Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints

Verve Verve may refer to: Music * The Verve, an English rock band * ''The Verve E.P.'', a 1992 EP by The Verve * ''Verve'' (R. Stevie Moore album) * Verve Records, an American jazz record label Businesses * Verve Coffee Roasters, an American coffee ho ...

and

Impulse! Records Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positi ...

during the 1960s. '' Down Beat magazine'' said he made "one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz". A 2015 review of a McFarland DVD documentary called him "one of the busiest New York jazz arrangers of the 1960s". The review further stated that McFarland's "ascendance coincided with the rise of

bossa nova Bossa nova () is a style of samba developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It is mainly characterized by a "different beat" that altered the harmonies with the introduction of unconventional chords and an innovativ ...

, and McFarland was adept at translating the mercurial song form into orchestrations. He wrote some beautiful orchestral settings for great soloists, yet wasn’t immune to commercial forces."

Life

McFarland was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, on October 23, 1933, but grew up in

Grants Pass Grants Pass is the county seat of Josephine County, Oregon, United States. The city is located on Interstate 5 in Oregon, Interstate 5, northwest of Medford, Oregon, Medford, along the Rogue River (Oregon), Rogue River. The population was 39,189 ...

, Oregon. He attained a small following after working with jazz luminaries

Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, block ch ...

Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

Johnny Hodges Cornelius "Johnny" Hodges (July 25, 1907 – May 11, 1970) was an American alto saxophonist, best known for solo work with Duke Ellington's big band. He played lead alto in the saxophone section for many years. Hodges was also featured on soprano ...

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

Stan Getz Stanley Getz (February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wispy, mellow timbre of ...

Bob Brookmeyer Robert Edward "Bob" Brookmeyer (December 19, 1929 – December 15, 2011) was an American jazz valve trombonist, pianist, arranger, and composer. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Brookmeyer first gained widespread public attention as a member of Ge ...

, and

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

. As well as his own albums and arrangements for other musicians he composed the scores to the films ''

Eye of the Devil ''Eye of the Devil,'' also known as ''13,'' is a 1966 British mystery horror film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Deborah Kerr, David Niven, Donald Pleasence, Sharon Tate and David Hemmings. The film is set in rural France and was fil ...

'' (1966) and ''

Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? ''Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name?'' (also known as ''Death of a Hooker'') is a 1971 film directed by Ernest Pintoff and starring comedian and actor Red Buttons and featuring Sylvia Miles, Conrad Bain, Alice Playten and Sam Waterston. Gary McFa ...

'' (1971). By the end of the 1960s, he was moving away from jazz towards an often wistful or melancholy style of instrumental pop, as well as producing the recordings of other artists on his

Skye Records Skye Records was a United States-based record label established in early 1968 by music executive/producer/artist manager Norman Schwartz, in partnership with musician/arranger Gary McFarland, guitarist Gábor Szabó, and vibraphonist Cal Tjader. ...

label (run in partnership with Norman Schwartz,

Gábor Szabó Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music. Early years Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age ...

and

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) 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 music of Afro-Jazz, ...

, until its bankruptcy in 1970). He also produced and arranged the soft-rock album ''Genesis'' by singing sisters

Wendy and Bonnie Wendy and Bonnie Flower were American singing sisters, who recorded the album ''Genesis'' in 1969 for Skye Records. The album was produced and arranged by jazz polymath Gary McFarland. McFarland at the time was a partner in the ownership of Skye, ...

Flower.Diamond, Jack, "Wendy and Bonnie — ''Genesis''" (album review)
KFJC 89.7FM, Jan. 15, 2009 McFarland was considering a move into writing and arranging for film and stage. However, at age 38, on November 3, 1971 – the same day that he completed the Broadway album, ''To Live Another Summer; To Pass Another Winter'' – McFarland died in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

at St. Vincent's Hospital from a lethal dose of liquid

methadone Methadone, sold under the brand names Dolophine and Methadose among others, is a synthetic opioid agonist used for chronic pain and also for opioid dependence. It is used to treat chronic pain, and it is also used to treat addiction to heroin ...

that he had ingested at Bar 55 at 55

Christopher Street Christopher Street is a street in the West Village neighborhood of the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is the continuation of 9th Street west of Sixth Avenue. It is most notable for the Stonewall Inn, which is located on Christopher S ...

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village ( , , ) is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street to the north, Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the south, and the Hudson River to the west. Greenwich Village ...

. It is not known whether he took the drug on purpose or someone spiked his drink; police did not investigate. McFarland had been married since 1963 to Gail Evelyn Frankel (maiden; 1942–2007); they had a son, Milo (1964–2002), and a daughter, Kerry. Milo McFarland died of a

heroin overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to Hypoventilation, respiratory depression, a lethal ...

at the same age as his father, 38.

Discography

As leader

* 1961: '' The Jazz Version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" -

* 1963: '' Point of Departure'' -

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

* 1963: '' The Gary McFarland Orchestra: Special Guest Soloist: Bill Evans'' -

* 1964: ''

Soft Samba ''Soft Samba'' is a 1964 album by jazz arranger and vibraphonist Gary McFarland. A follow up album, '' Soft Samba Strings'', was released in 1966. Reception The initial ''Billboard'' magazine review from February 20, 1965 wrote that even though ...

'' -

* 1965: ''Jazz at The Penthouse'' (1965 club date released in 2014 ad CD with the DVD documentary ''This Is Gary McFarland!'') * 1965: '' Tijuana Jazz'' with

Clark Terry Clark Virgil Terry Jr. (December 14, 1920 – February 21, 2015) was an American swing and bebop trumpeter, a pioneer of the flugelhorn in jazz, and a composer and educator. He played with Charlie Barnet (1947), Count Basie (1948–51), Duke ...

