Gato Barbieri’s “Fenix” is the album on which the saxophonist best captured his sound at Flying Dutchman. Born in Rosario, Argentina and brought up in Buenos Aires, Barbieri became enthralled by jazz music from the moment he heard a recording of ‘Now’s The Time’ by Charlie Parker. He learned the saxophone and become one of Argentina’s leading jazz players. In the early 60s he moved to Italy in search of new horizons and ended up working in Don Cherry’s group, appearing on two of the trumpeter’s seminal Blue Note sessions. He made his own debut album for ESP. At this point he re-examined his style. Realising he was ignoring his roots, he set about looking for a new way forward for his music. After working with Charlie Haden in the Liberation Music Orchestra, he signed to Flying Dutchman and made the album “The Third World”. It was the beginning of the process of pulling in the excesses of his playing, which reached fruition on “Fenix” where – alongside Lonnie Liston Smith, Ron Carter and Lennie White – North andSouth Americacollided in a wonderful musical marriage.
