge, North Lake Tahoe, Nevada (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Van Morrison and Jackie De Shannon.
May 1 (?)
The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, where Guaraldi and Cal Tjader are among the many special guests attending a press screening of the new documentary film, Monterey Jazz. Following the screening and a buffet supper, live entertainment is provided by Tjader, the Modern Jazz Quartet and Eddie "Clean Head" Vinson ... but apparently not by Guaraldi.
[The film debuted May 2 at San Francisco's Regency Theater, so it's fairly safe to assume that this press preview took place the prior evening, although it could have been at the end of April.]
May 12
The Town & Country Village shopping center in Mill Valley, California, as one of the guest celebrities at a KQED-TV Channel 9 Fun Fair. Guaraldi presents a series of awards to children, including First Prize to Gail Ablow, a fifth-grader at Old Mill School, for winning the children's art contest. (No indication of whether he also performed, or just chatted with folks.)
May 20
The Greek Theater, UC Berkeley (sidemen unspecified), for the United Farm Workers' third annual "Fiesta Campesina" celebration and fundraiser.
The program also includes Cal Tjader, Azteca and Luis Gasca.
On this same day, the San Francisco Chronicle's Ralph Gleason reports that "the Both/And Club, which pioneered the presentation of avant-garde Black jazz in San Francisco, is dead."
May 22
San Francisco's KRON-TV Channel 4 studios, to help publicize the upcoming Oakland Symphony season. At one point, Guaraldi performs in a combo with John Handy, alto sax; Vernon Alley, bass; and Oakland Symphony conductor Harold Farberman, drums.
May 29
Flint Center, Cupertino, with his trio (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with the DeAnza Jazz Ensemble.
June 7
Union Square, San Francisco, judging the annual Cable Car Bell-Ringing Championship.
June 14
Inn of the Beginning, Cotati, California (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Frank Kidder.
June 15
Mandrake's, Berkeley, with his quartet (sidemen unspecified).
June 19
St. Francis Hotel, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), for "The Mayor's Conference," sharing the bill with Elvin Bishop and Baroque Camerata.
June 21-July 7
El Matador, San Francisco, with Seward McCain, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
July 6
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, editing a finished version of the song "Joe Cool."
July 17-18
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, scoring A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The combo features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Chuck Bennett, trombone; Seward McCain, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
August 3
Union Square, San Francisco, as one of many special guests at a party held to honor the 100th birthday of the city's iconic cable cars. Guaraldi's trio (sidemen unspecified) is among the many performers, which include cast members of the stage musical Oliver!, cable car bell champ Al Davis and his band, and the 12th Naval District Band.
August 6
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, scoring A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The combo features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Chuck Bennett, trombone; Seward McCain, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
August 16-18
El Matador, San Francisco, with Seward McCain, bass; and Jim Peluso, drums.
August 24
The Matrix rises from the dead, at a new location -- 412 Broadway -- that once housed Mr. D's.
September 13
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Herb Caen laments that Basin Street West, another of San Francisco's iconic jazz clubs, "...has gone under, to be replaced by a Korean restaurant."
September 16
Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, California (sidemen unspecified), as a quartet.
September 28-29
The Matrix, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with the Hayden Project.
October 1
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving. The combo features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Chuck Bennett, trombone; Seward McCain, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
October 8
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, recording songs for an unfinished album; the sidemen are Ron McClure, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
Tracks recorded: "Autumn Leaves" and "Billie's Bounce."
November 13-18
The Lighthouse, Hermosa Beach (sidemen unspecified).
November 16
Booked at San Francisco State University, to share the bill with John Handy.
[This concert was canceled when superseded by Guaraldi's booking in Southern California, above.]
November 20
A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving debuts on CBS-TV.
Late December
The newly resurrected Matrix closes after barely four months; the final booking features Malo and Shane on December 21.
December 28-January 5
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified, although bassist Ron McClure remembers subbing one night).
December 29
The Huntington-Sheraton Hotel, Pasadena, for the 1973 Presidential Ball, sponsored by the Tournament of Roses and the Pasadena Chamber of Commerce. Guaraldi is one of many guests present, including Lee Mendelson and John Scott Trotter, to hear a presentation by Tournament Grand Marshall Charles M. Schulz.
[Larry Vuckovich subbed for Guaraldi at El Matador on this one evening.]
Through January 5
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
January 5
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, working on the score for It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
January 11
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, working on the score for It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Eliot Zigmund, drums.
January 23 and 30
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, working on the score for It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Mike Clark, drums.
January 25
Santa Clara University's de Saisset Art Gallery (sidemen unspecified), for the "world premiere" of a two-part "Charlie Brown and Peanuts" presentation alongside Lee Mendelson.
The evening begins as Mendelson shows a film that details the history of his work on the many Peanuts TV specials, after which he takes questions from the audience. Following a short break, Guaraldi and his trio perform a two-hour concert.
(The plan is to subsequently take this show on a "national tour," but there's no indication that ever happened.)
February 1
It's a Mystery, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
February 6
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, for a performance broadcast live over KPFA and KPFB. The sidemen are Seward McCain, bass, and Eliot Zigmund, drums.
This session is released decades later, on the CD The Vince Guaraldi Trio: Live on the Air.
February 12
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, working on the score for It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Eliot Zigmund, drums.
February 16
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax, California (sidemen unspecified).
February 20 and 26
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, working on the score for It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Eliot Zigmund, drums.
Late winter/early spring (?)
