Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971 LA, CA)

was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verveand Impulse! Records during the 1960s. Down Beat magazine said he made “one of the more significant contributors to orchestral jazz”. A 2015 review of a McFarland DVD documentary called him “one of the busiest New York jazz arrangers of the 1960s”. The review further stated that McFarland’s “ascendance coincided with the rise of bossa nova, and McFarland was adept at translating the mercurial song form into orchestrations. He wrote some beautiful orchestral settings for great soloists, yet wasn’t immune to commercial forces.”