I didn't know he had done anything like that.' 'I always knew Vince was a great pianist, but the classical-string arrangements surprised me. She poured through meters of tapes - 'about four albums' worth' - and was caught off-guard by the things she heard. 'I jumped at the project because I, too, had played piano for some of the early Charlie Brown specials.' 'David brought the tapes to me one day and asked me to help him get them released,' she said. And with the help of renowned producer Dawn Atkinson, the tapes were released on CD as 'The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites.'Ītkinson - who has worked with such artists as Tuck & Patti, Will Ackerman and Philip Aaberg - was in Miami when I caught up with her by phone a couple of weeks ago. Tapes of a rare concert, complete with string arrangements, were handed over to Guaraldi's son, David. There was pianist Vince Guaraldi's wonderful jazz music that highlighted each show.Ī few months ago, some never-before-released works from Guaraldi, who died of a heart attack in 1976, were brought to the forefront, thanks to pianist and Guaraldi aficionado George Winston. Then, in high school, I was cast as Snoopy in my senior drama-class production of 'You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown.'īut it wasn't just the comic strip or all the compilation books that made me smile. And being a young kid who liked to play in the dirt, I also related to Pig Pen. And my mom said I reminded her of Charlie Brown when I was growing up.īeing a musician, I related more to Schroeder, and I wanted to be a philosopher like Linus. I watched all the TV specials, everything from the classic 'A Charlie Brown Christmas' and 'It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown' to 'It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown' and 'A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving.' He's been a big part of my life, believe it or not.

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