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gary mcfarland
latin lounge by douglas payne

Warm and cool. Relaxing and engaging. Refreshing and provocative. Elegant and casual. Such contrasts suggest the lure of cocktail hour in a favorite lounge or a romantic evening at home. It's also an apt description of the music of composer, arranger, conductor, vibraphonist and inveterate hummer/whistler, Gary McFarland.

He was certainly a man of contradictions. At the helm of a large jazz orchestra, he was serious, dynamic, critically respected and admired for the maturity and sophistication of his artistry. Fronting a small combo, the same man seemed childlike -- engaging attention simply playing his vibes while humming or whistling one catchy tune after another.

Even his looks conveyed a sense of disparity. He was tall, lean and quite handsome. But his boyish features were highlighted by the crow's feet around his eyes and neatly-trimmed salt-and-pepper hair, worn a little longer than most men at the time. When serious, he appeared older than his years. But when he smiled, he suggested a much younger man. He loved the cocktail life. And unlike most American men his age, he preferred wearing ascots to ties. He certainly wasn't easily categorized.

So who is Gary McFarland?

Born on October 23, 1933, in Los Angeles, California, Gary R. McFarland seemed the least likely member of his family to pursue a career in music. Both his parents and three brothers were all musically inclined. But Gary didn't even develop an interest in jazz until he was in college at the University of Oregon.

McFarland was 21 and in the army before he started playing the vibraphone -- and that was after briefly experimenting with trumpet, trombone and piano. Still, he had no idea how to read or write music. He just had all these tunes "buzzing around" in his head. After brief spells in several California colleges, McFarland played some of these tunes for flutist Santiago Gonzalez, who liked what he heard. The bandleader offered McFarland a job and encouraged him to study composition.

McFarland's music eventually caught the attention of Cal Tjader, critic Ralph Gleason and the Modern Jazz Quartet's John Lewis. Lewis helped McFarland obtain a scholarship to the School Of Jazz (later known as the Lenox School of Jazz) in Lenox, Massachusetts, during the summer of 1959. McFarland then secured a Down Beat scholarship to study at the prestigious Berklee School of Music (now known as the Berklee College of Music), where he also wrote arrangements for Herb Pomeroy's band.

It was during this period when McFarland's compositions, arrangements and vibes playing were first recorded (most significantly with John Lewis for the pianist's excellent 1964 album, Essence, on Atlantic). McFarland also met and befriended many jazz talents while there, most notably valve-trombonist Bob Brookmeyer.

After another summer at the Lenox school, McFarland journeyed to New York City in September 1960. Brookmeyer -- a prominent force on the New York recording scene at the time and one of the significant soloists with Gerry Mulligan's potent, emerging Concert Jazz Band -- introduced the young composer to the baritone sax player. Mulligan was impressed enough to record McFarland's "Weep" and "Chuggin" on A Concert In Jazz (Verve V/V6-8415, 1961).

Producer Creed Taylor, having just left Impulse Records to direct production at Verve, offered young McFarland even more exposure through the vast talent at the label at that time. He brought Ellington alto man Johnny Hodges three McFarland originals for Blue Hodge (Verve V/V6-8406, 1961), including the title tune (recorded recently by jazz stalwarts Scott Hamilton, Dave Frishberg and Rob McConnell).

Taylor also helped McFarland assemble a stellar orchestra of New York jazz luminaries to record All The Sad Young Men (Verve V/V6-8442, 1961) for Anita O'Day (who sang overtop McFarland's glorious arrangements at a later session in Los Angeles). Then he produced McFarland's attention-grabbing debut, The Jazz Version of 'How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying' (Verve V/V6-8443, CD: 527 658-2). Although the record was yet another variation of the jazz-version-of-a-Broadway-musical, the lilting, invigorating arrangements and peerless playing of Clark Terry, Phil Woods, Oliver Nelson, Hank Jones and Jim Hall made it exceptional. The record received rave notices, good sales and introduced the jazz world to a promising young talent.

McFarland continued to work prolifically with Gerry Mulligan, Bob Brookmeyer, the Modern Jazz Quartet and singer Nancy Harrow before scoring two major jazz achievements in 1962. The first, Big Band Bossa Nova (Verve V/V6-8494, CD: 825771-2), was tenor saxophonist Stan Getz's follow-up to his surprise hit, Jazz Samba (Verve V/V6-8432, CD: 521 413-2). McFarland's arrangements evinced his sensitivity to the beauty and complexity of the new Brazilian sound, yet were perfectly tailored tonal landscapes for the tenor saxophonist to wander.

