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GATO BARBIERI
EL PAMPERO
 RCA Victor
Gold Series 09026638712
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Gato Barbieri - tenor saxophone ( vocal track
4 )
Tracks 1 - 4 : Lonnie Liston Smith - piano; Chuck Rainey - electric
bass; Bernard "Pretty" Purdie - drums; Sonny Morgan -
conga; Nana Vasconcelos - percussion, berimbau.
Recorded June 18, 1971 at the Montreux Jazz Festival, Montreux,
Switzerland.
Track 5 : Romeo Penque - alto flute, English horn; Phil Bodner -
flute, alto flute; Danny Bank - bass clarinet; Oliver Nelson - alto
saxophone, conductor, arranger ; Hank Jones - piano; David Spinozza
- guitar ; Ron Carter - bass; Bernard " Pretty" Purdie
- drums; Airto Moreira - percussion.
Recorded May 1972 at RCA Studios, New York City.
1. El Pampero
2. Mi Buenos Aires Querido
3. Brasil
4. El Arriero
5. El Gato
During the late 60's and early 70's Leandro "Gato" Barbieri
achieved a level of fame quite unusual for a Jazz musician from
the avant-garde school. This was largely due to his hugely successful
soundtrack to the film "The Last Tango In Paris " which
gained great notoriety during this period . It has been said that
this composition became Gato's albatross, his career certainly took
quite a dip when he returned to his Argentinean homeland, although
his musical scope broadened as he became more aware of South American
forms - particularly the tango. In recent years he has undergone
something of a revival and his latest recordings are of a very high
standard.
This disc features the Gato Barbieri group in a live performance
at Montreux in 1971. Track 5 is a bonus and recorded in a studio
in New York one year later. The material is typical fare from this
era - all of a Latin nature and including the standard "Brazil."
Perhaps the most distinctive aspect of Barbieri's playing is his
tone on the tenor saxophone . It is a totally unique sound and the
adjective which best describes it is passionate. His playing is
often wild and overblown but highly effective nonetheless. He seems,
at this period in his career , to have boundless energy and fire
even on the slower numbers. In more recent times he sometimes adopts
a smoother, more melodic approach to his improvisations, but either
style is well worth listening to.
The accompanying musicians manage to match Gato's fire and there
are some excellent passages from Lonnie Liston Smith on keyboard.
Chuck Rainey seemed to be everyone's choice of bass player during
this period and it is easy to see why with his driving style and
yet superb sense of time. As would be expected, this record is heavy
on percussion and it is a constant wonder to hear the variety of
sound produced in these backdrops. This is essential Gato Barbieri
!
Dick Stafford.
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