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Gato Barbieri: In Search of the Mystery
ByIn its 40 minutes, In Search of the Mystery reveals Barbieri's unstoppable energy on tenor sax. He works mostly in the high register, climbing around the horn, seeing how far he can push the pitch. Seldom does he touch on tunefulness except to apply it as a bridge into other rousing improvisations.
His choice of band mates reveals a sensitivity to instrumentation. That he placed a cello in the ensemble required some sort of bravura because, at this point, the cello had historically, beginning with Fred Katz in the mid-1950s, only rarely shown up in jazz groups, much less free ones (though Scott himself was featured on several albums from the late-1950s on by musicians like Gerry Mulligan, Mal Waldron and Ahmed Abdul-Malik). It lends an unexpected coloration to the music, as if tenor has a shadowy transformative power following behind it. Scott's solo jaunts express the constant tempo pervading the music, bass and drums providing unshakable forward-motion undercurrents. All three instruments are given occasional solo interludes.
The last track coalesces into conclusiveness, shaped by Barbieri's two-note low-high repetitions occurring from different starting places on his horn, stating perhaps that the resolution to the mystery being sought has been found. Since this album, Barbieri's 'voice' changed drastically as he matured. In this record though, youthfully uninhibited, Barbieri simply let go.
Track Listing
In Search of the Mystery/Michelle; Obsession No. 2/Cinemateque.
Personnel
Gato Barbieri
saxophoneGato Barbieri: tenor saxophone; Calo Scott: cello; Sirone (Morris Jones): bass; Bobby Kapp: drums.
Album information
Title: In Search of the Mystery | Year Released: 2009 | Record Label: ESP Disk
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In Search of the Mystery