Review of Gato Barbieri Live In The Latin Quarter

Introduction

Argentinean saxophonist Gato Barbieri has conducted a varied musical career spanning 50 years. Starting off in 1951 in a band led by Lalo Schifrin (later well known for movie soundtracks), he has played in diverse musical styles from pop/jazz through latin to more demanding avant-garde material. To movie fans, he is probably best known for his sensuous score for "Last Tango in Paris".

Through a combination of unfortunate circumstances, Gato was silent for most of the 90s. However, he returned reinvigorated in 1997 with "Que Pasa" and followed this quickly with the Chuck Loeb produced "Che Corazon". This DVD sees Gato and band playing in New York`s Latin Quarter club and features a selection of tracks from his recent albums plus some older material.

Video

Video is letterboxed at 1.78:1 and of a fairly decent quality. Colours are gorgeously rich and vibrant with the set being given a warm neon glow. The image is a bit soft with a slight lack of detail but it isn`t a major problem. A good attempt is made to inject a little variety into the camera work but ultimately it is a faithful rendition of a jazz club date and, as such, there isn`t much going on visually.

Audio

Audio comes in DD 2.0, DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 flavours and all sound superb. The performances are excellent and are reproduced with a warm and detailed sound. It is hard to tell the difference between the DD 5.1 and DTS 5.1 tracks; both are clear, warm and brightly detailed. The sound field isn`t particularly expansive, with the rears being used primarily to inject some room acoustic ambience, but this is more natural than aggressive steering and was probably a wise decision.

The music varies from some fairly mellow smooth jazz to more avant-garde latin sounds. Throughout, Gato`s emotional tenor sax sounds superb. However, his band is equally superb and occasionally upstages the leader with some sinuous latin grooves. In fact, I often found myself tuning more to the backing band than Gato himself. Percussion features heavily in the concert and is brought to the fore in the mix, sounding crystal clear.

The standout track from me was the mellow opener "Mystica" which pays homage to both Satie`s "Gymnopedie III" and Bob James` "Westchester Lady". "Last Tango In Paris" was equally lovely.

Features

None

Conclusion

I`ve heard a saxophone called "the ill wind that nobody blows good" and if you`ve heard your neighbour`s child practicing you might be tempted to agree. Gato Barbieri may cause you to re-evaluate your view, though. He is a master of the tenor saxophone, using it more as a voice substitute than an instrument. This DVD displays the full range of his talents with an equally talented backing band. Note that Gato has always had avant-garde leanings and, thus, his music can occasionally be quite challenging and not always for the jazz novice.

Image tends to produce discs with high quality sound and this is no exception - the sound is superb. However, there are no extras which is a disappointment.

A must buy for fans of jazz saxophone.