The Getz record was followed by the sublime The Gary McFarland Orchestra/Special Guest Soloist: Bill Evans (Verve V/V6-8518, 1962), one of the most beautiful, evocative jazz records ever made -- and, as Leonard Feather noted, a "most remarkable demonstration of his unusual musical thinking."

These records proved that the 29-year-old McFarland, an aimless, self-described "nickel and dime hedonist" who couldn't even read music just several short years before, was now an established talent, welcome in the same stratosphere as the giants and legends of jazz. McFarland consciously wrote for the most expressive, individual musicians in jazz - and they sought to work with him. He disregarded conformity to musical styles, saying, "writing for specific players is really the only way I can write. Not for blank faces." Bringing out their special, unique qualities, he achieved his goal of evoking specific sounds and tonal colors in music.

McFarland went on to work with John Lewis's Orchestra USA (Colpix, 1963), which featured Eric Dolphy. He then fronted an excellent jazz sextet on Point of Departure (Impulse, 1963) and collaborated with choreographer Donald McKayle on Reflections in the Park, a two-act jazz ballet staged in February 1964.

By the time Soft Samba (Verve V/V6-8603) was released in late 1964, pop culture was on its way to becoming a universal language. The Beatles were what it sounded like and James Bond was what it looked like. At 31, McFarland was young enough to dig the new sound and effectively combine it with his own unique jazz style.

This is where Latin Lounge begins. Compilers Frank Jastfelder and Stefan Kassel (assemblers of the excellent Lalo Schifrin and Horst Jankowski on Motor Collector and the authors of The Album Cover Art Of Soundtracks) have sampled the best Bossa Nova, Latin and pop-jazz Gary McFarland recorded during his seven years at Verve Records (1961-1968).

McFarland clearly set out to make popular music with Soft Samba. "I decided I could make an album that would be received by a much wider audience," he once said. "And I had the idea of humming as well as playing." Conspiring with producer Creed Taylor, McFarland dispensed with his own originals and sung along to popular movie songs and recent pop hits. McFarland also led an intriguing combo here, featuring himself on vibes and vocals with trombone, flute, piano, the bass of Richard Davis, the percussion of Willie Bobo and the guitars of Kenny Burrell and bossa nova legend, Antonio Carlos Jobim.

The warm, relaxing sounds on Soft Samba make for artfully crafted mood music of the highest caliber. Sample "The Good Life," a jazz favorite that finds Kenny Burrell strumming effortlessly behind McFarland's ba-ba-ba vocalese. When Burrell solos on his guitar, it's all quiet nights of quiet stars. McFarland's breezy take on "A Hard Day's Night" discards the rock of the Beatles' hit and rolls along like a lovely little lullaby. The humming man reveals a handy skill for bringing out the best in (and actually adding to) the Lennon/McCartney tune. McFarland's version of "A Hard Day's Night," his first-ever 45-rpm release (Verve VK10342), didn't exactly burn up the charts. But even jazz lovers acknowledged what McFarland accomplished here: he introduced jazz to the Beatles. He remained fascinated with the Fab Four throughout the rest of his career and would later craft equally unique renditions of "Get Back," "Michelle" and "Because."

Soft Samba turned into a hit - a pretty substantial one too. It came as no surprise that the »serious« jazz cognoscenti disavowed the joyful and elegant grooves. But McFarland remained unfazed. The success of Soft Samba afforded him the opportunity to put together his first working group: a quintet, featuring up-and-coming guitarist and former Berklee classmate, Gabor Szabo, and recent Berklee grad Sadao Watanabe on reeds.

During August 1965 McFarland took his group into Rudy Van Gelder's famed, cathedral-like studios in New Jersey to record one of his best records, The In Sound (Verve V/V6-8632). On this occasion, McFarland served up a mostly Latin dish, garnished with several terrific originals and spiced with a bit more jazz too. Much of the jazz comes courtesy of the many fine, expressive solos iconoclastic guitarist Gabor Szabo (1936-1982) takes throughout. Even though most of the tunes are under four minutes, McFarland allows the guitarist plenty of space to improvise. And, in true McFarland fashion, The In Sound captures some of Szabo's best playing on record.