Guaraldi and a combo -- musicians not identified -- record his original score for Bicycles Are Beautiful, director Lee Mendelson's 30-minute public service film about the joys of bicycle riding; the film, which stars and is narrated by Bill Cosby, is released in mid-1974.
The film can be viewed, two parts, here and here.
March 14
Wally Heider Studio, San Francisco, working on the score for It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown. The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Seward McCain, bass; and Eliot Zigmund, drums.
March 23
The Showcase, San Francisco -- sidemen unspecified -- for a benefit dinner dance supporting the Junior Alliance of Lincoln Child Center. Guaraldi's Trio shared the bill with Xpression.
March 28-April 5
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), as a last-minute replacement for jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo.
April 9
It's the Easter Beagle, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
April 18
Santa Clara University's de Saisset Art Gallery, alongside Seward McCain, bass; and Mark Rosengarden, drums.
The combo is known to have played "Autumn Leaves," and the performance was followed by a champagne reception.
April 20
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax (sidemen unspecified).
April 28
TV appearances on the National Council of Church's Look Up and Live and Father Mike S. Riley's inter-faith show I Believe.
[There's no indication whether Guaraldi appeared solo, or with a trio.]
April 30-May 5
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
May 2
APUMEC Hall, Oakland (sidemen unspecified), performing in a fund-raising concert for the Committee to Re-Elect Congressman Ron Dellums. The bill includes Cal Tjader, Mongo Santamaria, Willie Bobo, Gabor Szabo and Grito.
May 13
The supper club Butterfield's opens at 1706 El Camino Real, in Menlo Park.
In a few weeks, it will become Guaraldi's final "home away from home" for what remains of his career; he rotates in and out of bookings on a regular basis.
May 14-18
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with headliner Gerry Mulligan.
June 8
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax (sidemen unspecified).
June 11
Wally Heider Recorders, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), working on the tracks "Woodstock's Dream" and "Little Birdie."
June 13-July 14
Butterfield's, Menlo Park, California (sidemen unspecified), initially Thursdays through Sundays.
June 25
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with Reggie Woods.
July 2
The Great American Music Hall, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with "The Great Guitars" of Charlie Byrd and Herb Ellis.
July 16-20
Booked at El Matador, San Francisco, but canceled at the last minute.
August 2
Veterans' Memorial Auditorium, San Mateo, as part of an evening of "unique music, dance and astrological pageantry" featuring the astrological group The Sufi Choir, joined by Jimmy Witherspoon, Big Mama Thornton and Jon Hendricks.
August 6
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax (sidemen unspecified).
August 17
The Winemasters' Guild Winery, Lodi, California (sidemen unspecified).
Early September
Holiday Inn Palo Alto/Stanford. The September 14 San Francisco Chronicle's "After Nightfall" column reports that Guaraldi sat in and accompanied pianist/singer Jodi Marshall one recent evening.
September 17
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax (sidemen unspecified).
October 13
Marine World/Africa USA, at an all-day benefit to help the financially threatened San Francisco Ballet. The event attracts all sorts of San Francisco politicians and performers, including Guaraldi's Trio (sidemen unspecified).
October 28
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax (sidemen unspecified).
December 16-18
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. The sidemen are Seward McCain, bass, and Vince Lateano, drums.
December 16
The Sleeping Lady Cafe, Fairfax (evening; sidemen unspecified).
December 23
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. The sidemen are Seward McCain, bass, and Vince Lateano, drums.
December 30
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. The sidemen are Seward McCain, bass, and Vince Lateano, drums.
December 31
Butterfield's, Menlo Park (sidemen unspecified).
January 3
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown. The sidemen are Seward McCain, bass, and Vince Lateano, drums.
January 28
Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
January 28-February 1
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
April 11
The San Francisco Ballet Association auction preview, taking place at the St. Francis Yacht Club, includes among its biddable auction items "a concert by the Vince Guaraldi Trio."
As announced on April 17, that prize was "won" by Dr. and Mrs. Seymour Farber.
Meanwhile, Guaraldi and his trio (sidemen unspecified) spent the day at Tamalpais High School, giving both a matinee and evening performance. The Guaraldi Trio opened each show by performing a few numbers, and then joined the Tamalpais High School Choir and visiting Hollywood High School Chorus for a presentation of the Grace Cathedral Jazz Mass.
April 12
College of Marin, Kentfield (trio sidemen unspecified), repeating the previous day's show with the Tamalpais High School Choir and Hollywood High School Chorus.
April 30-May 31
Butterfield's, Menlo Park (sidemen unspecified), beginning an ongoing gig Wednesdays through Saturdays.
This booking includes a performance on May 13, for the restaurant's first-anniversary celebration.
May 12
Guaraldi's combo “makes music for two San Francisco Ballet members at their wedding on May 12 at the Farber home” (honoring the prize won during the April 11 SF Ballet fundraising auction).
May 23
Writing in the San Francisco Chronicle, Herb Caen notes that "Vince Guaraldi, working at Butterfield's on the Peninsula, let an old friend sit in for a set, and singer Nancy Douglas immediately offered the stranger a job as her accompanist. 'Sorry,' grinned jazz great Joey Bushkin, 'I'm retired.'"
June 3
Ralph Gleason dies of a heart attack, at the unexpectedly youthful age of 58.
In a glowing tribute that appears in the following day's San Francisco Chronicle, John Wasserman extols Gleason's many virtues, notably his critical integrity and championing of the explanding music scene in the 1960s, which he chronicled "with a very special amalgamation of taste, knowledge, passion and authority."
