Search - Gato Barbieri :: Best of the Early Years

At long last! Music greatly deserving of wider appreciation.

06/22/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I love all of Gato's music from his free jazz days up through to his most recent release, Che Corazon, but the Flying Dutchman albums from which this new CD is compiled are personal favorites of mine. These releases are among THE most beautiful and inspiring of any music I own. What I really love about them is that on them you not only hear Gato's uniquely talented saxophone voice, you also really get a feeling for his incredible ingenuity as an arranger, AND you hear him singing (on "Yo Le Canto a La Luna") and playing flute ("Bolivia") as well (not to mention his stellar sidemen on these releases!). Both his voice and his flute-playing have a very natural quality and I would love to hear hime do both again. As collections go, this one is very nicely done - and much better than the Greatest Hits collection recently released by A&M. For one thing, this one has liner notes! My only gripe is that RCA did not include any of the music from El Pampero, Yesterdays or the Third World, but I suspect they did this for fear the screechiness of those albums might scare off those who enjoy his contemporary work so much. And if by structuring the collection this way, RCA succeeds in making this wonderful music more widely known and accessible to Gato's newer fans, it will be well worth the sacrifice. Bravo, indeed, RCA! Now how about making a box set of all seven releases available here in the U.S.? :-)"

Great Latin Jazz

jrhstealth | California | 06/01/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Gato Barbieri is one of the best saxophonists out there in my opinion. His early work is very salsafied with a lot of drums and spanish rhythms. I own "Que Pasa" and thought that was great as well. Compared to this, it has been somewhat updated musically. This album has an old school feel to it--which isn't bad at all. I see this album as ideal summer music, good for playing in the background at a barbeque. It isn't souped up with today's mixing and arranging technology, but has just enough raw spicyness to it that you'll think you're at a Central American Club on the beach for vacation. If you like jazz like Tito Puente and such...you will enjoy this."