Gato Barbieri, “Argentina’s Coltrane”, dies aged 83

Glib as the formula may be it is an apt description of Leandro ‘Gato’ Barbieri, certainly for the first phase of his career, when the fiery Buenos Aires-raised tenor saxophonist made no secret of his admiration for the American pathfinder. Fittingly, Barbieri recorded his 1965 debut with another Trane collaborator, trumpeter Don Cherry, and Togetherness marked out Barbieri as a brilliant new voice in the avant-garde movement after the passing of Ohnedaruth.

South African pianist Abdullah Ibrahim, then known as Dollar Brand, was Barbieri’s other notable collaborator in the late 1960s, a meeting that produced stimulating work that underlined the increasing internationalization of jazz. By the early 1970s the Argentine had taken a decisive turn away from the abstraction of his earlier recordings and started to explicitly reference both his homeland and Latin America musically, culturally and politically. The string of fine albums he cut for the Flying Dutchman and Impulse! labels saw Barbieri augment his rhythm section with miscellaneous percussion and interpret traditional forms such as the milonga as his music became intensely lyrical and danceable. 1974 ‘s Viva Emiliano Zapata, a brilliant orchestral set with arrangements by Chico O’Farrill, is arguably the highlight of the period, though there was a dramatic upturn in Barbieri’s fortunes when he composed the soundtrack for Last Tango In Paris, Bernardo Bertolucci’s torrid tale of a romance in the French capital that saw Marlon Brando push the envelope on sexually explicit imagery.

Barbieri’s haunting theme became immensely popular, won him a Grammy and increased the demand for him on the worldwide touring circuit, which welcomed a flamboyant character in a trademark black fedora and flowing shirts as well as a high-energy performer who always led top-notch bands. Baribieri worked with rock royalty such as Santana but recorded far less prolifically from the 1980s onwards.    

However, his iconic status was secure, and along with Lalo Schifrin, who he accompanied in his formative years in Buenos Aires, Barbieri remains one of the most significant jazz artists Argentina has ever produced.

– Kevin Le Gendre