This
bibliography was partially compiled
by Wolfram Knauer
Jazz-Institut Darmstadt
D-64285 Darmstadt
Tel: ++49 (6151) 963700/Fax: ++49 (6151) 963744
e-mail to the Jazz-Institut Darmstadt
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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