Music to My Ears: A Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas Comes to Carroll Arts Center

Christmas in Carroll County wouldn't be the same without the cheery and traditional holiday entertainment offered by the Carroll Arts Center. 

Audiences young and old flock to the Arts Council each year to watch the Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas, a unique pairing of the animated film "A Charlie Brown Christmas" with the Vince Guaraldi jazz score performed live by the Eric Byrd Trio. 

After the commercial-free screening of the film on the big screen, the lively jazz score is performed live by the Eric Byrd Trio.  The Eric Byrd Trio has performed throughout the world, at the White House, and they hold the prestigious honor of a Kennedy Center Jazz Ambassadorship. 

Guaraldi was born in 1928 and was known as “Dr. Funk” by his compatriots in San Francisco.  He began performing as a piano player in college and quickly rose through the jazz scene.  His career exploded after his performance at the 1st annual Monterey Jazz Festival where audiences were on their feet after hearing his blues riffs.  

He and master cartoonist Charles Schultz collaborated on 15 animated features. Guaraldi’s smooth trio compositions --- piano, bass and drums --- perfectly balanced Charlie Brown’s kid-sized universe.  Sprightly, puckish, as well as somber and poignant, his gentle riffs established musical trademarks which, to this day, still prompt smiles of recognition.  Guaraldi and “Peanuts” was a perfect match.  Surely there would have been more collaboration to come had Guaraldi not died of a sudden heart attack at age 47.  It was a short career, but one that is rightly celebrated.

Each concert will end with a live auction of the charmingly pathetic “Charlie Brown Christmas Tree” that will decorate the stage!

And shopping and entertainment go hand-in-hand at the Arts Center. The performances coincide with the Art Center's 5th annual Gallery of Gifts.

The family-friendly Charlie Brown Jazz Christmas concerts will take place on Friday, Dec. 20 at 8 p.m.; Saturday, Dec. 21 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m.; and Sunday, Dec 22 at 3 p.m.  

Tickets are $12 for Adults and $8 for CCAC Members, Seniors 60+ and Students 18 and under.  Please note that FLICC movie passes cannot be honored at this event.  The Carroll Arts Center is located at 91 W. Main Street in downtown Westminster.  Online tickets and more info at www.CarrollCountyArtsCouncil.org or call 410-848-7272.

Information in this article taken from a Carroll Arts Center news release.