MacRae studied at the
New South Wales Conservatorium of Music and then worked in
Australia in the 1960s as an arranger for
Festival Records. He moved to the United States in 1969, playing with
experimental groups in
Los Angeles before joining
Buddy Rich's ensemble in 1970. He relocated to
London in 1971, working that year with jazz musicians
Clark Terry,
Chet Baker,
Jon Hendricks and
Gil Evans. From 1972 to 1980 he was the musical director for
The Goodies, arranging and producing the music for seasons 3 to 8 of the
television series of the same name, and arranging and performing on their
five studio albums. In 1971, he was briefly with a group called
Caparius before he joined
Matching Mole, where he remained until 1972. and then played in a reconstituted version of
Soft Machine in 1984. from series six/1976. He returned to Australia later in 1984, and played in the
Sydney area with
Bernie McGann and Ronnie Scott. He is the father of singer
Jade MacRae. ==References==