By Emiliano Gullo @emilianogullo Courtesy of NTD.la
Editor's note: While reviewing the archives of our brothers at No tan distintos (Ntd.la) we found this tribute to Gato Barbieri. Gato, a great musician and innovator of jazz, died a little over two years ago at the age of 83, leaving behind countless memorable artistic pieces. This note was written shortly before his passing. In borrowed words, we believe it is not too late to pay tribute to this master and listen to his compositions again.
The film is Last Tango in Paris. The scene takes place in a bathroom. Marlon Brando hands the towel to Maria Schneider. A palpable, suspended atmosphere envelops them. The sexual tension mounts. Brando turns his back. He wants Schneider to put her fingers in his ass. She has him pinned against the window and hears him say: “I’m going to get a pig. And I’m going to make it fuck you.”. She bends down and as she penetrates him, the vibration of a saxophone further heightens the senses. It is also the sublime moment of Leandro Barbieri, a saxophonist from Rosario; who at 40 years old will win a Grammy for the music composed for the film directed by Bernardo Bertolucci in 1972. Up until that point, "Gato" Barbieri was a well-known musician in the New York scene, but after the film, he began knocking on the doors of the world's jazz pantheon. He just turned 83 and his knocking is getting louder every day.
That Barbieri was born in Rosario in 1932 seems to have been just a coincidence. Given his early passion for jazz, El Gato could have come from a suburb of Louisiana, perhaps even New Orleans. At 12, he gravitated towards the clarinet, which he quickly traded for the alto sax. However, he found his legendary sound years later, after navigating the Parisian avant-garde of the 1960s, on the tenor sax. And with the change of instrument, his preferences also shifted. That's how Parker gave way to John Coltrane in the spirit of Barbieri.
He lived more than half his life in the United States, but Gato is still an Argentinian at heart: Newell's Old Boys fan -recorded the club's anthem- And in politics, he was always inclined towards communist ideals. Isolated from the Argentine mainstream by his residence in New York for over 40 years, music experts place him among the pantheon of geniuses that includes, among others, Astor Piazzolla, Carlos Gardel, Mercedes Sosa, and Lalo Schifrin. His artistic career reached its first high point at the age of 20 when he joined the Schifrin Orchestra. Later, with his own bands, he became a sensation in Europe before finally landing in the United States., where he was king at the very beginning of the 70s.
In 1972, the Italian director Bernardo Bertolucci summoned him to compose the music for the film. Last tango in paris. The soundtrack won a Grammy and, four years later, regained worldwide momentum with the version of Europe (Earth's Cry Heaven's Smile), by Carlos Santana. From that moment on and for the next decades, Gato played in whatever part of the world he wanted.
The death of his first wife in 1995 and a series of heart problems kept him away from performing for a while. He made a triumphant return to the stage at the end of that decade.
One of Gato's last musical shocks was the album New York Meeting. The idea had come from an old friend of his, the drummer Nestor Astarita. The production was handled by Lito Nebbia. The project - which became a success - also involved Carlos Franzetti on piano, and David Finck on double bass.