June 17, 24
Butterfield's, Menlo Park (sidemen unspecified), in a continuing series of Tuesday evening gigs.
June 23
Sweetwater, Mill Valley, California, as a trio (sidemen unspecified), sharing the bill with the Heartbreakers, in a benefit for Bread and Roses, folksinger Mizni Farina's benefit agency.
July 1, 8, 15, 22
Butterfield's, Menlo Park (sidemen unspecified), in a continuing series of Tuesday evening gigs.
July 29-August 28
Butterfield's, Menlo Park (sidemen unspecified), now playing Tuesdays through Thursdays.
August 3
Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), for the annual "Jazz in Stern Grove Music Festival."
The Bill includes Azteca, Rudy Salvini's Big Band and Jimmy Diamond's Nob Hill Gang.
August 23
Winemasters' Guild Winery, Lodi, with his trio (sidemen unspecified).
August 30
Santa Barbara, California -- Seward McCain, bass; and Mark Rosengarden, drums -- for the Autumn Jazz Festival. Guaraldi's set is scheduled to include his "Charlie Brown Suite."
The bill includes Louie Bellson, John Lewis and John Handy.
September 2-ongoing
Butterfield's, Menlo Park (sidemen unspecified), now playing Tuesdays, Wednesdays and occasional weekends.
September 6
Winemasters' Guild Winery, Lodi (sidemen unspecified).
September 12
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown. The combo includes Seward McCain, electric bass; and Mark Rosengarden, drums.
September 18-19
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown. The combo includes Seward McCain, electric bass; and Mark Rosengarden, drums.
September 18-20
El Matador, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified).
September 24
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown. The combo includes Seward McCain, electric bass; and Mark Rosengarden, drums.
October 28
You're a Good Sport, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
October 29
John Scott Trotter dies of cancer, at the too-youthful age of 67.
October 31 (?)
Ernestine Anderson is the final jazz act booked into Basin Street West (which, following a change in ownership, has been re-named D's Basin Street West since late summer). The club closes and, beginning in January 1976, is revived as a rock 'n' roll joint.
November 20
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), recording songs for an unproduced album.
Tracks recorded: "Joe Cool," "No. 1 Snoopy Place," "Special Song" and "Your Song."
December 8
The Orphanage, San Francisco (sidemen unspecified), as part of "Jon Hendricks and Friends."
The bill also includes Cal Tjader and John Handy.
December 9
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, recording tracks for an unproduced album.
The band features Tom Harrell, trumpet; Bill Atwood, trumpet and trombone; Seward McCain, electric bass and flute; and Mike Clark and Mark Rosengarden, drums.
December 21
A San Francisco Chronicle travel round-up reports that "When Royal Cruise Line's MS Golden Odyssey leaves Los Angeles Feb. 22 for a 10-day Panama Canal cruise, jazz musicians Cal Tjader and the Vince Guaraldi Trio, and singer Rosemary Clooney will be aboard. They'll perform in a jazz festival afloat, with Jimmy Lyons, producer of the Monterey Jazz Festival, acting as host. Passengers have been invited to take their musical instruments along, and join in jam sessions and discussion groups with the musicians."
Alas, it's a gig that Guaraldi won't be able to make.
Through February 6
Butterfield's, Menlo Park (sidemen unspecified), playing Tuesdays, Wednesdays and occasional weekends.
January 9
CBS-TV broadcasts Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown, which includes a brief acknowledgment of Guaraldi (but no on-camera footage).
January 28
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. The combo includes Seward McCain, electric bass; and Jim Zimmerman, drums.
Late January/Early February
A booking "in the mountains," where Guaraldi and his sidemen -- Seward McCain, bass; and Jim Zimmerman, drums -- perform and enjoy winter skiing by day.
February 3
Wally Heider Studios, San Francisco, working on the score for It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown. The combo includes Seward McCain, electric bass; and Jim Zimmerman, drums.
February 6
After completing studio recording work on It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown in the afternoon, Guaraldi suffers a fatal heart attack between sets at Butterfield's -- performing with Seward McCain, bass; and Jim Zimmerman, drums -- while taking a break in the adjacent Red Cottage Inn. Guaraldi is 47 years old.
February 9
A private service takes place for Guaraldi at Our Lady of Mercy Church, Daly City; this is followed by a public service at the N. Gray & Co. Funeral Chapel, San Francisco. The burial takes place in Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, California.
A brief bit of KRON-TV's news coverage of the service, with comments by Lee Mendelson, can be viewed here.
March 16
It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV.
March 28
The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, hosts the first "Tribute to Vince Guaraldi" concert by various Bay Area musicians. This year's gathering includes Larry Vuckovich, Benny Barth and George DeQuattro.
[This event turns into an annual tradition, generally held on or near each Easter, at least through 1981.]
April 16
The big-screen feature film A Boy Named Charlie Brown makes its network television debut.
May 17
During the annual broadcast of television's Emmy Awards, Lee Mendelson takes the stage to discuss how Guaraldi changed the musical landscape of animated TV specials.
May 20
Grace Cathedral, San Francisco: Cal Tjader's quintet -- Lonnie Hewitt, electric piano; Robb Fisher, acoustic bass; Pete Riso, drums; and Poncho Sanchez, congas -- steps in to fill the booking that Guaraldi's death prevented him from making. Tjader honors Guaraldi during this performance, dedicating two songs to him.
