Gary McFarland

|| presented by douglas payne || biography || discography || bibliography || reviews || latin lounge ||

This bibliography was partially compiled
by Wolfram Knauer

Jazz-Institut Darmstadt
D-64285 Darmstadt

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1960:

  • Gary McFarland: "Pamela". Combo Arrangement, in: Down Beat, 27/15 (1960), p. 60-64 (T)

1962:

  • Martin Williams: New Writer in Town, in: Down Beat, 29/5 (1962), p. 24, 43

1963:

  • NN: Young Jazz. McFarland Planning Album feat. Bill Evans, in: Melody Maker, 9.Feb.1963, p. 4
  • Bob Dawbarn: Two for the Book. Clare Fischer and Gary McFarland, in: Melody Maker, 11.May 1963, p. 11
  • Gary McFarland: Melancolico, in: Down Beat, 30/23 (15.Aug.1963), p. 36-40 (T)

1964:

  • The Gary McFarland Touch: Exciting Jazz Compositions Presented As Piano Solos (Sam Fox Publishing, New York 1964).

This recently acquired prize is a long out-of-print, 24-page collection of Gary McFarland's music scored for solo piano. The slim book contains ten of McFarland's MJQ Music owned compositions: "Sandpiper," "I Love to Say Her Name," "Pretty Little Gypsy," "Chuggin," "Why Are You Blue?," "Hopeful Encounter," "Kitch," "Weep," "Tree Tops" and "Bridgehampton Strut." The aural evidence certainly bears out the written notes, for this music is fascinatingly simple, yet unusual in the composer's highly personalized phrasing, changes and chord structures.

  • Review: Essence, in: Down Beat, 11.March.64, p 27.
  • Nat Hentoff: An Authorative Newcomer: The Gary McFarland Sextet, in, HiFi, May 1964, pp 50-51.
  • Gene Lees: Contrast, in: Down Beat, 31 (12.March.1964), p. 14-15.
  • Don DeMichael: Tangents, in: Down Beat, 31 (18.June.1964), p. 14-17+.

1965:

  • Leonard Feather: Blindfold Test. Gary McFarland, in: Down Beat, 32/18 (1965), p. 33 (BT)
  • Review: Soft Samba, in Down Beat, 25.March.65, pp 24-25.
  • Willis Conover: What Makes Gary Run, in: Jazz, 4/5 (1965), p. 8-11
  • Leonard Feather: How to Succeed with a Soft Samba, in: Melody Maker, 19.Jun.1965, p. 6
  • Harvey Siders: Caught in the Act. Gary McFarland, Shelly's Manne Hole, Los Angeles, in: Down Beat, 32/16 (29.Jul.1965), p. 14-15 (C)
  • Gary McFarland at the Manne-Hole, Los Angeles, in: Variety, 19.May.1965, p. 76
  • Leonard Feather: Succe med fel skiva, in: Orkestra Journalen, 6.June.1965, p. 33
  • McFarland Orchestra Called Heart Of Down Beat Jazz Festival, in" Down Beat, 1.July.1965, p. 14.
  • Bob Dawbarn: Gary McFarland, in: Melody Maker, 11.Sep.1965, p. 10 (R: "Soft Samba")
  • Buck Walmsley: Down Beat Jazz Festival, in: Down Beat, 23.Sept.1965, p 19.
  • R.F. Thompson: The Young Art Of Gary McFarland, in: Saturday Review, 13.Feb.1965, p. 58-59

1966:

  • Dan Morgenstern: Caught in the Act. Gary McFarland, Lincoln Center, New York City, in: Down Beat, 33/6 (24.Mar.1966), p. 44-45 (C)
  • Concert Heir, in: Jazz Journal, Mar.1966, p. 16-17
  • Big Band Forum: Will Big Bands Ever Come Back?, in: Jazz, March.1966, p 20-21.
  • Dan Morgenstern: Gary McFarland: Theme and Variations, in: Down Beat, 33, 24.Feb.1966, p. 23-25+
  • Whitney Balliett: Jazz Concerts, in: New Yorker, 26.Feb.1966, p. 78+
  • Review: The In Sound, in: Jazz, May.1966, p 26.
  • B. Houston: Gary McFarland, in: Melody Maker, 2.July.1966, p. 6
  • McFarland To Lead Dream Band In Concert, in: Down Beat, 27.Jan.1966, p 13

1967:

  • Advertisement: "13" soundtrack by Gary McFarland, in: Down Beat, 23.Feb.1967, p 30.
  • Arranger's Corner, in: Jazz, May.1967, p 51.
  • Samba de Festival (transcription), in: Jazz: 1967 (special issue), p. 43.
  • Jim Delehant: Confessions of A Non-Purist, in: Down Beat, 21.Sept.1967, p 22.
  • Charles Barrett: Musical Theater Restricts Too Much, Says McFarland, in: Billboard 79:24, 24.June.1967.
  • Gary McFarland: Original Score of Thelonious Monk's "Straight, No Chaser", in: Down Beat Musaic '67 (1967), p. 104-116 (T)

1968:

  • Musicians To Form Own Recording Companies, in: Down Beat, 35:12, 7.March.1968.
  • Review: Scorpio and Other Signs, in: Jazz & Pop: June.1968, pp 25-26.

