Vince Guaraldi was my second cousin twice removed. He was one of the
California Guaraldis (Guaraldis are primarily in the MA/NH region as well as in CA). He wrote and performed much of the
music for the
Peanuts television specials with the Vince Guaraldi Trio alongside Eddie Duran and Dean Reilly.
It's said that one day Charles M. Shultz was driving down the highway trying to think of what he should do about the music for the specials when he heard a song on the Cast Your Fate to the Wind or Black Orpheus (I can't remember which it was) record that Vince had just put out. And Charles said, "That's it!" and contacted Vince immediately.
Vince Guaraldi is listed as an inspiration to a variety of artists in the Jazz scene as well as others. For instance, George Winston lists him as an inspiration.
He was born on July 17, 1928 in San Francisco, CA and he died February 6, 1976 in Menlo Park, CA -- 7 days after I was born.