April 2026
Craft Recordings / Fantasy Records CR00962
Format: LP
Musical Performance
Sound Quality
Overall Enjoyment
Jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi died at 47, having released a surprisingly small number of recordings during his lifetime. He recorded 15 albums as leader or co-leader, three of them live. Many have slipped in and out of print over the years, but two, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus (1962) and A Charlie Brown Christmas (1965), have been available consistently since they were released.
A Charlie Brown Christmas, the soundtrack Guaraldi created for the first of a series of Peanuts cartoon specials, is the second-best-selling jazz album in history. It has been reissued countless times, in every format imaginable. Given its popularity, it is surprising that Fantasy Records, Guaraldi’s label for most of his career, hasn’t kept more of his albums in circulation.
Guaraldi co-led two studio sessions for Fantasy with Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete. They recorded their second collaboration, From All Sides, in late 1964 for release early the following year. Craft Recordings, which owns the Fantasy Records catalog, has reissued the album as part of its revived Original Jazz Classics series. Kevin Gray cut the lacquer for the reissue and RTI pressed the LP.
I compared the new release with a 1998 CD version of From All Sides, mastered by Phil De Lancie and released by Fantasy and Original Jazz Classics. Guaraldi’s “Chorro” opens the album with Sete playing a series of chords and arpeggio runs on a nylon-strung guitar. On LP, his guitar has a warm, full tone. It sounds a bit flat and forward on the CD, while the LP presents a better view of the dimensions of the instrument.
On the CD, Guaraldi’s piano has a slightly edgy tone that appears to have been in the original recording. Gray’s mastering on the new LP reins in the brightness for a more pleasant listen. Sete gets the first solo on “Chorro” and Guaraldi’s comping is in support of him. Gray has also given the LP a deeper soundstage, and the increased sense of space lets the piano chords resonate more fully. On the CD, the piano accompaniment is pushed forward and the result feels intrusive. Jerry Granelli’s understated hi‑hat work and cross-sticking are also less aggressive on the LP, which enabled me to appreciate how subtly he was playing.
Guaraldi had recorded “Ginza” twice before and would change the tempo but retain much of the melody and chords for “Skating” on A Charlie Brown Christmas. Sete’s easy grasp of bossa nova is evident in his chord changes behind Guaraldi’s piano. I could hear his quick strumming more clearly on the LP, and I also got a better sense of the harmonic structure of the guitar chords. Guaraldi’s solo was less glassy and piercing during solos, and Sete’s guitar feature unfolded in a manner that let me hear his phrasing and timing better.
“Girl from Ipanema” and “A Taste of Honey” have been covered many times, but both were relatively new when Guaraldi and Sete recorded their arrangements of the tunes for this album. During the piano and guitar solos on both tracks, notes sustain and decay more pleasingly on the LP. Guaraldi and Sete play an intro together on “A Taste of Honey.” The harmonic interplay is much more striking on the LP, because Gray’s master has given each instrument more room. On the CD, they’re crammed together.
Granelli’s wood-block percussion on “A Taste of Honey” echoes more soundly on the LP. Nick Martinez, the drummer for “Girl from Ipanema” and two other tracks, is also well served on the new reissue.
Sete gets a generous amount of solo time at the beginning of “Little Fishes,” which he cowrote, and I was struck again by how much richer his guitar sounded on the LP. Granelli’s brush strokes on the drums aren’t overpowering on the CD, but they’re better integrated in the overall presentation of the music on the LP, as are Martinez’s drums on “Mambeando.”
Neither the CD nor the LP lists any recording information, so I don’t know who engineered the LP or where it was done. The upright bass, played by Fred Marshall on some tracks and Monte Budwig on others, has very little presence. De Lancie’s master brought it up, but even on the CD it isn’t well defined. It does give the music some foundation on both releases, but it lacks detail.
Gray’s vinyl cut of From All Sides is more balanced than the CD, and I think he did a good job of rendering a recording that is a little brittle on top and thin in the bass to be very listenable. My modest rating for sound is influenced by the quality of the source.
As I noted earlier, Jazz Impressions of Black Orpheus and A Charlie Brown Christmas are in print and easily available. Guaraldi’s debut for Fantasy, Vince Guaraldi Trio (1956), has been pressed on vinyl again in the last year or so after being unavailable for some time. Lee Mendelson Film Productions has done a good job in recent years of bringing Guaraldi’s music from the Peanuts specials back into circulation.
Otherwise, Guaraldi’s music is hard to find unless you can locate used copies. It’s great to have From All Sides in a good-sounding reissue. The pressing is up to RTI’s high standards, and the hefty cover with tipped-on artwork is nicely done.
Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete are clearly sympatico. As a result, From All Sides has an easy flow that belies the complexity of their interaction. Guaraldi’s feel for bossa nova is stronger with Sete, and I think Guaraldi’s solid blues strain led Sete to inject some blues into his playing. I hope Craft Recordings soon reissues their other collaborations, Vince Guaraldi, Bola Sete, and Friends (1964) and Live at El Matador (1966), as well as other Guaraldi albums.
. . . Joseph Taylor
josepht@soundstagenetwork.com
