Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was a composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. Largely forgotten now, Gary McFarland was one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz during the early '60s. He had an unfortunately short career. But he was surprisingly productive in the brief decade he was captured on record (1960-70). An "adult prodigy," as Gene Lees once noted, McFarland was an ingenious composer whose music revealed shades of complex emotional subtlety and clever childlike simplicity.
While in the Army, he became interested in jazz and attempted to play trumpet, trombone, and piano. In 1955, he took up playing the vibes. Displaying a quick ability for interesting writing, he obtained a scholarship to the Berklee School of Music. He spent one semester there and with the encouragement of pianist John Lewis, concentrated on large-band arrangements of his own compositions. He attained early notoriety and success working with Gerry Mulligan, Johnny Hodges, John Lewis, Stan Getz, Bob Brookmeyer, and Anita O'Day. unique arrangements and an early devotion and sympathetic understanding of the bossa nova. McFarland began devoting more attention to his own career and in 1963 released what is often regarded as his most significant recording -- The Gary McFarland Orchestra/Special Guest Soloist: Bill Evans -- a sublime, evocative score that revels in its simplicity. He also started recording in small-group settings which began to feature his own vibes playing (Point of Departure).
The success of Soft Samba allowed McFarland to form his first performing group. The band toured clubs across America during the summer of 1965 and recorded an album similar -- but superior -- to Soft Samba, called The In Sound. Here, McFarland mixed his brand of pop vocalese with the substantial improvisational talents of unique accompanists, most notably Gabor Szabo.The following year found McFarland devoting his talents to the large-scale orchestras which provided his initial notoriety. A February 6, 1966, performance at New York's Lincoln Centre yielded the record Profiles, which collected New York's finest jazz musicians and soloists.
McFarland went on that year to record an album of blatant, Beatlesque pop with Gabor Szabo (Simpatico), a soundtrack for a David Niven film and wrote and arranged the highly regarded The October Suite for pianist Steve Kuhn, an outstanding set of lyrical and moody tone poems in a chamber jazz setting. He also recorded Zoot Sims in an orchestral ("sax with strings") setting for the lovely Impulse album Waiting Game.
McFarland acted as "artists and repertoire" man for each Skye recording. Whether performing, arranging and/or producing, McFarland, unlike the other principals of Skye, participated in each of Skye's 20-something recordings (also including Szabo, Tjader, percussionist Armando Peraza, vocalist Grady Tate and blues singer Ruth Brown).
The Skye label lasted less than two years and McFarland, Tjader and Szabo went their separate ways - never to work together again. McFarland went on to compose another film score (Who Killed Mary What's 'Er Name), record a folk-pop record with cartoonist Peter Smith (Butterscotch Rum), arrange a Steve Kuhn pop album and supervise the Broadway musical To Live Another Summer/To Pass Another Winter.
(Edited from Wikipedia & AllMusic& Jazzwax)
Here’s a Fresca TV ad that McFarland wrote, arranged and conducted in 1966. It was posted by Kristian St. Clair, who directed the documentary This Is Gary McFarland.