Vince Guaraldi's "A Charlie Brown Christmas" record is as important as "Bill Evans - Live At The Village Vanguard"

Jazz musicians and afficiandos can be snobby when it comes to what is defined as "Jazz."  The term "Jazz" itself is as encompassing as what is labeled "Rock" and "Pop" music and this is my humble attempt at pointing out the similarities and differences between these two jazz standard albums, "A Charlie Brown Christmas," and "Bill Evans - Live At The Village Vanguard."

Vince Guaraldi recorded "A Charlie Brown Christmas," in 1965 for the upcoming animated holiday special with the same name on the Fantasy label.

"Bill Evans - Live At The Village Vanguard" was recorded on a Sunday afternoon and evening in 1961.  It was released as 2 sides in October 1961 on Riverside.  A 3-disc box set was released by Riverside in 2006 that includes every song but one from all 5 sets.

Vince had a trio consisting of himself on piano, Fred Marshall on bass and Jerry Granelli on drums.  Monty Budwig and Colin Bailey would step in for one track, "Greensleeves."

Bill's trio was: Bill, piano; Scott LaFaro, bass; Paul Motian, drums.

Vince recorded in a studio; Bill was live at the Village Vanguard to a not crowded house.  You can hear the audience have conversations and the usual bar sounds of clinking glasses and orders being taken.

Vince paints a complete picture of the look and feel of winter and the Christmas holiday.  Bill showcases the personnel he had searched for for years.  Tragically, this is the last recording of this trio as Scott LaFaro would be dead from a car crash 10 days later.

Vince comes out swinging with a medium tempo "O, Tannebaum" while Bill provides a more introspective start with LaFaro's "Gloria's Step."  On the original album it takes until the third track "Solar" for the trio to move into medium tempo.

Both records feature stellar piano playing, amazing bass lines and incredible brush work.  While the Vince Guaraldi Trio plays more "inside" (for commercial) appeal, the Bill Evans Trio features melodic interplay between Bill and Scott while Paul fills in the holes and lets the time "float."

Both records also feature the upright bass as both Fred and Scott get ample solo opportunities.  Jerry's brush work on the holiday tunes is hauntingly beautiful and smooth while Paul swings, interjects and pushes his bandmates.

Both "CBC" and "LAVV" have been rated 10/10 on allmusic.com 

Both are extremely popular with their own audiences but Vince's record has more cross-over appeal to jazz performers and listeners.  While you could play Vince's record anytime it is usually only heard during the holidays; Bill's record can be played anytime.  I hope you enjoy both these albums as much as I do.  Merry Xmas and happy holidays.