In his review of "The Definitive Vince Guaraldi" (2009), "All About Jazz" critic David Rickert credited Guaraldi for introducing many to the world of jazz music "before we even knew what it was. 's soundtracks for the "Peanuts" television specials were a novel idea in cartoon scoring, yet seemed to perfectly fit the deceptively sophisticated adventures of Charlie Brown and the rest of the "Peanuts" gang. His originals were some of the best jazz to come from the West Coast scene and a tribute to what can happen when a great muse hits a gifted composer."