Charlie Brown Christmas
Keeping my chill
Often, but not always, my job over the festive period is to do the ‘big shop’ at our local supermarket, in preparation for Christmas dinner. It’s hell. The noise, the relentless barrage of screaming adults, whining children, and tanoy messages. There’s a constant crash of stock cages and drunk trolleys. Finally, layered over the top of this is the overly cheerful bauble-vomit that is the get-your-shopping-done-quickly music.
I have, over the years, developed a successful strategy to avoid joining in the rampage. I adopt a policy of ’extreme calm and total cheerfulness’. I allow four hours to do a 1-hour shop, and put something chill in the headphones. I’m not usually one for Jazz, but there’s something about the kind of smooth cocktail jazz of the Vince Guaraldi trio.
Growing up in the UK, the Charlie Brown Christmas special is not so embedded in the national psyche as it is in the US. But, as a child of the 70s, it was something that came on TV occasionally, and I always sought it out when I could. As I grew a little older, the “A bit like a Charlie Brown soundtrack” was a byword to describe a kind of sexy cocktail jazz sound, for me and my friends.
In the late 80s and into the 90s, this kind of sound briefly had a resurgence with the Acid Jazz scene typified by James Taylor Quartet (who I loved) and many more. But, it was soon overwhelmed by a kind of “Yeah baby” pastiche, and eventually smothered by Austin Powers.
Thirty-odd years later, and I find myself needing something Christmassy, but not saccharine. A shot of nostalgia, without a nylon xmas jumper. Who better than these guys? 1
I could not have chosen better. I must have let that album loop over about 3 times whilst I was shopping. Bliss.
I think it definitely took me back to a childhood place, that may have been reflected in the Christmas food selection. It is perhaps all a bit white bread, paxo stuffing and ready-stuffed turkey crown, but it kept me in a state of calm.
Vince Guaraldi died pretty young, from a heart attack 2. His legacy has lived on, creating part of the audio tapestry of life for many people and remains much loved. His music was the sound of Charlie Brown, and this album was far cooler than any kids animated TV christmas special soundtrack had any right to be.
Cover image: Ely Cathedral Choir, by Diliff, CC BY-SA 3.0 - https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ely_Cathedral_Choir,_Cambridgeshire,_UK_-_Diliff.jpgcommons.wikimedia.org