The Great Pumpkin Waltz
By The song I probably listen to most this time of year is Vince Guaraldi’s “The Great Pumpkin Waltz.” That’s a classic. Chick Corea covered it in the 1989 GRP compilation Happy Anniversary, Charlie Brown! That recording in itself is great, with B.B. King, Joe Williams, Dave Brubeck, Gerry Mulligan, and classic GRP artists Dave Grusin, Lee Ritenour, and David Benoit playing music from Peanuts specials. It’s always the Chick Corea trio of Chick, John Patitucci, and Tom Brechtlein and their top-notch recording that is the first track I queue up.
I couldn’t agree more. Guaraldi left us too soon and his music probably did more to ingrain a love of contemporary jazz music in my generation (he along with Joe Raposo who did music for Mr. Rogers Neighborhood – and maybe some Sesame Street?). Corea’s version is constantly on my playlists..all of them, but so is Guaraldi’s..along with Cast your Fate to the Wind.