Gary McFarland epitomized cool to sophisticated audiences of the ‘60s. A vibraphonist and jazz composer, McFarland came to attention as Gerry Mulligan’s arranger in the early ‘60s; he caught the wave of bossa nova and samba and began leading his own recording sessions. By the late ‘60s he moved toward jazz-rock, a step ahead of Miles Davis whose accomplishments overshadowed his own.
This is Gary McFarland is a DVD documentary released in a package with a CD. The film by Kristian St. Clair contains many interviews with musicians, family and friends, and makes use of still photos to cover the paucity of archival footage. Some of the interviewees are still star struck by McFarland’s good looks and panache as well as his musical talent and imagination.
The CD, recorded from a 1965 Seattle radio broadcast, caught him at the top of his game with cool jazz harmonies leavened by the resilient melancholy of Brazilian rhythms. His wordless vocalization of The Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night” was a sign of things to come. McFarland was always seeking new sources of inspiration.
According to the documentary, jazz purists rejected him by the end of the ‘60s because he “dug” rock. McFarland was eager to embrace the new sounds, not to cash in but because he enjoyed matching the freedom of jazz with the discipline of other forms. McFarland died in 1971, age 38, under controversial circumstances. Some call it murder, some an accidental overdose.