In a Latin bag, McFarland perhaps saw a way to finally bring together his love for jazz and passion for pop. Take, for example, the album's single, "Fried Bananas" (Verve VK 10380). This is the sort of catchy Latinate concoction that echoed in many a lounge during the 1960s. It grinds along irresistibly – driven by Grady Tate´s powerful drumming – as McFarland accompanies the flutes with his bya-by-bo vocals. Bob Brookmeyer gives a brief, mellifluous solo on valve trombone that contrasts nicely with Gabor Szabo's metallic ministrations on guitar. Similarly, "Over Easy" is one of those clever little Latin riffs McFarland could knock off in his sleep. It's brought to life by Brookmeyer's playful muted solo. Aficionados may also want to check out Cal Tjader's "Monkey Beams," a bonus track on the CD edition of Soul Sauce (Verve 823 119-2), to hear the original version of this little gem. And check out the rhythmic origins of "Over Easy" by listening to Cal Tjader's version of "Poinciana" on Breeze From The East (Verve V/V6-8575, CD: 537 083-2).

McFarland's brooding and complex "The Hills of Verdugo" offers a visit to Spanish climes -- complete with castanets, the apéritif of McFarland's marimba and Gabor Szabo's flamenco flourishes. "The Sting of the Bee," a beguiling theme from the 1964 Italian film, Go Go Go World (one in a long line of Mondo Cane knock-offs), takes its moodiness from Latin styles. But McFarland's rather provocative samba arrangement adds a darker dimension. Szabo's gypsy-like solo fits the mood perfectly.

McFarland returns to the samba for Burt Bacharach's elegant "Here I Am" (from Woody Allen's 1965 film, What's New Pussycat) and a terrific, angst-free version of the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" (or, in this case, "Sambafaction"). He then adds words to his vocalese for two "pure pop" numbers: his own witty "Wine and Bread" (which prefigures the more serious social statement McFarland would make in his concept album America The Beautiful) and Frank "How To Succeed In Business" Loesser's "Bloop Bleep."

The In Sound sessions also yielded the previously unreleased "Anna" -- heard here for the first time. The dance-hall favorite, covered by such lounge lizards as Esquivel, Arthur Lyman, The Three Suns and Ferrante & Teicher, gets a unique, jaunty reading here -- with McFarland scatting over top his vibes and Szabo offering a typically melodic solo.

The In Sound – cleverly packaged in a hip pop-art sleeve – wasn't nearly the success that Soft Samba was, though Verve again pitched the record directly to the Playboy »in-crowd«. Even the ad campaign for the record was pretty far-out -- especially by jazz standards: "Newer than Camp, so in it might even be out, that's The In Sound and Gary McFarland. But listen. Deep...". Got it?!

Shortly thereafter, McFarland headed to Chicago to lead a 16-piece orchestra at the first-ever Down Beat Jazz Festival. Then his new quintet hit the road, playing clubs in New York and San Francisco, getting good reviews along the way. McFarland also kept busy writing arrangements and recording with Antonio Carlos Jobim (for the ultra-rare 45 "The Dreamer" b/w "River Girl" on Prestige), Cal Tjader (an early supporter, when the two both lived in San Francisco in the late fifties) and J.J. Johnson. He also arranged The Groovy Sound Of Music (RCA, 1964) for his favorite young vibraphonist, Gary Burton, and organist Shirley Scott's marvelous Latin Shadows (Impulse, 1965). Moreover he worked with pop vocalist Turley Richards on The Many Souls Of Turley Richards (20th Century Fox, 1965), Gabor Szabo, for the guitarist's solo debut, Gypsy 66, (Impulse, 1965) and trumpet legend Clark Terry for a Tijuana Brass one-up, Tijuana Jazz (Impulse, 1965).

In February 1966, McFarland collected some of the finest jazz talent in New York City for a performance of McFarland-esque orchestral jazz at Lincoln Center's Philharmonic Hall. This single event - which featured the prominent contributions of Clark Terry, Bob Brookmeyer, Zoot Sims, Phil Woods, Gabor Szabo and Richard Davis -- was captured on the album Profiles (Impulse, 1966). McFarland returned to jazzy pop beats on Simpatico (Impulse, 1966), an album that featured him and Gabor Szabo singing and humming their own little pop-jazz ditties like "Yamaha Mama" and "She´s A Cruiser".

Never one to repeat himself, McFarland crafted The October Suite (Impulse, 1966), an eloquent chamber jazz recording featuring young pianist Steve Kuhn's improvisations interacting with McFarland's autumnal orchestrations. The record also highlighted several stirring pieces McFarland composed for the film, 13. This slow, brooding British film featuring David Niven, Deborah Kerr, David Hemmings and Sharon Tate was riddled with enough production problems to prevent its release until late 1967. By that time it became known as Eye of the Devil and McFarland's lush orchestral score was never released, even though Verve issued it a number (Verve V/V6-8674) and advertised it in a February 1967 issue of Down Beat.

