“Christmas Time is Here” – Vince Guaraldi Trio (Fantasy – 1965)
If Christmas has a sound, it’s the piano, bass and drums of the Vince Guaraldi Trio on the music they made for the enduring animated television special “A Charlie Brown Christmas.” 2 bars into any selection and you are in the snow globe – a fact that has made the album a quadruple platinum seller. Most touching is this theme, offered instrumentally and with a chorus of children singing the humbly evocative lyrics penned by producer Lee Mendelson.