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Gary McFarland

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Gary McFarland
Background information
Birth nameGary Ronald McFarland
Born(1933-10-23)October 23, 1933
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
DiedNovember 2, 1971(1971-11-02) (aged 38)
New York City
GenresJazz
Occupation(s)Musician, composer, arranger
InstrumentVibraphone
Years active1963–1971
LabelsVerve, Impulse!, Skye, Cobblestone, Buddah

Gary Ronald McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 2, 1971[1]) was an American composer, arranger, conductor, vibraphonist, and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. DownBeat magazine said he made "one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz".[1][2][3] 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, 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."[4]

Life

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McFarland was born in Los Angeles, on October 23, 1933, but grew up in Grants Pass, Oregon.

He attained a small following after working with jazz luminaries Bill Evans, Gerry Mulligan, Johnny Hodges, John Lewis, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, and Anita O'Day.[1]

As well as his own albums and arrangements for other musicians he composed the scores to the films Eye of the Devil (1966) and Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name? (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 label (run in partnership with Norman Schwartz, Gábor Szabó and Cal Tjader, until its bankruptcy in 1970). He also produced and arranged the soft-rock album Genesis by singing sisters Wendy and Bonnie Flower.[5]

McFarland was considering a move into writing and arranging for film and stage. However, at age 38, on November 2, 1971—the same day that he completed the Broadway album, To Live Another Summer; To Pass Another Winter—McFarland died in New York City at St. Vincent's Hospital from a lethal dose of liquid methadone that he had ingested at Bar 55 at 55 Christopher Street in Greenwich Village. It is not known whether he took the drug on purpose or someone spiked his drink; police did not investigate.[1][6] 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 at the same age as his father, 38.[6]

Discography

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As leader

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As producer/arranger

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As sideman

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Gary McFarland" (biography), by Douglas Payne, AllMusic (retrieved February 20, 2008)
  2. ^ "Gary McFarland – Theme and Variations" (cover photo: McFarland), by Dan Morgenstern, DownBeat, Vol. 33, No. 4, February 24, 1966, pg. 25; ISSN 0012-5768
  3. ^ "Mid-Month Recordings: The Young Art of Gary McFarland," by Robert Farris Thompson, Saturday Review, Vol. 48, No. 7, February 13, 1965, pps. 58–59; ISSN 0036-4983; OCLC 48957008
  4. ^ Silsbee, Kirk, "Gary McFarland: This Is Gary McFarland" (review), DownBeat, April 2015
  5. ^ Diamond, Jack, "Wendy and Bonnie — Genesis" (album review), KFJC 89.7FM, Jan. 15, 2009
  6. ^ a b "Gary McFarland: This is Gary McFarland" (film review), by Thomas Conrad, JazzTimes, July 22, 2015 (retrieved November 8, 2015)
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