Gary McFarland

Largely overlooked today, Gary McFarland ranked among the notable figures shaping orchestral jazz in the first half of the 1960s. Gene Lees aptly described him as an “adult prodigy,” an inventive composer capable of moving between intricate emotional nuance and playful, childlike directness. During his Army service he discovered jazz and tried his hand at trumpet, trombone, and piano; by 1955 he had switched to vibes. His knack for striking arrangements quickly earned him a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music, where he remained only one semester before pianist John Lewis urged him to focus on large-ensemble scores of his own pieces. Early recognition followed through collaborations with Gerry Mulligan, Johnny Hodges, John Lewis, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, and Anita O’Day. By 1963 McFarland was concentrating more on his own projects, releasing the album widely viewed as his most important statement, The Gary McFarland Orchestra/Special Guest Soloist: Bill Evans. He also led smaller groups that showcased his inventive vibes work. The popularity of the instrumental-pop set Soft Samba enabled him to assemble his first working band, yet most of his subsequent recordings leaned toward easy-listening instrumental pop. Further strong sessions with Gabor Szabo, Shirley Scott, Zoot Sims, and Steve Kuhn appeared, though they seldom highlighted his gifts for composition, an exception being the 1968 release America the Beautiful. In the late 1960s he co-founded the short-lived Skye Records imprint with Szabo and vibist Cal Tjader while maintaining a steady output of recordings. By then, however, his original jazz audience had moved on, and in 1971 he died after being poisoned in a New York City bar.