* 1965: '' The In Sound'' -

* 1966: '' Eye of the Devil (soundtrack)'' * 1966: '' Simpático'' with

* 1966: '' Profiles'' -

* 1966: '' Soft Samba Strings'' -

* 1967: ''

The October Suite ''The October Suite'' is an album by American jazz pianist Steve Kuhn and composer/arranger/conductor Gary McFarland featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.

'' with

Steve Kuhn Steve Kuhn (born March 24, 1938) is an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, and educator. Biography Kuhn was born in New York City, New York, to Carl and Stella Kuhn (née Kaufman), and was raised in Newton, Massachusetts. Hi ...

* 1968: ''Scorpio and Other Signs'' -

* 1968: ''Does the Sun Really Shine on the Moon?'' - Skye * 1968: ''America the Beautiful: An Account of Its Disappearance'' - Skye * 1969: ''Slaves'' with

Grady Tate Grady Tate (January 14, 1932 – October 8, 2017) was an American jazz and soul-jazz drummer and baritone vocalist. In addition to his work as sideman, Tate released many albums as leader and lent his voice to songs in the animated ''Schoolhou ...

- Skye * 1969: ''Today'' - Skye * 1971: ''Butterscotch Rum'' with Peter Smith -

Buddah Records Buddah Records (later known as Buddha Records) was an American record label founded in 1967 in New York City. The label was born out of Kama Sutra Records, an MGM Records-distributed label, which remained a key imprint following Buddah's foundin ...

* 1972: ''Requiem for Gary McFarland'' -

Cobblestone Records Cobblestone Records was an American jazz record label founded by Joe Fields in New York City in 1972. Cobblestone had two successive incarnations. The earlier was in 1968–69 as a singles label, subsidiary of Buddah Records. (The Joe Thomas LP ...

As producer/arranger

* 1961: '' All the Sad Young Men'' –

(Verve) * 1961: ''

Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments ''Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments'' is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Bob Brookmeyer recorded in 1961 for the Verve label. Brookmeyer said: "I consider it my pride and joy. I took many creative risks here, most based on the heels ...

'' –

(Verve) – two compositions by McFarland * 1962: ''

Essence Essence ( la, essentia) is a polysemic term, used in philosophy and theology as a designation for the property or set of properties that make an entity or substance what it fundamentally is, and which it has by necessity, and without which it ...

'' –

(Atlantic) – all compositions by McFarland * 1962: ''

Big Band Bossa Nova ''Big Band Bossa Nova'' is an album by American Quincy Jones. Track listing Digital Re-issue, on Verve label Performers * Quincy Jones – conductor, arranger * Phil Woods – alto saxophone * Paul Gonsalves – tenor saxophone * R ...

'' – Stan Getz (Verve) * 1963: ''

Gerry Mulligan '63 ''Gerry Mulligan '63'' (subtitled ''The Concert Jazz Band'') is an album recorded by American jazz saxophonist and bandleader Gerry Mulligan featuring performances recorded in late 1962 which were released on the Verve label.Gerry Mulligan Gerald Joseph Mulligan (April 6, 1927 – January 20, 1996), also known as Jeru, was an American jazz saxophonist, clarinetist, composer and arranger. Though primarily known as one of the leading jazz baritone saxophonists—playing the instrum ...

(Verve) – 3 compositions by McFarland * 1963: '' The Groovy Sound of Music'' –

Gary Burton Gary Burton (born January 23, 1943) is an American jazz vibraphonist, composer, and educator. Burton developed a pianistic style of four-mallet technique as an alternative to the prevailing two-mallet technique. This approach caused him to be he ...

(RCA) * 1965: '' Latin Shadows'' –

Shirley Scott Shirley Scott (March 14, 1934 – March 10, 2002) was an American jazz organist. Her music was noted for its mixture of bebop, blues and gospel elements. She was known by the nickname "Queen of the Organ". Life and career Scott was born in Phi ...

(Impulse!) * 1966: '' Waiting Game'' –

Zoot Sims John Haley "Zoot" Sims (October 29, 1925 – March 23, 1985) was an American jazz saxophonist, playing mainly tenor but also alto (and, later, soprano) saxophone. He first gained attention in the "Four Brothers" sax section of Woody Herman's big ...

(Impulse!) * 1969: ''Genesis'' –

(Skye) * 1969: ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

'' –

(Skye) * 1969: '' 1969'' – Gábor (Skye) * 1969: '' Lena & Gabor'' –

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

and Gábor (Skye) * 1971: ''

'' –

(Buddah)

As sideman

With

* ''

Trombone Jazz Samba ''Trombone Jazz Samba'' is an album by jazz trombonist and arranger Bob Brookmeyer featuring bossa nova compositions recorded in 1962 for the Verve label.Edwards, D. & Callahan, MVerve Label Discography accessed November 27, 2015 Reception The ...

'' (Verve, 1962)

References

External links

"This is Gary McFarland!" Documentary"Twelve Essential Gary McFarland Performance"
by Bill Kichner
Jazz.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:McFarland, Gary 1933 births 1971 deaths American jazz composers American male jazz composers American jazz vibraphonists American jazz singers Cool jazz musicians West Coast jazz musicians Jazz musicians from California Musicians from Los Angeles Skye Records artists Verve Records artists 20th-century American singers 20th-century American composers Burials at Green River Cemetery 20th-century American male musicians 20th-century jazz composers