June 27
Sigmund Stern Recreation Grove, San Francisco: A tribute concert to Guaraldi is delivered by Cal Tjader's Quintet (Frank Mecurio, piano; Robb Fisher, bass; Pete Riso, drums; and Poncho Sanchez, congas).
The program also includes the Turk Murphy Band and Rudy Salvini's 18-piece big band.
November 21
The Trident closes, severing another link to Guaraldi's past.
January 10
San Francisco's El Matador closes, severing yet another link to Guaraldi's past.
The site gains a second life as the Moonshine, which doesn't last long.
April 3
The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, hosts the second "Tribute to Vince Guaraldi" concert by various Bay Area musicians. This year's gathering includes Larry Vuckovich, Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly, Benny Barth, George DeQuattro, John Rae, Seward McCain and Vince Lateano.
October 27
It's Your First Kiss, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV. Although the score is composed by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen, Guaraldi receives credit for "Linus and Lucy."
Fourth quarter (?)
Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez and Charles Schulz team with the American Dental Association to produce a pair of 5-minute public service shorts. The first, Tooth Brushing with Charlie Brown, is scored (posthumously) by Guaraldi, when Mendelson "borrows" several versions of "The Heartburn Waltz" from 1975's Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.
Additional information about these shorts can be read here.
Tooth Brushing with Charlie Brown is easy to find via YouTube.
December 24
Record World probably becomes the first publication to recognize the eventual enduring quality of Guaraldi's score for A Charlie Brown Christmas. In a feature column on "good Christmas records," authors David McGee and Barry Taylor make a point to cite Guaraldi's album: "Nothing like it anywhere. Vince Guaraldi fused classical, pop and jazz in writing the mellowest of scores for the Emmy Award-winning television show. Light and lyrical, with boundless good humor, it is enough to make you believe in Santa Claus and man's inherent goodness."
February 23
What a Nightmare, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV. The score is once again composed by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen; Guaraldi receives credit for "Linus and Lucy."
April 2
The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, hosts the third "Tribute to Vince Guaraldi" concert by various Bay Area musicians. This year's gathering includes Don Haas, Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly, Benny Barth, Larry Vuckovich, George DeQuattro, John Rae, Seward McCain, Vince Lateano and Bob Lucas.
January 5
Happy Birthday, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV. This anniversary show includes a nice tribute to Guaraldi by Charles M. Schulz.
March 19
You're the Greatest, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV. The score is once again composed by Ed Bogas and Judy Munsen, who receive sole credit. Guaraldi isn't mentioned, nor is "Linus and Lucy" used.
[None of the next 13 prime-time Peanuts specials would mention Guaraldi, or use any of his music.]
April 15
The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, hosts the fourth "Tribute to Vince Guaraldi" concert by various Bay Area musicians. This year's gathering includes Cal Tjader, Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly, Benny Barth, John Rae, Larry Vuckovich, Seward McCain, Vince Lateano, George DeQuattro and Lee Katzman.
October 23
Following the model of the earlier American Dental Association public service short, Lee Mendelson, Bill Melendez and Charles Schulz team this time with the American Lung Association and the fledgling U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, for Charlie Brown Clears the Air. Guaraldi again scores this short posthumously, when Mendelson lifts three long tracks -- "Linus and Lucy," "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" and "Charlie Brown Theme" -- from 1966's It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown.
The short debuts on this day, as the American Lung Association kicks off its 1979 Christmas Seal campaign. President Carter accepts the first page of Christmas Seals during a brief ceremony that takes place in the Oval Office. Schulz attends this event with three young artists, and then everybody watches the premiere of Charlie Brown Clears the Air.
Additional information about these shorts can be read here.
Charlie Brown Clears the Air also is easy to find via YouTube.
First quarter (?)
The second of the Mendelson/Melendez/Schulz American Dental Association public service shorts, It's Dental Flossophy, Charlie Brown, is again scored (posthumously) by Guaraldi, when Mendelson borrows "Heartburn Waltz" and three other tracks from 1975's Be My Valentine, Charlie Brown.
Additional information about these shorts can be read here.
Like the others, It's Dental Flossophy, Charlie Brown is easy to find via YouTube.
Late Winter/Early Spring
Fantasy records releases the album Vince Guaraldi's Greatest Hits.
April 6
The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, hosts the fifth "Tribute to Vince Guaraldi" concert by various Bay Area musicians. This year's gathering includes Larry Vuckovich, Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly, Benny Barth, George DeQuattro, John Rae, Seward McCain, Vince Lateano and Bob Lucas.
July
Following a catastrophic fire, the Boarding House is torn down and replaced by condos. The original address -- 960 Bush Street -- ceases to exist.
The Boarding House re-opens on August 8 at 901 Columbus, but fades away in February 1983.
Summer (?)
Wally Heider Recording ceases to exist. Heider had minimized his involvement two years earlier, when he sold the business to Filmways, which in turn (in 1980) sold it to a partnership of Dan Alexander, Tom Sharples, and Michael Ward, who renamed the business Hyde Street Studios. At that point, Heider turned his attention elsewhere.
April 19
The Bach Dancing & Dynamite Society, Half Moon Bay, hosts the sixth "Tribute to Vince Guaraldi" concert by various Bay Area musicians. This year's gathering includes Larry Vuckovich, Eddie Duran, Dean Reilly, Benny Barth, George DeQuattro, John Rae, Seward McCain, Vince Lateano and Bob Lucas.
