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From All Sides

From All Sides
Studio album by
Vince Guaraldi and Bola Sete
ReleasedFebruary 1965
Genre
Length38:12
LabelFantasy
Vince Guaraldi chronology
Jazz Impressions of A Boy Named Charlie Brown
(1964) 		From All Sides
(1965) 		At Grace Cathedral
(1965)
Bola Sete chronology
Tour de Force
(1963) 		From All Sides
(1964) 		The Incomparable Bola Sete
(1964)

From All Sides is a collaboration between the American pianist Vince Guaraldi and the Brazilian guitarist Bola Sete. Released in February 1965 by Fantasy Records, it was Guaraldi's seventh studio album and the second of three collaborations with Sete.

Recording and background

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From All Sides was recorded in late 1964 during a period of heightened activity for Guaraldi and Sete. The two had been performing regularly at Trois Couleurs, a nightclub in San Francisco, where Guaraldi's trio served as the house band for sixteen weeks, with Sete joining for the final twelve. Their growing musical rapport, developed through these extended live sets, carried over into the studio sessions that produced the album.[1]

The record features a blend of Latin jazz, bossa nova, and American jazz idioms, reflecting both Guaraldi's West Coast jazz background and Sete's Brazilian heritage. Several compositions on the album were either reworkings of previously recorded material or later repurposed in future projects. "Ginza Samba," originally titled "Ginza", was first recorded by Guaraldi for his debut album Modern Music from San Francisco (1956). "Menino Pequeno da Bateria", a gentle bossa nova reinterpretation of "The Little Drummer Boy", would later appear in A Charlie Brown Christmas as "My Little Drum". Additionally, "Choro" is based on the first theme of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's Symphony No. 40 in G minor, K. 550, I. Molto allegro which Guaraldi later adapted for the Peanuts television special He's Your Dog, Charlie Brown (1968) under the title "Schroeder's Wolfgang".[1]

Other notable tracks include "The Ballad of Pancho Villa", an original composition whose rhythmic drive and melodic phrasing foreshadowed Guaraldi's later Peanuts cues such as "Linus and Lucy" and "Christmas Is Coming". "Little Fishes", co-composed by Sete and Eva Konrad, is a mid-tempo piece with classical influences, while the album closes with a Latin arrangement of the pop standard "A Taste of Honey". Several of Guaraldi's original compositions from the album were published under his Felfar Music imprint.[1]

Around the time of the album's release in February 1965, Guaraldi and Sete continued to maintain a high public profile. They made two appearances on The Dick Stewart Show, a local Bay Area television program, and performed at a variety of Northern California venues including University of California, Berkeley's International House and Bear's Lair Cabaret, as well as civic benefits and political fundraisers. A planned tour to Brazil in celebration of Rio de Janeiro's quadricentennial was announced, but ultimately canceled due to a combination of logistical issues and insufficient ticket sales.[1]

Although Billboard named From All Sides a "Jazz Special Merit Pick" and praised the seamless integration of Latin and American jazz styles,[2] internal tensions within the trio soon led to the end of the collaboration. Drummer Jerry Granelli and bassist Fred Marshall both departed shortly after the album's release, citing creative differences and a desire to move in new artistic directions. Their exit marked the conclusion of the trio's long-running engagement at Trois Couleurs and brought to a close the period during which From All Sides was conceived and recorded.[1]

Release and reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[3]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[4]
Five Cents Please[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings[6]
BillboardFavorable[7]

In a "Jazz Special Merit" review, Billboard noted that "Vince Guaraldi on piano and Bola Sete on guitar demonstrate that the Latin musical idiom can be combined with a U.S. sound to form good jazz. The two work so well together that it's often difficult to distinguish the piano from the guitar sounds."[7]

Richard S. Ginell of AllMusic gave the album three out of five stars, noting that "although Guaraldi was in somewhat fresher form in his other albums with Sete, this one won't disappoint his fans."[3]

In 1998, the album was remastered by Phil De Lancie and issued on CD for the first time.

Track listing

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All tracks written by Vince Guaraldi, except where noted.

Side One
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Choro" 4:55
2."Menino Pequeno Da Bateria" 4:22
3."Ginza Samba" 5:26
4."The Girl from Ipanema"
5:19
Side Two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
5."A Taste of Honey"
6:52
6."Ballad of Pancho Villa" 2:29
7."Little Fishes"
4:35
8."Mambeando"Bola Sete4:14
Total length:38:12

Personnel

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Credits adapted from 1965 vinyl release.

Vince Guaraldi Trio
Additional

Release history

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Country Date Label Format Catalogue number
United States February 1965 Fantasy Mono LP 3362
Stereo LP 8362

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e Bang, Derrick (2024). Vince Guaraldi at the Piano. McFarland & Company, Inc., Publisher. pp. 66–75. ISBN 9-78078-645-9025.
  2. ^ "Album Reviews: Special Merit Picks — From All Sides". Billboard. March 6, 1965. p. 26.
  3. ^ a b Ginell, Richard S. "From All Sides". Allmusic. Retrieved October 12, 2012.
  4. ^ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. US: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 90. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  5. ^ Bang, Derrick. "Vince Guaraldi on LP and CD: From All Sides". fivecentsplease.org. Derrick Bang, Scott McGuire. Retrieved May 15, 2020.
  6. ^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 614. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
  7. ^ a b "Album Reviews: Special Merit Picks — From All Sides". Billboard. March 6, 1965. p. 26.
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