The score for Bernardo Bertolucci's 1972 film Last Tango in Paris provided the breakout moment for Leandro Gato Barbieri, earning the saxophonist a Grammy Award and a contract with Impulse! Records. Born in Rosario, Argentina, in 1932, the musician spent his career navigating the transitions between free jazz, soul-jazz, and Latin-infused compositions before his death in New York City in 2016.
Early Development and Influences
Barbieri began his musical journey after encountering Charlie Parker's Now's the Time. He initially performed on clarinet before shifting to alto saxophone, playing alongside Argentine pianist Lalo Schifrin during the late 1950s. While residing in Rome in the early 1960s, he collaborated with trumpeter Don Cherry. During this period, he integrated the influence of John Coltrane and free jazz practitioners such as Pharoah Sanders and Albert Ayler to cultivate his characteristic warm and gritty tone.
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As the 1960s progressed, Barbieri incorporated music from his home country into his performance style. He participated in notable multi-artist projects, including work for Carla Bley's Escalator over the Hill and Charlie Haden's Liberation Music Orchestra. By the mid-1970s, his musical focus transitioned toward soul-jazz and jazz-pop under A&M Records.
Film Scores and Later Career
Barbieri balanced his recording career with film composition, providing music for titles such as Firepower in 1979 and Strangers Kiss in 1983. Following a hiatus to care for his first wife, Michelle, during her terminal illness, he returned to the public stage in the late 1990s. At the request of Bahman Maghsoudlou, he composed for Amir Naderi's Manhattan by Numbers in 1991 and Daryush Shokof's Seven Servants in 1996. He released the smooth jazz album Qué Pasa in 1997.
Fast facts
- Born: 1932, Rosario, Argentina
- Died: 2016, New York City
- Nickname: Gato (Spanish for cat)
- Primary Instrument: Tenor saxophone
- Notable Award: Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (2015)
- Fictional Inspiration: Character Zoot from the Muppets
Questions readers ask
What caused Gato Barbieri's death?
He died of pneumonia in New York City on April 2, 2016, at the age of 83.
Did Barbieri continue his career after his first wife's death?
Yes. After Michelle Barbieri passed away in 1995, he eventually resumed recording and performing, later marrying his second wife, Laura, with whom he had a son, Christian, in 1998.
Achievements
- Latin Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award — 2015
- Instruments: voice and tenor saxophone
- Genres: jazz and Latin jazz