July
Keyboard Magazine publishes an extensive seven-page feature article about Guaraldi and his career, written by Bob Doerschuk.
[This proves to be the only article of substance about Guaraldi, for nearly two decades.]
June 15
Jazz guitarist Ron Eschete covers "Christmas Time Is Here" on his holiday album, Christmas Impressions.
[This is believed to be the first jazz cover of this Guaraldi song.]
July 10
Keystone Korner owner Todd Barkan reluctantly closes his club's doors for the final time, concluding the impressive 11-year run of San Francisco's last, lingering "classic" jazz venue.
Two days later, the venue is seized by the Internal Revenue Service, for Barkan's failure to pay employees' withholding and Social Security taxes for 1980 and '81.
Early July
The Purple Onion closes. San Francisco Chronicle columnist Herb Caen reports that owners Keith Rockwell and Virginia Steinhoff are "a bit tired of the scene."
Jazz pianist David Benoit's seventh album, This Side Up, includes a "funky" cover of Guaraldi's "Linus and Lucy." The song becomes a hit, particularly on New York's WPIX 101.9 FM.
Fantasy Records begins to re-issue Guaraldi's albums on CD, starting with A Charlie Brown Christmas.
October 21
After slightly more than a decade of prime-time Peanuts animated specials that feature work by musicians who deliver their own original scores -- with no trace of Guaraldi's iconic themes -- "The Mayflower Voyagers," the first installment of the eight-part Peanuts miniseries, This Is America, Charlie Brown, debuts on CBS-TV. Each episode is scored by a different musician -- including David Benoit, George Winston, Dave Brubeck, Dave Grusin, Wynton Marsalis and Ellis Marsalis -- a few of whom cover "Linus and Lucy" and other Guaraldi themes. Winston's score for "Birth of the Constitution," airing October 28, has the most Guaraldi content.
September 25
GRP Records releases the compilation album Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown, which features an all-Guaraldi package performed by music luminaries such as David Benoit, Chick Corea, Gerry Mulligan, Kenny G, B.B. King, Joe Williams and Patti Austin.
October 24
New York's Carnegie Hall presents "Jazzin' It Up with Snoopy," a concert that celebrates Peanuts' 40th anniversary. Performers include Grover Washington Jr., Ron Carter, Geri Allen, Roy Hargrove, Taj Mahal and David Beniot. Guaraldi's music is well represented.
October 8
Dave Brubeck -- accompanied by Bobby Militello, flute, alto and tenor sax; Chris Brubeck, electric bass and bass trombone; Jack Six, acoustic bass; and Dan Brubeck and Randy Jones, drums -- releases the album Quiet as the Moon. It features the music Brubeck wrote for This Is America, Charlie Brown, along with covers of Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" and "Linus and Lucy."
March 9
Monty Budwig, a member of Guaraldi's second "classic trio" alongside Colin Bailey, dies at age 62.
November 27
It's Christmastime Again, Charlie Brown debuts on CBS-TV. David Benoit takes over the Peanuts scoring franchise with this special, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
January 18
You're in the Superbowl, Charlie Brown debuts on NBC-TV. David Benoit once again scores the show, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
April 18
Wynton and Ellis Marsalis collaborate on the album Joe Cool's Blues, which features Wynton's original music for This Is America, Charlie Brown, along with the Ellis Marsalis trio -- Marsalis, piano; Reginald Veal, bass; and Martin Butler, drums -- covering numerous Guaraldi compositions.
September 17
Solo pianist George Winston releases Linus & Lucy: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, which features numerous Peanuts TV themes, along with other Guaraldi compositions such as "Monterey," "Treat Street" and "Theme to Grace."
February
Fantasy Records' A Charlie Brown Christmas goes platinum, with sales of more than 1 million copies.
August 5
It Was My Best Birthday Ever, Charlie Brown is released directly to home video. David Benoit once again scores the show, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
December
Starbucks "brands" Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas album and sells the CD in coffee shops across the country.
September 8
Fantasy Records releases Charlie Brown's Holiday Hits, a collection of (mostly) previously unreleased Guaraldi Peanuts cues.
November 28
George Winston presents an all-Guaraldi concert at the Luther Burbank Center in Santa Rosa, California. Audience members include Charles and Jeannie Schulz; Guaraldi's mother, Carmella; and his son, David, and his family.
May 9
David Benoit -- accompanied by Christian McBride, bass; Peter Erskine, drums and percussion; and numerous guest artists -- releases the album Here's to You, Charlie Brown: 50 Great Years. The disc features nine of Guaraldi's most iconic Peanuts themes, along with one song from the stage play You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.
September 12
It's the Pied Piper, Charlie Brown is released directly to home video. David Benoit once again scores the show, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
September 19
Jazz pianist Cyrus Chestnut -- accompanied by Christian McBride, bass; Steve Gadd, drums; and numerous guest artists -- releases his own version of A Charlie Brown Christmas: a cover of Guaraldi's entire album, along with two Guaraldi-esque originals by Chestnut.
December
Hallmark "brands" Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas album and sells the CD in gift and stationery stores across the country.
June 7
Slightly more than a year after Charles M. Schulz's death, he is posthumously awarded the Congressional Gold Medal, one of the United States' highest civilian honors. As the Marine Corps Band enters the Capitol Rotunda, where the ceremony takes place, the musicians play "Linus and Lucy."
November 22/p>
Bassist Fred Marshall, a member of Guaraldi's trio alongside Jerry Granelli during the mid-60s, dies at age 63.