McFarland liked the sounds created for the film's score, which utilized a full-string orchestra and large chorus, enough to marry the concept to bossa nova rhythms. While in London, he recorded Soft Samba Strings (Verve V/V6-8682, 1966), a classically-influenced experience of easy sounds. Latin Lounge features the album's two most haunting tracks – both McFarland originals from the film: the hypnotic "Theme From 13" and the enigmatic "Once We Loved."

McFarland's London sojourn also produced a celebrated collaboration with tenor legend Zoot Sims, Waiting Game (Impulse, 1966), that found the soft-toned saxist fronting McFarland's string orchestra in a program of romantic ballads and melodic McFarland originals. McFarland returned to the States later that year. He probably seemed inactive on the recording scene for much of the next year. But his music could be heard on TV (The Merv Griffin Show), in commercials (Breck Shampoo) and at several festivals (the Intercollegiate Music Festival in May 1967 and the UCLA Jazz Festival in June).

Armed with a strong set of new tunes and an astrological concept, McFarland returned to the studios in January 1968 to record his last Verve record, Scorpio And Other Signs (Verve V/V6-8738). The result makes for often effervescent listening -- jazz that even kids could enjoy. A perfect example is "No Other Way (Taurus)," an easy-going groove that fires up with cooked-up outbursts on flute and organ. "Runaway Heart (Scorpio)," which sounds film-worthy, combines a tough-guy rhythm (and McFarland's great vibe solo) with a sweet, romantic theme on top. "Can't Help Dancing (Libra)" appropriately balances McFarland's love of jazz and pop with a most potent and insinuating groove. McFarland, who himself was born under the sign of the scales, utilizes his Pied Piper skills here to craft a catchy little rock with brilliant Spanish touches that's hard to shake off.

When McFarland left Verve, he teamed with old friends Gabor Szabo and Cal Tjader to form Skye Recordings, an independent record label that allowed each musician artistic freedom and the opportunity to introduce new musical talent. Unlike the other principals of Skye, Gary McFarland actively participated in all of the nearly two dozen records Skye issued: sometimes as talent director, arranger, musician, producer or a little of everything. Skye records were also distinguished by their glossy gatefold sleeves, top-notch talent and McFarland's crystal-clear productions.

Several weeks after making Scorpio, McFarland recorded his own Skye debut, Does The Sun Really Shine On The Moon (Skye, 1968), a collection of sophisticated pop covers and McFarland originals. Later that year, he recorded the masterful America The Beautiful (Skye, 1968), a challenging orchestral suite that brilliantly evoked sociological disenchantment through a combination of classical, jazz, blues and rock modes.

In early 1969, Verve repackaged McFarland's Soft Samba as Sympathetic Vibrations (Verve V/V6-8786) in hopes of cashing in on its soft-rock appeal among the Age of Aquarius crowd. McFarland himself kept busy: arranging and conducting Bobby Scott's score to the film Slaves, working with Hair composer Galt MacDermot on the film score to Cotton Comes To Harlem, and recording his next solo album, Today (Skye,1969), another top-drawer pop collection featuring Curtis Fuller, Hubert Laws and Ron Carter.

Financial problems brought about the end of Skye Recordings by the middle of 1970. McFarland, Tjader and Szabo went their separate ways and McFarland made his last record, Butterscotch Rum (Buddah, 1971), a sort of folk-pop record featuring the lyrics and vocals of cartoonist/poet Peter Smith (designer of several Skye covers). McFarland then contributed the score to a neat little cult film, Who Killed Mary What's Er Name, and reunited with pianist Steve Kuhn (Buddah, 1971) for one last collaboration.

All of it came to a tragic end on Wednesday, November 3, 1971, in a New York City club. McFarland was in the company of another friend that afternoon when both were given drinks that -- for reasons unknown -- contained liquid methadone (an organic compound used to treat heroin addiction). McFarland suffered a heart attack and died instantly. His friend died later that night at the hospital.

Now, all that remains is the music. And Latin Lounge finally restores some of Gary McFarland's finest moments to public availability. There is ample evidence here that McFarland was both a brilliant jazz arranger and a clever pop tunesmith. He invested complex emotional subtlety and a childlike, yet erudite wit in all his work. Bob Brookmeyer once said that McFarland "was one of those people that just seemed to hear and translate everything differently." Latin Lounge gives you the chance to hear these unique sounds.

So enjoy. Pure and simple. All in all. This and that. Relax, reach for some refreshment, invite a loved one over and let Gary McFarland set the mood.

Douglas Payne
January 1998