GATO BARBIERI — Fenix (review)

GATO BARBIERI — Fenix album cover Album · 1971 · Latin Jazz Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Abraxas
Who would have thought that the powerful, soul-blowing, but rather underground music of Pharoah Sanders and the like would reach Argentina, the farthest south country on America (it's also a continent, you know)?

By the late 60s and early 70s this "hippie jazz" movement I like to call was having a high point, Alice Coltrane, Liston Smith, Michael White, etc, were releasing peace-minded music with jazz tinges, very religiously inspired. But what was going on in Argentina? Historically, we were still in a big crisis, full of terror and repression, soon to be replaced by the military dictatorship (by 1974). Artists of all kind usually traveled to Europe, although rock and folk bands were having their heyday back then, with a wild youth.

It's the case of Gato Barbieri, tenor saxophonist, who brings the peace and relentless energy of Pharoah to Latin America. Fenix, from 1971, fuses vast latin percussion (unlike Sanders' african inclination) with big and powerful sax melodies that veer towards free jazz. But alike his inspiration, Sanders, he doesn't often get into atonal or chaotic moments. But I'm not trying to make Barbieri sound as a Sanders-clone, he does imitate that fat, fuelled, resounding sax of the latter, but I think Gato grooves quite more and has that latin feel, that makes him sound more pleasant for the unaccustomed ear.

If you're interested in either latin jazz or "hippie jazz", Fenix is a must-have. Just in case you didn't notice, Lonnie Liston Smith is playing keys, Ron Carter on bass, Vasconcelos on percussion, there's even Lenny White on drums! Yep, this is a stellar session with excellent tenor sax on the front and lots of percussion backing up.
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js wrote:
more than 2 years ago
Yeah I like this album too, nice review.

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