Record Store Day 2025: Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown – Vince Guaraldi Trio

Record Store Day 2025: Vince Guaraldi’s Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown (Alternate Takes) – A Must-Have Vinyl Release

Oh man, this is hands-down my favorite time of the year! As a die-hard audiophile, I live for the thrill of Record Store Day—there’s just something magical about seeing rare and exciting music pressed onto vinyl and released to the world. Back in the day, I spent countless hours crate-digging, hunting for those hidden gems, and now, thanks to Record Store Day, some of the greatest records are making their way back into our hands with special, limited-edition releases!

One release that has me buzzing is Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown by the legendary Vince Guaraldi Trio. It’s already a prized piece in my collection, but this year’s new edition takes it to a whole new level! This exclusive Record Store Day 2025 release features highlights from the newly expanded version of the album, packed with never-before-heard alternate takes of classic Peanuts tunes like Linus and Lucy, Baseball Theme, Charlie Brown Theme, and more!

Why This Record Store Day Release is Essential:

✅ Unreleased Alternate Takes – Hear early versions of Linus and Lucy, Schroeder, and more from the original sessions.
✅ Mastered from Analog Sources – Remixed and remastered by GRAMMY®-winning engineer Paul Blakemore, with lacquers cut by Matthew Lutthans.
✅ Limited Edition Sky-Blue Vinyl – A stunning collector’s item, limited to just 3,400 copies.
✅ A Legacy of Jazz & Animation History – This album laid the groundwork for A Charlie Brown Christmas and remains a jazz masterpiece.

The original album which introduced the world to Vince Guaraldi’s iconic “Linus and Lucy,” Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown (Alternate Takes) features new and unreleased alternate takes of songs from the original recording sessions.

Jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi was recruited to compose the soundtrack to A Boy Named Charlie Brown, a TV documentary about the cartoon and its creator Charles M. Schulz. That doc would never be aired — although its album would be, by Fantasy Records in 1964 — and its appeal, including its music, would inspire A Charlie Brown Christmas a year later.

The influence of Guaraldi’s music and the trio’s performance would live on for generations, particularly in what would become his most recognizable song, the plucky “Linus and Lucy.” To that end, Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown, which has amassed glowing reviews over the years, even hit No.20 on Billboard’s Soundtracks chart in 2015.

Jazz Impressions of a Boy Named Charlie Brown (Alternate Takes) features two alternate versions of “Linus and Lucy,” including an early studio test, as well as outtakes of “Oh, Good Grief,” the charming ode to fellow (albeit animated) pianist “Schroeder,” the sweepingly carefree “Baseball Theme” and more. “It’s not a children’s album,” All About Jazz pointed out, “but rather a top-notch series of breezy jazz treatments.”

And the best part? It’s pressed on gorgeous sky-blue vinyl—a true collector’s dream! This is the kind of release that makes Record Store Day so special, and I can’t wait to add it to my collection.

This edition is pressed on sky-blue vinyl, limited to 3,400 copies, and mixed and mastered from the original analog sources by GRAMMY® Award-winning engineer Paul Blakemore. The lacquers were cut by Matthew Lutthans at Cohearent Audio.

Save the date—Saturday, April 12 is this year’s Record Store Day! It’s the day when fans, collectors, and music lovers alike rush to local indie record shops, giving these brick-and-mortar stores a well-deserved boost for the year.

Tracklist
SIDE A:
1. Linus And Lucy (Studio Test)
2. Linus And Lucy (Take 3)
3. Happiness Theme (Happiness Is) (Take 4)
4. Pebble Beach (Take 7)
5. Baseball Theme (Take 1)
6. Oh, Good Grief (Take 1)
7. Schroeder (Take 3)
8. Baseball Theme (Take 2)
9. Oh, Good Grief (Take 1 / Later Session)

SIDE B:
10. Schroeder (Take 2)
11. Blues For Peanuts
12. Charlie Brown Theme (Take 4)
13. Blue Charlie Brown (Take 1)
14. Frieda (With The Naturally Curly Hair) (Take 1)