We remember Gato Barbieri. ‘The Years Of El Gato’

Wikipedia : This day (April 2, 2016), in New York City, died Leandro ‘Gato’ Barbieri, an Argentinean jazz tenor saxophonist and composer.

Official Web Site :

@ Verve Music : “It’s the melody,” he continually says. “The melody is the most important thing, and something I very much love. When I play the saxophone, I play life, I play love, I play anger, I play confusion, I play when people scream; all of these aspects of the world I inhabit become naturally important to me. It’s exciting that people are still moved when I play, and I consider myself blessed to have had fans that have listened to me for such a long time. They still do, and I’m still having fun. When I start recording, I am playing for me, but when I play a concert, I play for me and them. It is not a “show”, but it is a musical message. They understand where I am coming from.”

@last.fm : Influenced by John Coltrane’s late recordings, as well as those from saxophonists Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders, Barbieri’s warm and gritty tone began to form that would become his trademark sound.

@Discogs : Though he continued to record and perform into the 1980s, the death of his wife Michelle led him to withdraw from the public. He returned to recording and performing in the late 1990s, playing music that would fall into the arena of smooth jazz.

Photo : Dino Perucci

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