3.
Lluvia Azul is worthwhile just to hear Barbieri's passionate take on more conventional Latin Jazz. While not likely to shock fans of his earlier music with the 1960s "New Thing" in jazz, all the pieces come together beautifully here: percussion, lilting piano, an organized ensemble, and non-static, surprising directions that gradually build themselves into something larger than the sum of all its parts. Barbieri's supported by an excellent horn section. Barbieri also recorded this
live.
4.
Encuentros, an aptly titled song, is what led me to think of Barbieri as the "Pharoah Sanders" of Latin Jazz or Latin America. Combining Brazilian rhythms in a large ensemble playing numerous native South American regions, "Encuentros" brings together Brazil and Spanish-speaking South America, Afro-Latin America and indigenous influences in a way I have never heard elsewhere. Gato was at the intersection of the "Third World" quite literally, in this musical tribute to Latin America.
5.
Maria Domingas was written by Jorge Ben, my favorite Brazilian singer. Naturally, I adore Gato's take on a classic in Brazilian samba, plus Lonnie Liston Smith and Stanley Clarke to keep things grounded. Gato even tries a little singing in that utterly unique, yodel-like manner Jorge Ben does. Brilliant.
6.
Yesterdays has been a favorite ever since hearing Billie Holiday emote the standard. Gato does it justice while Lonnie Liston's comping and Ron Carter on bass don't hurt. Playing standards in a Latin vein does not always succeed, but this is one of the successful examples, especially in the combination of Gato's softer, sentimental side with unbridled passion and vibrato.
7.
La China Leoncia Arreo La Correntinada Trajo Entre La Muchachada La Flor De La Juventud is another number bringing to mind Pharoah Sanders or the "world music" phase of other spiritual and free-jazz artists of the 1970s, especially in Barbieri's shrieks and weeping saxophone. Again, unlike most Latin Jazz, "Amerindian" insturments like the charango and drums are used with special effect. Unlike my "Encuentros," this isn't cluttered, either.
8.
Vidala Triste makes the list for featuring significant vocals from Gato and prominent acoustic guitar in a simple yet mysterious romp.
9.
Brasil is propelled by Nana Vasconcelos playing his heart out on berimbau and Smith's piano chops. This is not your lounge-jazz bossa nova at all, which is refreshing, since the song builds up slowly from the slower tempo to a frenetic pace while Gato soars, alluding to his freer period while remaining melodious.
10.
Yo Le Canto A La Luna, by Atahualpa Yupanqui, is another lyrical tribute of sorts to Argentina and one of the great songwriters who honored indigenous heritage. Jazzy accompaniment by Smith, Barbieri's smooth singing is not bad at all, either. For an idea of the source material,
Yupanqui's is a great place to start.
11.
Carnavalito is another Brazilian-flavored song, but does not comprise on Gato's tenor driving the entirety of the song, including higher register skronk calling back to his 1960s days. Vasconcelos is back on berimbau, a deceptively simple while Gato straddles between jazz avant-garde and Latin Jazz.
12.
Cancion del Llamero/Tango is noteworthy as an early foray into Latin music, or Gato standing at the corner of the Third World. Featuring Charlie Haden on bass,
The Third World captures Barbieri in a transitional phase, but it's hauntingly beautiful. The trombone is awkward, but gives it a multilayered texture. Anastasio Quiroga's original
version, just vocals, is equally beautiful. The "Tango" part of the equation sounds like Piazzolla's
Prepárense, which was also recorded by Barbieri several years later,
again. It's a pity the two never recorded together.
13.
Fiesta is where Barbieri went for a more commercial sound, embracing funk, soul, and popular music. While an entertaining number, and musically speaking, more interesting than a lot of popular music of the disco era and beyond, it's just not the Gato whose earlier work speaks to me. This, oddly, sounds like like
Harlem River Drive with a Latin beat.
14.
El Arriero, composed by Yupanqui, is a rollercoaster ride with a brilliant percussion section backing Barbieri with some dissonant squeals and honking.
15.
Parabola, by Alan Shorter, brother of Wayne Shorter, wrote a fascinating song that, well, like a parabola, moves up and down. Muhammad Ali, not the boxer, drums assertively over walking bass and Barbieri's solo takes my breath away. Although this kind of composition sounds like something Grachan Moncur III would have written, the sidemen make it unique, especially Muhammad Ali's propulsive polyrhythms.
16.
India for its austere beauty. Written by a Paraguayan,
Gal Costa also sang the song.
17.
Girl in Black (Para Mi Negra), the highlight for the soundtrack of
Last Tango in Paris. Sensual, lush soundscape again reflecting the influence of the tango. Oliver Nelson, who I love for his 1960s classic exploring the blues, did an excellent job arranging this.
18.
Hotel Overture, from one of Carla Bley's ambitious projects in the 1970s, is a favorite for Barbieri's brief yet soul-stirring solo in a cacophonous overture for Bley's lofty jazz opera. With a whiff of Ellington and Mingus, Bley's jazz orchestra's are usually rewarding. Carla Bley is rightfully highly regarded as a composer and arranger, but sometimes a little goes a long way for those unable to listen to the entirety of
Escalator Over the Hill. This overture will suffice.
19.
Latinoamérica is just an adorable Brazilian-influenced tribute to Latin America. A "cute" Latin Jazz song like Charlie Parker's
Little Suede Shoes or Marion Brown's
La Placita, this is another avenue for Gato's sensitive, emotionally restrained side to express itself with enough cavaquinho to last a lifetime.
20.
El Gato because I am a cat lover and a fan of Oliver Nelson. Barbieri is, as one might expect in a song named after him, introspective while Nelson's horn arrangement responds to his call. Nelson's solo is less adventurous, within the bop realm, yet interesting to hear the contrast in Gato's tenor versus his alto.
21.
Last Tango In Paris Jazz Waltz stands out from the famous soundtrack for it's clave rhythm and overt jazz character.
22.
Michelle as an early example of Gato's 1960s avant-garde years and a lovely tribute to his wife. Just a trio with bass and drums, allowing Gato to blow us away in a free-jazz song that is still structured and accessible, albeit 19 minutes too long for some ears.
23.
Viva la Quince Brigada from Liberation Music Orchestra's suite of Spanish Civil War songs is a showcase for Gato. Haden, Bley, Don Cherry, and just about everyone else participated in this landmark recording of left-wing, anti-imperialist jazz.
24.
What Will be Left Between Us and the Moon Tonight? is similar to Hotel Overture and is unmistakably Carla Bley, but from her
Tropic Appetites. Barbieri, or "Unidentified Cat," solos over what would not have been out of place on some of his own Latin American-inspired records from the same era as this exotica suite encompasses various African, Indian, Asian and Latin moods.
