The five-time Grammy nominee David Benoit is one of the most accomplished pianists in the world. He is also a conductor of considerable renown, with many of the world's greatest orchestras to his credit. His command performance of the "Peanuts Piano Concerto" garnered worldwide acclaim and earned him a reputation as the torchbearer of Charlie Brown.
It's been forty years since the Vince Guarladi Trio recorded the classic holiday album, A Charlie Brown Christmas (also available from Monster Music). Working with some of the biggest names in blues and R&B, David Benoit produced and arranged this fortieth anniversary special as a tribute to Vince Guaraldi and Charles Schulz. Working with the likes of Vanessa Williams and Chaka Khan, Benoit revisits the holiday classic with a fresh approach. "We took the original A Charlie Brown Christmas and wanted to recreate songs with different interpretations," he says, "We didn't want to update it and make it 'hip'. We wanted to take what was already there and lightly expand upon it."