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Gato Barbieri

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Gato Barbieri was an Argentine jazz saxophonist, born on 28 November 1932 in Rosario and died on 2 April 2016 in New York. His nickname Gato means cat in Spanish. He grew up in a musical family and began making music after hearing Charlie Parker's Now's the Time. He played clarinet and later alto sax, including with the Argentine pianist Lalo Schifrin at the end of the 1950s. In the early 1960s he worked in Rome with the trumpeter Don Cherry. Influenced by the late recordings of John Coltrane and by Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders, he developed the warm, raw tone for which he became known.

Music and breakthrough

At the end of the 1960s he brought South American music into his playing and took part in projects such as Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra and Carla Bley's Escalator over the Hill. He wrote the film score for Bernardo Bertolucci's Last Tango in Paris from 1972, for which he won a Grammy and was given a record contract with Impulse!. The series Chapter One to Chapter Four followed. In the mid-1970s he signed to A&M and his music moved towards soul jazz and jazz pop. The album Caliente! from 1976, produced by Herb Alpert, contains his best-known song, an adaptation of Europa by Carlos Santana.

Influence

After the death of his wife Michelle in 1995 he did not perform for a time. At the end of the 1990s he returned, among other things with the album Qué Pasa from 1997, which moved more towards smooth jazz. He was the inspiration for the character Zoot in the band Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem from The Muppets.

Listening

Listening tip. Listen to his version of Europa by Carlos Santana on Caliente! and notice the warm, raw tone of the tenor saxophone. Try to hear how the saxophone takes over the melody of a rock song.

Discography

Studio albums

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

See also

Categories: Artists