i respect the genre, of course. however, i am only keen on listening to the sweet goodness during dinner parties and whilst drinking chai in coffee houses. anywhere else, i can't stand it.
with one exception: vince guaraldi.
best known for being that dude who scored the peanuts cartoons, vince started out as a back-up pianist for art tatum, recorded his first album in 1953, and had his own trio two years later.
one evening in san fran, charles schultz was in a taxi trying to figure some shit out for his new animated cartoon, when he heard guaraldi performing live on the car radio. intrigued, schultz quickly pounced on the driver, demanding to be taken to the club where vince was performing. schultz, after giving vince kudos for his kick-ass stache*, asked him if he would maybe like to score the animated series for the ever so lovable peanuts comic? the delighted vince said yes.
a gazillion years later, a college kid named kiddo has his albums on repeat as she finishes her never-ending takehomes.
* i made this part up.
