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Gary McFarland "Today"


Shrdlu

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I recently posted a brief recommendation about this one in the Reissues section, but this is the place for it.

The new Japanese CD of this arrived about 10 days ago, and it has really grabbed me. This album is absolutely haunting! I don't often play a CD over and over, especially in these times of a surplus of reissues, but "Today" really stands out.

The album is chock full of gems.

The star, for me, is the (acoustic) guitar of Sam Brown, of whom I've heard very little. The engineer caught his sound superbly on this album. Sam out-Spanishes the Spanish themselves. Up there, too, is Hubert Laws, who reminds us that he is one of the very top flutists. (Here, he is heard on alto flute and piccolo, as well as the regular model.)

The whole group gets into a terrific groove on many tracks - especially in some tags at the ends of selections. The rhythm is Brasilian mainly, and you won't hear a smoother combination of percussion, guitar and bass. It sure helps to have Ron Carter and Grady Tate on board! On one track, Ron treats us to a sustained spell with the low D on his extended bass.

Gary's arrangements are wonderful, and though he isn't a singer in the operatic category, his voice is actually quite pleasant, I think; his intonation is very good. There's also a reasonable amount of his vibes work to be heard.

The selection of songs is very good, too.

A couple of things I would change: I would lose the cello, and I would have had Curtis Fuller play without a mute, in the manner of Jimmy Cleveland and Urbie Green on the Jobim sessions. And I don't like "Suzanne", with its silly lyrics, though the background is nice. One bad track out of 12 isn't doing too badly.

Give this one a spin. The CD is taken from a less than VG+ LP, but the remastering is great, and one can ignore the occasional sonic flaw in the vinyl. Or, get a used LP.

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MY goodness, this sounds almost like Wes Montgomery's Tequila, even sharing the same bass & drum players.

As far as Hubert Laws goes, the only albums of him that I've heard are on Milt Jackson's Goodbye and his own In the Beginning. I really enjoy the Jackson, but ITB is on a whole 'nother plane; probably in the same stratosphere of emotion that the present McFarland album does for Brother Shrdlu. I need to seek this out!

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Well, Hubert does not dominate this album. There are some short solos, but it's mainly ensemble work, so it could be anybody, really. The solos really dig in, and make you think "Yeah!".

I have never heard a massive amount of Laws, but I remember when he first appeared on albums, in the late 60s, and I have always liked his sound and ideas. This is a real, specialist flutist, not just a tenor player who plays it because everybody is doing it and he can't avoid it. (Though a lot of those are very good, too.) I don't recall many album names from back then, but there was a "Flute By Laws" album, and he was on some CTI albums, as well as Quincy Jones' masterpiece "Walking In Space", I think. Also, he is good on the Chick Corea double album "Inner Space" - you need the Japanese version of that one to get good sound.

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MY goodness, this sounds almost like Wes Montgomery's Tequila, even sharing the same bass & drum players.

That prompted me to give that album a spin again. Great stuff, but it isn't anything like the McFarland session. It's interesting to consider how different two sessions, with the same or similar personnel, can turn out to be.

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MY goodness, this sounds almost like Wes Montgomery's Tequila, even sharing the same bass & drum players.

As far as Hubert Laws goes, the only albums of him that I've heard are on Milt Jackson's Goodbye and his own In the Beginning. I really enjoy the Jackson, but ITB is on a whole 'nother plane; probably in the same stratosphere of emotion that the present McFarland album does for Brother Shrdlu. I need to seek this out!

I have ITB and it definitely works for me.

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Well, this is too good to be so little known, Chris. It's sad that it probably won't be reissued outside Japan. The tapes are apparently lost. That would explain why DCC put out CDs of Gary's other two Skye albums but not this one.

I must check out those two Jacksons. You can't go wrong with Milt, in any case.

I missed most of the CTIs the first time around because there was so much from earlier years to catch up with.

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MY goodness, this sounds almost like Wes Montgomery's Tequila, even sharing the same bass & drum players.

That prompted me to give that album a spin again. Great stuff, but it isn't anything like the McFarland session. It's interesting to consider how different two sessions, with the same or similar personnel, can turn out to be.

Interestingly, AMG only gives the McFarland session only two stars. Ah well, whatta they know? ;)

BTW, I'm pretty sure the Laws & Jackson CTIs are still in print. I’m tellin’ ya, if you think at all positively about Laws, ITB will move you like nothing else. His arrangement of “Gymnopedie” is worth the price of admission alone. Don’t listen to it without a box o’ Kleenex next to you. :wub:

Edited by Big Al
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The star, for me, is the (acoustic) guitar of Sam Brown, of whom I've heard very little. The engineer caught his sound superbly on this album. Sam out-Spanishes the Spanish themselves.

Sam Brown also plays some memorable guitar on Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra (Impulse!, 1969) and Keith Jarrett's Treasure Island (Impulse!, 1974).

Edited by alankin
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  • 17 years later...
44 minutes ago, Late said:

Kristian St. Clair's documentary is very much worth watching. Especially recommended for listeners who are already fans.

This Is Gary McFarland

We premiered this locally at the time of release.  It probably leaves more questions than answers, especially in light of his death.

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