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                    Jazz Musician 'Gato' Barbieri Dies at 83

   by VOA News

   Latin jazz saxophonist Leandro "Gato" Barbieri has died. He was 83.

   Barbieri won a Latin Grammy lifetime achievement award last year for
   his career, which the Latin Recording Academy described as covering
   "virtually the entire jazz landscape."

   In 1973, he won a Grammy for the music he created for Bernardo
   Bertolucci's film, Last Tango in Paris, which starred Marlon Brando and
   Maria Schneider.

   Barbieri was born in Argentina to a family that included several
   musicians, but he did not start playing an instrument until he was
   almost a teenager.

   After hearing Charlie Parker's recording of Now's the Time, Barbieri
   began playing the clarinet. He later switched to the alto saxophone and
   then the tenor sax.

   'Gato' nickname

   In the 1950s, he got his nickname "gato," which mean "cat" in Spanish,
   because of the way he scurried between clubs with his saxophone for
   gigs.

   He recorded dozens of albums over a career spanning seven decades.

   Although Barbieri had been in poor health recently, he continued to
   perform. His last appearance was in November at New York's Blue Note
   Jazz Club where he wore his trademark black fedora.

   A public memorial is being planned.

   Some material for this report came from AP and AFP.

   WATCH: Related video of Leandro "Gato" Barbieri

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References

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