February 14
A Charlie Brown Valentine debuts on ABC-TV. David Benoit once again scores the show, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
December 8
Charlie Brown's Christmas Tales debuts on ABC-TV. David Benoit once again scores the show, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
August 19
Bluebird/BMG releases the album The Charlie Brown Suite, which finally allows fans to hear this longer work Guaraldi and his band performed back in May of 1969; the CD also includes a few other Guaraldi selections.
August 29
Lucy Must Be Traded, Charlie Brown debuts on ABC-TV. David Benoit once again scores the show, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
December 9
I Want a Dog for Christmas, Charlie Brown debuts on ABC-TV. David Benoit once again scores the show, and includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
October 19
Vince Guaraldi's son, David, dips into tape archives and -- working with various labels and producers, over the years -- begins to issue much of his father's unreleased work. The first album, Oaxaca, will be followed by many others. In a nice nod toward history, the CD is issued on Vince Guaraldi's revived D&D label.
December 1
Fantasy Records merges with Concord Records, losing its own identity to become part of the Concord Music Group.
August 2
David Guaraldi co-produces and releases the first CD re-issue of his father's extremely scarce album, Vince Guaraldi with the San Francisco Boys Chorus. It, too, is released on the revived D&D label, as will be the case with future CDs.
October 4
Concord/Peak Records releases 40 Years: A Charlie Brown Christmas, an anthology album with covers of Guaraldi's original TV special themes by artists including David Benoit, Dave Koz, Vanessa Williams, Rick Braun, The Rippingtons and many others.
December
After having remained unseen for four decades, Lee Mendelson's first Peanuts documentary, 1964's A Boy Named Charlie Brown -- the film in which Guaraldi actually debuted "Linus and Lucy" and other iconic Peanuts songs -- is released on DVD by the Charles M. Schulz Museum.
December 17
The Charles M. Schulz Museum, in Santa Rosa, California, hosts an event to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the debut broadcast of A Charlie Brown Christmas. Featured guests include Lee Mendelson, Vince Guaraldi's son David, former child actor Peter Robbins (the original voice of Charlie Brown) and 10 former members of the St. Paul Episcopal Church Choir, who were children when they recorded the songs in that television special.
January 19
David Guaraldi once again dips into tape archives and releases North Beach, an album of his father's music -- live and studio -- previously unavailable in any form.
October 10
Concord Music releases a re-mastered version of Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas, complete with numerous bonus tracks.
November 20
He's a Bully, Charlie Brown debuts on ABC-TV. This proves to be David Benoit's final assignment on an animated Peanuts TV special, and he once again includes fresh covers of numerous Guaraldi compositions.
December
The U.S. Postal Service "brands" Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas album and sells the CD in Post Offices across the country.
January 1
David Guaraldi releases The Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, a collection of previously unheard tracks that Vince Guaraldi recorded for various Peanuts TV specials.
January 12
Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas album finally hits No. 1 on Billboard's Top Pop Catalogue Albums list, for the first time in its 42-year existence.
[It also remains on Billboard's Top 200 best-selling album list at all times, and generally places -- each year -- within the Top 25 of Billboard's best-selling holiday albums.]
February 6
David Guaraldi releases The Lost Cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials, Volume 2, a second collection of previously unheard tracks that Vince Guaraldi recorded for various Peanuts TV specials.
October 28
David Benoit -- accompanied by Dave Carpenter, bass; John Robinson, drums; and numerous guest artists -- releases the album Jazz for Peanuts: A Retrospective of the Charlie Brown TV Themes. In addition to Benoit's Guaraldi covers and original themes for the later animated specials, the disc also features previously released tracks by Dave Brubeck, Wynton Marsalis and Kenny G.
November 4
Toby Gleason and Andrew Thomas begin work on what will become their full-length documentary film: The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi.
November 14
David Guaraldi releases The Vince Guaraldi Trio: Live on the Air, the debut appearance of a 60-minute concert given February 6, 1974, and broadcast live over San Francisco's KPFA and KPFB.
June 30
Concord Music releases the album Vince Guaraldi: Essential Standards.
September 19
Toby Gleason and Andrew Thomas preview The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi as a work-in-progress at the annual Monterey Jazz Festival.
October 6
Concord Music releases the two-CD album The Definitive Vince Guaraldi.
November 16
The Eric Byrd Trio -- Byrd, piano; Bhagwan Khalsa, acoustic bass; Alphonso Young Jr., drums -- releases the album A Charlie Brown Christmas. The disc features eight of Guaraldi's themes from the Christmas special.
Late Autumn/Early Winter
Guaraldi's original score for A Charlie Brown Christmas hits sales of 2 million.
February 2
George Winston releases Love Will Come: The Music of Vince Guaraldi, Volume 2, his second collection of solo piano Guaraldi covers. Once again, the album features a mix of Peanuts TV themes and other Guaraldi compositions, such as "Macedonia," "Jambo's," "Nobody Else" and "Little David."
April 19
Toby Gleason and Andrew Thomas begin screening The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi at film festivals across the United States, starting with the eighth annual Redwood Coast Whale and Jazz Festival, in Point Arena, California.
April 20
Concord Music releases the album Peanuts Portraits, which contains previously unissued Peanuts tracks by Guaraldi.
August
The building that once housed Butterfield's, in Menlo Park, finally is torn down. Its final tenant -- an Indian restaurant -- had been out of business for some time.
[The adjacent Red Cottage Inn, on the other hand, remains a going concern.]
