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The Vince Guaraldi Trio’s much-loved 1965 Peanuts Christmas album is, simply put, perfect. But that hasn’t stopped a handful of Canadian indie stars from putting their own spin on the elegant, whimsical jazz tunes to raise funds for the Daily Bread Food Bank.
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Cuff the Duke’s Wayne Petti chimes in with a folkie, baroquey What Child Is This, while Jason Kenemy, one of the few to tackle Guaraldi’s accomplished piano parts, gives Christmas Time Is Here a go. Jill Barber offers up a slick, piano-bar rendition of The Christmas Song, while Mike O’Neill goes experimental on his watery Skating, singing “duh-duhs” in lieu of the swift piano melody.
Best are Ben Gunning’s intelligent, synth-squealin’ take on Christmas Is Coming, the Violet Archers soul-calming Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, and Dave Merritt and the Quiet Revolution’s Linus And Lucy, played here with a fantastic half-time rhythm.
Top track: Linus And Lucy, by Dave Merritt and the Quiet Revolution
