Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Leandro “Gato” Barbieri (1932–2016) (Photo: DownBeat Archives)
(Photo: )Saxophonist Leandro “Gato” Barbieri, the influential Latin bandleader who composed the Grammy-winning music for the 1972 film Last Tango in Paris, died April 2 in New York. He was 83.
Barbieri’s wife, Laura, confirmed that the cause of death was pneumonia.
Born in Argentina on Nov. 22, 1932, Barbieri began his musical career on clarinet, but switched to saxophone while still in his youth. In 1947 he moved with his family to Buenos Aires, where he apprenticed under the esteemed Argentine pianist/composer Lalo Schifrin. There he also earned the nickname “Gato” (Spanish for cat), supposedly for the way he would hurry from nightclub to nightclub between gigs.
A prolific recording artist, Barbieri’s discography spanned some 30 albums. Though his early recordings tended to emulate the free-jazz style of the era—he recorded Togetherness with Don Cherry in 1965 and Hamba Khale with Abdullah Ibrahim in 1968—he eventually developed a more lyrical Latin-jazz sound, which in turn broadened his public appeal. His 1997 release, the smooth jazz-influenced Que Pasa, reached Number 2 on the Billboard contemporary jazz charts.
Barbieri’s melodic approach to Latin jazz helped expand the genre to a wider audience, but his most far-reaching accomplishment came after he was asked to write the music for Bernado Betrolucci’s Last Tango in Paris, which starred Marlon Brando in the lead role. The soundtrack won a Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Composition in 1973. The success of the album led to a recording contract with Impulse! Records, under which the saxophonist would release his acclaimed Chapter albums, a four-part series that included appearances by bassist Ron Carter, trumpeter Randy Brecker, percussionist Chico O’Farrill and drummer Grady Tate.
Last year, Barbieri received a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award from the Latin Recording Academy, given in recognition of his significant contribution to the development of Latin music in film, pop and jazz. Despite his numerous accomplishments, he remained a lifelong student of his craft.
“Every day I discover, slowly, something in me, how to play a certain thing or … something,” Barbieri said in the April 21, 1977, issue of DownBeat. “You learn every day, and I think it’s very important not to leave everything like it is, like everything is OK. Lots of people say everything is OK—I don’t think everything is OK. I think everything is to learn, to understand, and to be open—the most difficult thing is to know ourselves.”
—Brian Zimmerman
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Foster was truly a drummer to the stars, including Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Joe Henderson.
Jun 3, 2025 11:25 AM
Al Foster, a drummer regarded for his fluency across the bebop, post-bop and funk/fusion lineages of jazz, died May 28…
“Branford’s playing has steadily improved,” says younger brother Wynton Marsalis. “He’s just gotten more and more serious.”
May 20, 2025 11:58 AM
Branford Marsalis was on the road again. Coffee cup in hand, the saxophonist — sporting a gray hoodie and a look of…
“What did I want more of when I was this age?” Sasha Berliner asks when she’s in her teaching mode.
May 13, 2025 12:39 PM
Part of the jazz vibraphone conversation since her late teens, Sasha Berliner has long come across as a fully formed…
Roscoe Mitchell will receive a Lifetime Achievement award at this year’s Vision Festival.
May 27, 2025 6:21 PM
Arts for Art has announced the full lineup for the 2025 Vision Festival, which will run June 2–7 at Roulette…