September 28
Concord Music releases a re-mastered version of Guaraldi's Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, complete with numerous bonus tracks.
December
Starbucks "brands" Guaraldi's A Charlie Brown Christmas album a second time, and once again sells the CD in coffee shops across the country.
August 30
The Lori Mechem Quartet -- Mechem, piano; Andy Reiss, guitar; Roger Spencer, bass; and Chris Brown, drums -- releases the album Christmas Is Coming: A Tribute to A Charlie Brown Christmas. The disc covers most of the music from the holiday special, along with Guaraldi's "Charlie Brown Theme" and a few unrelated Christmas standards.
November 24
David Guaraldi releases An Afternoon with the Vince Guaraldi Quartet, the debut appearance of recordings made during several of the performances given by the combo in October of 1967, at the Old Town Theatre in Los Gatos, California.
December 1
The Ornaments -- Jen Gunderman, piano; James Haggerty, bass; and Martin Lynds, drums -- release the album A Vince Guaraldi Christmas: Live at Middletree. The disc covers all of the music from the holiday special.
Winter
Guaraldi's original score for A Charlie Brown Christmas hits sales of 3 million.
May 23
Guaraldi's original score for A Charlie Brown Christmas is one of 25 recordings inducted this year into the U.S. Library of Congress' National Recording Registry: an impressive honor guaranteeing that the album really will live forever.
August 7
Concord Music releases The Very Best of Vince Guaraldi, a 14-song collection that gathers more of his best work from the Fantasy years: the late 1950s through the mid-60s.
August 15
Guaraldi's Grace Cathedral Mass is re-created in all its glory, during a 50th anniversary presentation at (where else?) San Francisco's Grace Cathedral. Special guests include the Rev. Charles Gompertz, who relates the events that prompted him to commission Guaraldi for this honor, back in the day; the Rev. David A Crump, also involved back in 1965, when he was vicar of St. Jude the Apostle in Cupertino, California; and four of the original performing members of the St. Paul's Church Choir (then children), joining the Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church Choir, led by John McDaniel, in handling the vocal elements of this new presentation of the Mass. Music is provided by the Jim Martinez Trio: Martinez on piano, Brian Clark on bass, and Tim Metz on drums.
Highlights included the surprise appearance of former Guaraldi sideman Lee Charlton, who took over on drums for "Holy Communion Blues"; and Pennsylvania's Rev. Bill Carter, who slid alongside the piano bench and did a spontaneous duel with Martinez. (Carter was in town to "check out" the Mass, as he would deliver his own 50th anniversary presentation a few weeks later.)
September 6
The Rev. Bill Carter presides over a second re-creation of Guaraldi's Jazz Mass, at his First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania. Vocals duties are handled by the church choir, while Carter -- when not speaking -- handles the music with his quartet: Carter on piano, Al Hamme on sax and flute, Tony Marino on bass, and Tyler Dempsey on drums.
November 6
Blue Sky Studios' The Peanuts Movie debuts. The soundtrack includes several of the original Guaraldi trio recordings -- among them "Skating" and "Linus and Lucy" -- and Christophe Beck's new score is decidedly Guaraldi-esque. The soundtrack album features the same Guaraldi Trio tracks, along with Beck's covers of several classic Guaraldi themes.
November 25
The Jose "Juicy" Gonzales Trio -- Gonzales, piano and vocals; Michael Marcus, bass; and Matt Jorgensen, drums -- release the album Linus and Juicy: A Holiday Album. The disc covers all of the music from the holiday special, along with some additional seasonal hits.
December 9
In a ceremony attended by Lee Mendelson, Jeannie Schulz, and David and Dia Guaraldi, Concord/Fantasy announces that Guaraldi's soundtrack album to A Charlie Brown Christmas has received a quadruple platinum certificate, indicating sales of 4 million units. (That milestone actually was hit sometime in August, but the label waited until the anniversary of the TV special's debut to make this announcement.)
March 17
Guaraldi's full score for the 1969 film A Boy Named Charlie Brown -- as opposed to the "story" LP that appeared in tandem with the movie's release -- finally gets a tiffany digital presentation by the soundtrack specialty label Kritzerland. The limited-issue printing of 1,000 copies sells out in a week.
September 24
Jessica Sloan, the mayor of Mill Valley, California, announces that this is "Vince Guaraldi Day," via an offical proclamation. Since no parades, speeches or other Guaraldi-related tributes occur on this day, it appears that Mayor Sloan does this solely to help publicize a Guaraldi-themed concert by Larry Vuckovich's quintet, that afternoon at Mill Valley's Throckmorton Theatre. (It pays to have friends in high places!)
December 10
Jazz pianist Jose "Juicy" Gonzales releases his trio album Linus and Juicy, which covers almost all of Guaraldi's score for A Charlie Brown Christmas. ("What Child Is This"/"Greensleeves" was left behind.) The album highlight is the title track, Gonzales' wild interpretation of "Linus and Lucy," and definitely one of the most entertaining covers of that tune ever released.
January 25
The R4and4zzo Big B4nd, led by bassist arranger Andrew Randazzo, releases the album A Big Band Tribute to Vince Guaraldi. The nine inventively titled tracks ("Tannenbomb," "Black Friday," "SK8N" and so forth) feature clever arrangements of the major themes and songs from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
April 21
The Rev. Bill Carter and his Presbybop Quartet -- Carter (piano), Mike Carbone (flute), Joe Michaels (bass) and Tyler Dempsey (drums) -- once again present Guaraldi's Jazz Mass, this time at St. Stephen's Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania.
