Editing It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown (soundtrack)
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Guaraldi and his trio – double bassist Kelly Bryan and drummer Lee Charlton – were booked at the debut Pacific Jazz Festival on October 7–9, 1966, at the [[Orange County Fair (California)|Orange County Fairgrounds]]. He had travelled to Southern California several days early, for an October 4 recording session for ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' at [[Desilu Productions|Desilu]]'s Gower Street Studio in Hollywood. The session reunited Guaraldi with former sidemen [[Monty Budwig]] (double bass) and [[Colin Bailey (drummer)|Colin Bailey]] (drums), with whom he had recorded the scores for ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack)|A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'' and the unaired ''[[Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown|A Boy Named Charlie Brown]]'' documentary. They were joined by [[Mannie Klein|Emmanuel Klein]] (trumpet), John Gray (guitar) and [[Ronnie Lang|Ronald Lang]] (woodwinds), creating a sextet. The sextet was supervised by composer and music arranger [[John Scott Trotter]], who brought a wider, orchestral sound to the increasingly ambitious melodies Guaraldi was composing for the ''Peanuts'' television franchise.<ref name="linerPumpkinBang"/> Trotter's presence helped Guaraldi refine his music scoring technique. As an experienced jazz pianist, Guaraldi had recorded many of the previous ''Peanuts'' music cues akin to how one would in a recording studio: in the form of extended takes that frequently exceeded the necessary duration to synchronize with the on-screen actions they were intended to accompany. Consequently, a considerable portion of the music was prematurely faded out as each scene reached its conclusion. "That had become undisciplined," Mendelson recalled in 2018. "John was a very, very large man, and he'd stand on this little podium in this big recording studio and direct the musicians. It was kind of fun; I don't know who was paying attention to whom, but it did help organize the music a little better."<ref name="linerPumpkinBang"/> |
Guaraldi and his trio – double bassist Kelly Bryan and drummer Lee Charlton – were booked at the debut Pacific Jazz Festival on October 7–9, 1966, at the [[Orange County Fair (California)|Orange County Fairgrounds]]. He had travelled to Southern California several days early, for an October 4 recording session for ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' at [[Desilu Productions|Desilu]]'s Gower Street Studio in Hollywood. The session reunited Guaraldi with former sidemen [[Monty Budwig]] (double bass) and [[Colin Bailey (drummer)|Colin Bailey]] (drums), with whom he had recorded the scores for ''[[A Charlie Brown Christmas (soundtrack)|A Charlie Brown Christmas]]'' and the unaired ''[[Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown|A Boy Named Charlie Brown]]'' documentary. They were joined by [[Mannie Klein|Emmanuel Klein]] (trumpet), John Gray (guitar) and [[Ronnie Lang|Ronald Lang]] (woodwinds), creating a sextet. The sextet was supervised by composer and music arranger [[John Scott Trotter]], who brought a wider, orchestral sound to the increasingly ambitious melodies Guaraldi was composing for the ''Peanuts'' television franchise.<ref name="linerPumpkinBang"/> Trotter's presence helped Guaraldi refine his music scoring technique. As an experienced jazz pianist, Guaraldi had recorded many of the previous ''Peanuts'' music cues akin to how one would in a recording studio: in the form of extended takes that frequently exceeded the necessary duration to synchronize with the on-screen actions they were intended to accompany. Consequently, a considerable portion of the music was prematurely faded out as each scene reached its conclusion. "That had become undisciplined," Mendelson recalled in 2018. "John was a very, very large man, and he'd stand on this little podium in this big recording studio and direct the musicians. It was kind of fun; I don't know who was paying attention to whom, but it did help organize the music a little better."<ref name="linerPumpkinBang"/> |
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In addition to established songs "[[Linus and Lucy]]", "Charlie Brown Theme" and "Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair)", Guaraldi composed several new cues for the special, including "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" and "Red Baron." He also resurrected a theme that first surfaced during a 1958 recording session with bassist [[John Mosher]] and drummer Johnny Markham, dubbed "D Minor-Major Groove." Retitled "Graveyard Theme," its eerie, spooky ambiance allowed it to become the main theme heard |
In addition to established songs "[[Linus and Lucy]]", "Charlie Brown Theme" and "Frieda (With the Naturally Curly Hair)", Guaraldi composed several new cues for the special, including "The Great Pumpkin Waltz" and "Red Baron." He also resurrected a theme that first surfaced during a 1958 recording session with bassist [[John Mosher]] and drummer Johnny Markham, dubbed "D Minor-Major Groove." Retitled "Graveyard Theme," its eerie, spooky ambiance allowed it to become the main theme heard through the special.<ref name="linerPumpkinBang"/> |
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Guaraldi also strongly encouraged Mendelson to consider making "Linus and Lucy" the official ''Peanuts'' theme. The boogie-woogie-infused song had been featured prominently in ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' but was absent in the subsequent special, ''[[Charlie Brown's All Stars!]]''. Guaraldi worked to correct that oversight by featuring it throughout the Halloween special.<ref name="linerPumpkin" /> Melendez responded to Guaraldi's suggestion by beginning the special with a lengthy [[cold open]] sequence sans dialogue, employing only music and sound effects to convey Linus and Lucy's search for a pumpkin. Guaraldi recorded a fresh version of "Linus and Lucy" for the opening sequence. Lang's flute counterpoint was featured throughout the new version of "Linus and Lucy", resulting in the song ultimately becoming the ''Peanuts'' franchise signature melody.<ref name="linerPumpkin">Bang, Derrick; Liner notes from ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Music from the Soundtrack'' (2018)</ref> |
Guaraldi also strongly encouraged Mendelson to consider making "Linus and Lucy" the official ''Peanuts'' theme. The boogie-woogie-infused song had been featured prominently in ''A Charlie Brown Christmas'' but was absent in the subsequent special, ''[[Charlie Brown's All Stars!]]''. Guaraldi worked to correct that oversight by featuring it throughout the Halloween special.<ref name="linerPumpkin" /> Melendez responded to Guaraldi's suggestion by beginning the special with a lengthy [[cold open]] sequence sans dialogue, employing only music and sound effects to convey Linus and Lucy's search for a pumpkin. Guaraldi recorded a fresh version of "Linus and Lucy" for the opening sequence. Lang's flute counterpoint was featured throughout the new version of "Linus and Lucy", resulting in the song ultimately becoming the ''Peanuts'' franchise signature melody.<ref name="linerPumpkin">Bang, Derrick; Liner notes from ''It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown: Music from the Soundtrack'' (2018)</ref> |