Previously unreleased gems from the legendary Vince Guaraldi—early 1970s work recorded for Charlie Brown cartoons. These sides are from the period when Peanuts was hipping things up a bit — and Vince's music definitely shows that trend — bringing in bits of funk, slight electric moments, and other sweet touches that take the music a long way from A Charlie Brown Christmas! Most of the groups here are either trios or quartets — and alongside Vince's work on piano and keyboards, other players include Mike Clark of the Headhunters on drums and Tom Harrell on trumpet. Despite the fact that the title says "cues," the tunes here are all full-length jazz numbers!
[excerpted from © 1996-2008, Dusty Groove America, Inc.]

Item 1305 ● $14.45

Amazing work from the legendary Vince Guaraldi — some of his funkiest tunes ever recorded, all issued here commercially for the first time ever! Most numbers here feature Vince on electric piano, working in trio format — all with a beautiful sound that's as crystal-clear, open, and laidback as some of the best keyboard work on CTI at the time. The main difference here, though, is that many of these tunes are quite short — just a couple of minutes, as the music was used as cues in the cartoons — often cut down even more to accompany a short scene. The brevity hardly gets in the way of the tunes, though — as Vince packs more ideas into a few short minutes than most players can get into a single album side — and the set also features one slightly longer track from another 1970s recording session apart from the cartoons.
[excerpted from © 1996-2008, Dusty Groove America, Inc.]

Item 1369 ● $14.45

Personnel-wise this is a Marsalis family affair; and how delightful it must be for both Wynton and Branford to engage the talents of so adept a family member as their father (and fellow Columbia recording artist), pianist Ellis Marsalis. With Branford on tenor saxophone, and younger brother Delfeayo on trombone, an Ellis-led ensemble features a delightful turn by New Orleans vocal treasure Germaine Bazzle on the playful Little Birdie. Otherwise on the CD, Wynton's regular septet shares the selections on a 60-40 basis with Ellis's trio. The musical subject matter dovetails neatly with Wynton's ongoing jazz-education work with children: the selections are from the songbook of Charles Schultz's Peanuts characters, including odes to Linus & Lucy, Peppermint Patty, Snoopy & Woodstock, and of course Charlie Brown, pictured on the cover merrily engaging the jazz bass. The music is delivered with loads of humor, but lest one get the impression of total frivolity, these songs stand up solidly as jazz vehicles.
© Willard Jenkins

Item 1322 ● $11.98

The story of A Boy Named Charlie Brown began in 1963 when I formed my own production company with fellow Stanford graduate Sheldon Fay, Jr. While looking for ideas for our first project, I happened to be reading a book by sports journalist Charlie Einstein about baseball great Willie Mays. I called Charlie to see if Willie and he might be interested in creating a documentary. To my amazement, they both agreed. . .and to my further amazement, NBC bought the show. Although A Man Named Mays aired against the year’s blockbuster television program, Elizabeth Taylor in London, we did surprisingly well in the ratings.

For our next project, it occurred to me that since we had just profiled the world’s greatest baseball player, why not profile the world’s worst baseball player — Charlie Brown — and his creator, Charles Schulz. . .

The original documentary, however, has still never aired. This DVD will be the first time that our original — and long-suffering — footage gets to see the light of day.

Excerpt from Introductory Essay by Producer Lee Mendelson
"Willie Mays and Charlie Brown"

Item 1224 ● $14.95

Filmed at the Schulz Museum, nationally acclaimed cartoonist and storyteller Joe Wos presents a unique and entertaining approach to cartooning. Through a step-by-step process using imagination exercises, stories, and drawing instructions, Joe teaches students not just how to draw cartoons but how to create them! How to Toon also boosts creative writing skills by teaching elements of good story development. With a bonus live performance by Joe of "Once Upon a Toon" and "Don on the Farm."

running time approx. 60 minutes
Item 1188 ● $24.99

As the Donald E. Petersen Endowed Professor of Piano at the School of Music of the University of Washington, Seattle, pianist Craig Sheppard has maintained a strong andenduring presence inthe classical music world for nearly forty years with his unique combination of ebullience and passionate energy, allied to a technical mastery and scholarly objectivity.

Item 1409 ● $15.00

Craig Sheppard's triumphant LIVE concert journey through the 32 piano sonatas of Beethoven is now available as a 9 CD box set. Read what The Gramomphone and International Record Review are saying about this exciting new addition to the Beethoven archives.

9 CD Box Set
Item 1410 ● $75.00

Based on the best-selling and award-winning Classical Kids CD, Beethoven Lives Upstairs was hailed upon its original release as "a video masterpiece" by the Boston Herald and "the best family film to appear in a long time" by the Ottawa Citizen. The television special has been seen on HBO, PBS, CBC, the Family Channel, and YTV and the home video has sold more than 250,000 copies in North America. Based in part on historical fact and featuring more than 25 beautifully-performed excerpts of Beethoven’s best-loved works, Beethoven Lives Upstairs presents the great composer as a hero for today’s children.

Special features include:
● Behind-the-Scenes Interviews
● Beethoven's Ninth Music Video
● English, French, and Spanish language soundtracks
● A Classical Kids Music Gallery featuring more than 50 minutes of music
● Fully interactive DVD-ROM featuring a variety of arcade style musical games to inspire play and advance learning!

Item 1396 ● $21.98