July 6
The prestige label Omnivore Recordings releases Vince Guaraldi: The Complete Warner Bros.—Seven Arts Recordings, a two-disc compilation digital set encompassing the contents of Oh, Good Grief!, The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi and Alma-Ville, along with four previously unreleased bonus tracks: covers of Bacharach/David's "Do You Know the Way to San Jose" and the gospel hit "Oh, Happy Day," an alternate take of "The Beat Goes On," and a Guaraldi original titled "The Share Cropper's Daughter." As an added treat, Omnivore also issues a new LP pressing of Oh, Good Grief! on translucent red vinyl.
October 5
Concord's Craft Recordings sub-label issues a "soundtrack album" to It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown. Alas, not having access to Guaraldi's original studio tapes -- which are believed lost -- the CD is built from a "baked" music-and-effects track; the disc's individual tracks feature music only as heard in the animated special, with short edits, fades and some abrupt stops ... along with sound effects.
March 23
Grammy Award-winning composer/arranger Dick Tunney’s commissioned three-movement Peanuts Concerto, built from numerous classic Guaraldi themes, debuts with Orchestra Kentucky; the performance takes place in Bowling Green, Kentucky, under the baton of conductor/music director Jeff Reed, with Jeffrey Biegel at the piano. The songs included in some fashion are “Linus and Lucy,” which appears in some form in all three movements; “Thanksgiving Theme”; “Red Baron”; “Oh, Good Grief!”; Beethoven’s Sonata Pathetique (a tip of the cap to Schroeder); “Happiness Is”; “Rain, Rain Go Away”; “Skating”; “Christmas Time Is Here”; and “O Tannenbaum.”
July 18
The National Music Council (NMC) honors Guaraldi (along with iconic funk visionary George Clinton, and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum) at the organization’s 36th annual American Eagle Awards, as a highlight of the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM) summer activities in Nashville. Guaraldi is fêted by famed solo pianist George Winston; and Andy Thomas, director and co-producer of the 2009 documentary, The Anatomy of Vince Guaraldi. The award is accepted on her late father's behalf by Dia Guaraldi.
November 22
Guitarist Eddie Duran, a member of Guaraldi's original trio, dies at the age of 94.
December 1
The Jody Nardone Trio -- Nardone, piano; Jerry Navarro, acoustic bass; and Chris Brown, drums -- release the album A Charlie Brown Christmas: A Tribute to Vince Guaraldi, Recorded Live in Nashville. The disc covers all of the music from the holiday special, along with other Guaraldi Peanuts cues ("Surfin' Snoopy," "Thanksgiving Theme" and "The Great Pumpkin Waltz") some additional seasonal hits.
April 30
Long-ago Guaraldi Trio drummer Jerry Granelli and his new trio -- pianist Jamie Saft, and bassist Bradley Christopher Jones -- release The Jerry Granelli Trio Plays Vince Guaraldi & Mose Allison, honoring the two legends with whom Granelli spent most of his career. Guaraldi is represented by three songs: "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," "Christmas Time Is Here" and "Star Song."
October 2
Jazz pianist David Benoit takes an uncharacteristically solo approach to the album It's a David Benoit Christmas. The 18 tracks feature all the songs from A Charlie Brown Christmas, along with other Guaraldi Peanuts themes ("Peppermint Patty," "You're in Love, Charlie Brown" and others) and familiar seasonal classics.
November 14
Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack album enters the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart at #198.
November 21
The album climbs to #84 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
November 28
The album climbs to #55 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 5
The album climbs to #23 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 12
The album climbs to #14 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 19
The album remains at #14 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 26
The album climbs to #12 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
January 2
After 55 years, for the first time ever, Guaraldi's soundtrack album for A Charlie Brown Christmas hits the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot 200 Album Chart ... in the just-made-it No. 10 spot.
January 9
The album drops back to #24 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart, then disappears.
March 9
Bassist Dean Reilly, a member of Guaraldi's original trio alongside Eddie Duran, dies at age 94.
July 20
Drummer Jerry Granelli, a member of Guaraldi's trio off and on throughout the 1960s, dies at age 80.
September 20
Colin Bailey, a member of Guaraldi's second "classic trio" alongside Monty Budwig, dies at age 87.
November 13
Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack album enters the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart at #153.
November 20
The album climbs to #63 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
November 27
The album climbs to #51 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 4
The album climbs to #21 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 11
The album climbs to #10 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 18
The album climbs to #9 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
December 25
The album climbs to #8 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
January 1
Guaraldi's Charlie Brown Christmas soundtrack album peaks at #6 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart.
"Linus and Lucy" debuts, for the very first time, at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. "Christmas Time Is Here" also debuts for the first time, at #48.
This is the first time a Guaraldi song has charted since "Cast Your Fate to the Wind," back in 1962-63.
January 8
The album drops back to #8 on the Billboard 200 Top Albums chart, then disappears.
"Christmas Time Is Here" rises to #41 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, then vanishes. ("Linus and Lucy" charted only for the previous week.)
May 10
Guaraldi's soundtrack to A Charlie Brown Christmas is certified quintuple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.
(Back in the day, such a count would have been tabulated by physical album sales: LPs and CDs. The RIAA included streams beginning in February 2016, so this Charlie Brown Christmas milestone is based on more than 4 million copies purchased over various formats, and 1.14 billion streams.)
(The formula is 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video song streams = 10 track sales = 1 album sale.)