Vincent Anthony Guaraldi was an American jazz pianist noted for his innovative compositions and arrangements and for composing music for animated television adaptations of the Peanuts comic strip including their signature melody "Linus and Lucy" and the holiday standard "Christmas Time Is Here". He is also known for his performances on piano as a member of Cal Tjader's 1950s ensembles and for his own solo career. His 1962 composition "Cast Your Fate to the Wind" became a radio hit and won a Grammy Award in 1963 for Best Original Jazz Composition. He died of a sudden heart attack in February 1976 at age 47, moments after concluding a nightclub performance in Menlo Park, California.
Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. was an American Latin jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform the music of Cuba, the Caribbean, Mexico and Latin America.
Eugene Joseph Wright was an American jazz bassist who was a member of the Dave Brubeck Quartet.
Monte Rex Budwig was a West Coast jazz double bassist, professionally known as Monty Budwig.
Armando Peraza was a Latin jazz percussionist and a member of the rock band Santana. Peraza played congas, bongos, and timbales.
William Correa, better known by his stage name Willie Bobo, was an American Latin jazz percussionist of Puerto Rican descent. Bobo rejected the stereotypical expectations of Latino music and was noted for combining elements of jazz, Latin and rhythm and blues music.
Joseph Thomas "Coke" Escovedo was an American percussionist, who came from a prominent musical family including five musician brothers and his niece, Sheila E. He played in various genres, including R&B, jazz fusion and soul, with bands including Santana, Malo, Cal Tjader, and Azteca.
Mary Stallings is an American jazz vocalist and mother of soul singer Adriana Evans.
Mark Jay Levine is an American jazz pianist, trombonist, composer, author and educator.
Charles Walter "Chuck" Flores was an American jazz drummer. One of the relatively small number of musicians associated with West Coast jazz who were actually from the West Coast, Flores was born in Orange, California, and grew up in Santa Ana. He is best known for the work he did with saxophonist Bud Shank in the 1950s, and for his two-year stint with Woody Herman, from 1954 to 1955, but also performed and recorded with such musicians as Carmen McRae, Art Pepper, Maynard Ferguson, Al Cohn, and Shelly Manne, who had been his drum teacher. Manne and others considered Flores an underrated drummer.
John Anthony Pompeo, better known as Johnny Rae, was an American jazz drummer and vibraphonist.
Norman Gary Foster is an American musician who plays saxophone, clarinet, and flute. He is considered a crossover artist, performing jazz, pop, and classical music. He has been prominent in the film, television, and music industries for five decades, having performed on over 500 movie scores and with over 200 orchestras.
Vince Guaraldi Trio is the debut studio album by American jazz pianist Vince Guaraldi, released in the US by Fantasy Records in September 1956. It was recorded in San Francisco, California, in April 1956.
Edward Lozano Duran was an American jazz guitarist from San Francisco. He recorded often with Vince Guaraldi and was a member of the Benny Goodman orchestra during the 1970s.
Heat Wave is a 1982 studio album by vibraphonist Cal Tjader and jazz singer Carmen McRae. Tjader died four months after the completion of Heat Wave, it was his final recording.
Cal Tjader-Stan Getz Sextet is an album by vibraphonist Cal Tjader and saxophonist Stan Getz recorded in 1958 and first released on the Fantasy label.
Joseph George Dodge was an American jazz musician.
Richard Harrison Collins was an American jazz trumpeter.
Ron Crotty, born Ronald O'Crotty, was an American jazz bassist. He became known in the late 1940s and early 1950s for work with pianists Dave Brubeck and Vince Guaraldi.
