The Argentine musician takes us on a journey through his illustrious career.

Gato Barbieri

Editor’s note: Famed saxophonist Leandro “Gato” Barbieri passed away on Saturday, April 2, 2016, in New York City. He was 83 years old.

In 2015, the Latin Grammy Award for Musical Excellence was presented to Argentine composer Gato Barbieri, one of the most deserving musicians to be honored for his extensive career, throughout which he created a bridge between Latin music and an international audience.

In love with jazz since his formative years in the city of Rosario, Barbieri trained playing with great figures of American jazz during the 1960s.

But his heart never left his Latin American sensibility. When he came to fame as a soloist and leader of his own group, he sold millions of records, forging a personal language that draws inspiration from tango, Brazilian cadences, the sounds of the Andes and South American folklore.

Over the past few years, Barbieri, who turns 83 on November 28, has suffered several health complications. From his home in New York, the musician spoke with remarkable sincerity about this new stage of his life, now far from his youth, but full of acceptance and hope.

You recently performed at the Blue Note club in New York and sold out. How does it feel to be a jazz legend at the age of 80-something?

When I play here at the Blue Note, people come from Russia, from Europe, from everywhere, because people identify with what Gato has done.

Now, I’m a little sick and it’s hard for me to walk. I don’t like that. I have to do exercises and things like that. I’m going to be 83 years old and it’s necessary to do these things that put me in a horrendous mood [laughs].

Life is like that, it has nice things and ugly things, and you have to keep walking, walking, walking…It’s like a tango. If you pay attention, tango talks about beautiful things: people, siblings, loves, the sweet details of existence. To this day, there are some tango songs that I find incredible.

What memories do you cherish from the beginning of your career?

When I started playing with the Casablanca orchestra, when I was 17. We played bebop music, which for me was something incredible. We used to perform at carnivals in the provinces of Argentina.

I also have fond memories of playing in Europe with trumpeter Don Cherry, because I learned so much. He never said anything; he didn’t talk to us or explain anything about the music we were going to play. When we played together, we improvised, and he never stopped changing his compositions. It was a great thing.

And then, in 1972, came the music for Last Tango in Paris, which brought you international fame. What was it like to write the soundtrack for such a controversial film?

It was a magical thing, because Bernardo [Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci] is an incredible guy, an incredibly talented director. I was in good spirits, but it wasn’t an easy job because there were 50 moments in the film that needed music.

I remember we took a piano up to Pepito Pignatelli’s [owner of a legendary jazz club in Rome] house, which was on the fifth floor. Doing something like that 50 years ago was not easy, but when we recorded it, it was a beautiful thing. Sometimes the difficult things are the most beautiful.

And that unforgettable main theme, which is repeated throughout the film, how did it come about?

Bernardo called me and asked me to present him with several melodies, and that they should be as beautiful as possible. We had just gone to Italy to play some concerts, and we met Bernardo. I played him three or four tunes, and he immediately chose one and said: “This is the theme from The Last Tango in Paris”.

What do you think has been the secret of your success?

From 1970 onwards, I recorded about 45 records. That’s a lot. I was a guy who was always doing something, for me that lifestyle was a great satisfaction. As for the sax, I never knew much about chords. I make up my own chords, put one thing on top of them… and that’s it.

It’s hard to explain why I made the artistic choices I did. I wanted to do a little bit of everything, play an Argentine chacarera, or record with an Italian singer like Antonello Venditti [the hit ballad “Modena”, in 1979]. I always chose to play music from many different countries, and people identify with that.

Undoubtedly, you have lived a privileged life….

Yes, in a certain way, yes. Michelle [his first wife, who died in 1995] helped me a lot. She’s always in my heart, because she was incredible. She knew about film, art, so many things. In that sense, I learned a lot from her. And now I am living with Laura, my wife, who is a great person.

She has given me my only son, who is now 17 years old. He is tall and very intelligent, although a bit lazy, as I was myself at his age. It must be hereditary [laughs].

EL PAMPERO (1971)

After El Gato left his native Argentina, but before becoming a Latin jazz star, Gato Barbieri spent the second half of the 1960s collaborating with great, avant-garde musicians: trumpeter Don Cherry, vibraphonist Gary Burton and bassist Charlie Haden, among others. Capping a career for Barbieri as the leader of his own group, El pampero is an album recorded live at the Montreux Jazz Festival. Four tracks with extensive improvisations, steeped in South American nostalgia.

Gato Barbieri: Latin ‘jazz’ with a touch of pop and South American folklore.

By: Ernesto Lechner

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