Vince Guaraldi (July 17, 1928 – February 6, 1976) was an American jazz musician and pianist best known for composing music for animated adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip. Guaraldi was born in San Francisco, California. He graduated from Lincoln High School, attended San Francisco State College, and served as an Army cook in the Korean War.
In his first serious gig, he had to fill in for Art Tatum.
His first recording was made in November of 1951 and came out early in 1953. The early 10 inch LP was called The Cal Tjader Trio, which included the tunes "Chopsticks Mambo," "Vibra-Tharpe," and "Lullaby of the Leaves." By 1955, Guaraldi had put together his own trio with Eddie Duran and Dean Reilly. He then reunited with Cal Tjader in June, 1956 and was an integral part of two great bands that the vibraphonist assembled. The first band played mainly straight jazz and included Al Torre on drums, Eugene Wright on bass and Luis Kant on congas and bongos. The second band was formed in the spring of 1958 and included Al Mckibbon on bass, Mongo Santamaria on congas and bongos and Willie Bobo on drums and timbales. Reed men Paul Horn and Jose 'Chombo' Silva were also added to the group for certain live performances and recordings. Guaraldi left the group early in 1959 in order to pursue his own projects full time. Though he was best known for composing the music for the popular animated Peanuts television holiday specials, he was a Grammy award-winning jazz pianist prior to the Peanuts series. Nevertheless, his most recognized tune is "Linus and Lucy" from A Charlie Brown Christmas, a song which is known by fans worldwide as the musical signature of the Peanuts franchise.
Guaraldi's "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" won a Grammy for Best Original Jazz Composition. The track appears on the 1962 album Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus, inspired by the French/Brazilian film Black Orpheus, which won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.

Compositions for Charles Schulz's Peanuts
Guaraldi died of a sudden heart attack at age 47 on February 6, 1976. He was found in a room at the Red Cottage Inn, relaxing between sets at Butterfield's nightclub in Menlo Park, California. Guaraldi had just finished recording the soundtrack for It's Arbor Day, Charlie Brown earlier that afternoon. Guaraldi was buried at Holy Cross Cemetery, Colma, California.
After Guaraldi's death, the music for the Peanuts series was composed by noted jazz musician David Benoit, who has often credited Guaraldi and the original Peanuts Christmas special music for his interest in jazz.
In 2003 a heretofore unknown live performance of the eight-part "Charlie Brown Suite" was released, restored from tapes in private collections.

Discography

1955 Modern Music from San Francisco
1956 Vince Guaraldi Trio
1957 A Flower Is A Lovesome Thing
1962 Jazz Impressions Of Black Orpheus (also known as "Cast Your Fate to the Wind: Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus")
1963 Vince Guaraldi In Person
1963 Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete and Friends
1964 The Latin Side Of Vince Guaraldi
1964 Jazz Impressions Of A Boy Named Charlie Brown
1965 From All Sides (with Bola Sete)
1965 The Grace Cathedral Concert
1965 A Charlie Brown Christmas
1966 Live at El Matador (with Bola Sete)
1968 Vince Guaraldi With San Francisco Boys Chorus
1968 Oh Good Grief!
1969 The Eclectic Vince Guaraldi
1970 Alma-Ville
1998 Charlie Brown's holiday Hits
2001 Jazz Casual: Paul Winter / Bola Sete & Vince Guaraldi (1963 television recording)
2003 The Charlie Brown Suite & Other Favorites (previously unreleased material from late 1960s)
2005 Oaxaca (previously unreleased material from late 1960s/early 1970s)
2006 North Beach (previously unreleased material from late 1960s/early 1970s)
2006 A Charlie Brown Christmas [Original Recordings Remastered] Reissued 1965 album with additional recordings and more complete versions of some tracks
2006 Vince Guaraldi and the lost cues from the Charlie Brown Television Specials (previously unreleased recordings from 1972–1975)
2007 (box set of recordings probably from the late 1960s/early 1970s; title yet to be announced) Notable appearances on other albums

1987 Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown (Various artists including B.B. King, Chick Corea, Gerry Mulligan, Dave Brubeck)
1995 Joe's Cool Blues (Wynton Marsalis)
1996 Linus & Lucy: The Music Of Vince Guaraldi (George Winston)
2000 Here's to You, Charlie Brown! 50 Great Years! (David Benoit)
2000 A Charlie Brown Christmas (Cyrus Chestnut Trio)