Gato Barbieri

Leandro Barbieri, better known as El Gato Barbieri, was an Argentine jazz tenor saxophonist and composer. Born on November 28, 1932 in Rosario, Santa Fe Province, Argentina, he rose to fame during the free jazz movement in the 1960s and became renowned for his latin jazz recordings in the 1970s. Coming from a family of musicians, Barbieri's passion for music ignited after hearing Charlie Parker's "Now's the Time". He initially played clarinet before switching to alto saxophone while collaborating with pianist/bandleader Lalo Schifrin in the late 1950s.

Influenced by John Coltrane's late recordings as well as those from saxophonists Albert Ayler and Pharoah Sanders, Barbieri developed his trademark warm and gritty sound. By fusing native South American music into his playing during the late 1960s, he created a unique musical blend. His music score for Bernardo Bertolucci's film "Last Tango in Paris" (1973) earned him a Grammy Award.

In later years, Barbieri moved towards jazz-pop with albums like "Caliente!" which featured his best-known song, a version of Carlos Santana's "Europa". Despite facing personal tragedy with the loss of his wife Michelle leading to a period of withdrawal from public life in the 1980s, he returned to recording