Jazz On The Beach 123: Gato Barbieri & Louis Stewart
Jazz radio all the way from Sandown Castle to St Margaret's Bay
Jazz On The Beach regularly plays artists from Bob Thiele’s Flying Dutchman Records, and this week it’s the fiery Argentinian tenor saxophonist Gato Barbieri with Tupac Amaru from his album Fenix (Flying Dutchman, 1971). El Gato’s composition is named after the last King of the Neo-Inca State who was executed by the Spanish in 1572, and features a terrific line up of Lonnie Liston Smith playing electric piano, guitarist Joe Beck, Ron Carter on electric bass, drummer Lenny White and latin percussionists Gene Golden and Naná Vasconcelos. The groove is fierce and Barbieri is flying, this music sounds as fresh and vital as ever.
Fenix was the second of Barbieri’s five albums for Flying Dutchman (quite possibly his best), and was released only a year after his film score for Bernardo Bertolucci’s Last Tango In Paris (arranged and conducted by Oliver Nelson) had seriously raised his profile, winning him the Grammy award for Best Instrumental Composition and a deal with Impulse Records. Impulse had been Bob Thiele’s label for most of the ‘60s following founder Creed Taylor’s defection to Verve, and by 1970 was in the hands of Ed Michell - a trio of great jazz record producers.
I first met Barbieri in 1975 on Saint Martin in the French West Indies, where he and his wife were staying in the beach apartment directly above mine. Every morning he would greet the new dawn by playing his horn for a couple of hours. It was a privilege and he sounded absolutely great, but there were one or two mornings after late nights where I wished he’d overslept.
Louis Stewart was a wonderful guitar player from Waterford with a gorgeous tone, great technique and the imagination to create magic. I discovered him late, only getting the message from his playing with the Tubby Hayes Quartet on The Syndicate: Live At the Hopbine 1968 Vol.1 (Gearbox, 2015). I caught up with his work on records with George Shearing and Blossom Dearie, and especially his own recordings which are gradually being reissued by the recently reactivated Livia Records.
On this week’s show there’s his phenomenal version of Jerome Kern’s All The Things You Are from Louis The First (Livia Records, March 5th), Stewart’s debut as a leader and a (mostly) trio recording from September 1975 with double bassist Martin Walshe and drummer John Wadham.
At this time Stewart was part of Ronnie Scott’s Quintet and playing regularly with visiting American headliners, and this album was recorded at Trend Studios during a quick trip back to Dublin. It’s the third Stewart album Livia has reissued in the last year, following his solo Out On His Own, and the duo with pianist Noel Kelehan Some Other Blues. They all show just what a world class guitar player he was.
Also this week…another beautiful track from the reflectively longing Miss You, Dear Old Friend (La Reserve, January 26th) by double bassist Alex Tremblay & guitarist Dan Liparini. There’s pianist Vijay Iyer, double bassist Linda May Han Oh and drummer Tyshawn Sorey’s rather wonderful Arch from Compassion (ECM February, 2nd), and a second play from Charles Lloyd’s The Sky Will Be There Tomorrow (Blue Note, March 15th) with Monk’s Dance.
I loved Wish I Could Be There Now by drummer Gustavo Cortiñas (thanks Arlette!) from his Live In Chicago EP (Deasfio Candente Records, February 9th) featuring trumpeter Drew Hansen, tenor saxophonist Artie Black, trombonist Matthew Davis, pianist Joaquín García and double bassist Kitt Lyles. There’s another track from violinist Benet McLean’s excellent recently released Green Park with Bobby Watson’s Fuller Love, and this week felt like an appropriate time to play Pharoah Sanders’ magical The Light At The Edge Of The World from A Prayer Before Dawn (Theresa, 1987).
There’s much more as you can see from the playlist below. I hope you enjoy the music and please keep letting me have your comments and suggestions.
Also…
Congratulations to Tomorrow’s Warriors Co-Founder Janine Irons, who finally received her OBE from The Princess Royal at Buckingham Palace a couple of weeks ago, a mere 15 years after her partner and T.W. Co-Founder Gary Crosby received his.
The impact that their jazz music education and artist development scheme has made on British jazz over the last 33 years is immense, and the list of T.W. alumni includes: Moses Boyd, Binker Golding, Nubya Garcia, Camilla George, Ezra Collective, Zara McFarlane, Shabaka Hutchings, Denys Baptiste, Cassie Kinoshi, Soweto Kinch, Sheila Maurice-Gray, Jason Yarde, Theon Cross, Peter Edwards, Nathaniel Facey, Rosie Turton, Byron Wallen, Andrew McCormack and Joe Armon-Jones. And there’s a whole new generation of Young Warriors coming through led by the excellent Sultan Stevenson, keep in touch here and why not consider supporting them too.
You can listen live to Jazz On The Beach every Wednesday evening from 10.00pm - midnight and to Blues Beach every other Thursday from 6.00pm - 7.00pm on DealRadio.co.uk or via the TuneIn Radio app.
Or you can ask your smart device to ‘Play Deal Radio’.
Both shows are broadcast live from the Deal Radio Studio at 69a High Street, Deal, Kent CT14 6EH, a stone’s throw from the beach.
Jazz On the Beach and Blues Beach radio shows are sponsored by our good friends at Wellingtons with two fine locations: Park Avenue at Welly’s Coffeehouse and Bar, 6 Park Avenue, Deal and Wellingtons Coffeehouse and Bistro, 9 High Street, Dover.