1969:

  • Don DeMichael: Gary McFarland - America the Beautiful, in: Down Beat, 36/25 (1969), p. 20 (R)

1971:

  • NN: Jazzman McFarland Dead, in: Melody Maker, 13.Nov.1971, p. 4 (O)
  • Gudrun Endress: Soft Music Gary McFarland, in: Jazz Podium, 20/12 (Dec.1971), p. 418-419, 422 (F/I)
  • NN: Gary McFarland gestorben, in: Jazz Podium, 20/12 (Dec.1971), p. 416 (O)

1998:

  • Village Voice: Voice Jazz (Jazz Supplement): "Isle of Dreams: Critics Choose The Albums They Love":

The October Suite (Impulse), a magnificent album by Steve Kuhn and Gary McFarland, was recorded in 1966 and released soon thereafter with little fanfare; it quickly went out of print and has never been issued on CD, though used copies of the LP are still around. It's a sterling example of chamber jazz, brimming with sensitivity and fire. McFarland (1933-71) is a nearly forgotten giant of jazz composing and arranging. Though he was prominent in the '60s, much of his best recorded work as a leader and in support of others is currently unavailable. The October Suite comprises six incandescent McFarland originals for piano trio (Kuhn, bassist Ron Carter, drummer Marty Morell) and either a string quartet or woodwinds and harp. Years ago, Kuhn allowed me to examine the scores; it's amazing how simple the individual parts are and yet how full the writing sounds. Kuhn and McFarland were close friends, and their personal and musical empathy is evident throughout. After four decades as a unique pianist, Kuhn remains undersung, and this recording is one of his -- and McFarland's -- finest achievements. --Bill Kirchner

1999

2001

  • Jörgen Östberg: Väl Värd Att Upptäcka (Gary McFarland), in Orkesterjournalen, No. 10 2001, pp. 21-25. 

2002

  • Cadence, "Bill Kirchner Interview" by Larry Nai (May 2002)

Bill Kirchner: I think if I had to point to the writer who is the single biggest influence on me, it would be Gary McFarland. I collected a lot of the things he did on record, on his own and for other people. Very strong melodic sense.

Cadence: I only know his Tijuana Jazz album, with Clark Terry.

Bill Kirchner: Yeah, that's not very good. As the '60's went on, he started doing more and more commercial records. He was influenced by Ellington and Miles and Gil Evans, and managed to put those influences together in a very personal way. There's one record he did with Steve Kuhn, called The October Suite, for Impulse. Half of it is a piano trio with Kuhn and Marty Morell, and the other half is a string quartet, with harp. Years ago, Steve Kuhn let me come out to his place and look at the scores for an afternoon. His (Gary's) parts were amazingly simple, but here's another example of a writer who knows how to get density in his writing, with a small number of instruments. He was a master at that. He could make a string quartet sound like an orchestra, or write a counter-melody for solo oboe, and make it sound huge. I learned from him that it's possible to write things that are simple, but have density, and make for worthwhile music.

  • Guitarre & Bass: Terje Rypdal Interview (July 2002)

    Terje Rypdal: "America The Beautiful (1968) by Gary McFarland was very important to me. I only recently got the C.D. reissue of this. The album is a big band work, based on a poem about how America was being ruined. Eric Gale played guitar, and the music alternates between soft rubato and tight grooves. Bernard Purdie plays drums, sounding very much like a 'Motown' drummer at times."

    (Special thanks to guitarist Paul Hahn for this listing!)

2005

  • Kristian St. Clair: Skye High - Composer And Producer Gary McFarland's Prolific Decade With Verve, Impulse, And Skye Records, in: Wax Poetics, #13 Summer 2005, pp 52-62.

2006

  • Ashley Kahn: The House That Trane Built: The Story Of Impulse Records (W.W. Norton & Company: 2006).

There is surprisingly little on Gary McFarland in this fascinating overview of one of the most significant-ever of the jazz labels. Admittedly, McFarland wasn't a big part of the Impulse story (or, as Kahn is quick to point out, their sales) - but what he did while there is certainly of significant artistic note. Ashley Kahn brilliantly spotlights about three dozen (debatable) Impulse highlights, including McFarland's THE OCTOBER SUITE and briefly explores McFarland's brief role at the label as kind of a house arranger. Not a book to read to learn about Gary McFarland, but a terrific read nonetheless.

2008

  • Bill Kirchner: The Dozens: Essential Gary McFarland on Jazz.com.

    A beautiful reflection on twelve of Gary McFarland's works, with artwork by Suzanne Cerny, written by musician, bandleader, writer, DJ and ecumenical jazz historian, Bill Kirchner. Features include write-ups on Gerry Mulligan's "Weep", McFarland's cover of "I Believe In You", Anita O'Day's "I Want To Sing A Song", Bill Evans's take on McFarland's "Reflections In The Park", McFarland's "Hello To The Season", Stan Getz's "Entre Amigos", J.J.Johnson's "Winter Waifs", Steve Kuhn's takes on "St. Tropez Shuffle" and "Childhood Dreams", McFarland's own "Theme From 13", Zoot Sims's "Does The Sun Really Shine On The Moon" and Gary McFarland's own "On This Site Shall Be Erected".

 

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