Jazz Cat

In the liner notes to saxophonist Gato Barbieri’s 1997 Columbia comeback release, “Que Pasa,” Barbieri’s grandson Emilano Battista recalls his grandfather’s stories of walking long distances to a Buenos Aires orphanage, where there was a clarinet he could use for practice. The future saxophonist, hands not yet big enough for the tenor, was 8.

“To me,” Battista wrote, “that young boy’s persistence still characterizes my grandfather’s music.”

Persistence is measured by survival, and the 63-year-old Barbieri seems to have a knack for both. “I’m like the cat,” he said in Spanish-spiced English during a phone interview from his Manhattan home. “I have nine lives.”

“Que Pasa” ended Barbieri’s 15-year self-imposed exile from recording. Though early albums on the Flying Dutchmen, Impulse! and A & M labels enjoyed some success, particularly 1976’s “Caliente,” Barbieri grew disillusioned with the record business and gave up recording in the early ‘80s. “I was mad at the record companies and the way they were treating me,” he said, “so I decided to make a living playing concerts only.”

Before he returned to recording, Barbieri dealt with even bigger challenges. In 1995, his longtime wife and business manager, Michelle, passed away. Not long after, Barbieri suffered a major heart attack, followed by immediate bypass surgery.

“Coming out of the operation was very difficult,” he said. “But . . . I could see that the only thing that was going to keep me alive was playing.”

Within two months of the surgery, he returned to his tenor. Then, in need of money for everything from medical expenses to back taxes, Barbieri joined with producer-keyboardist Philippe Saisse to come up with “Que Pasa” for Columbia. The disc, with rhythm tracks and synthesizer wash, is the smoothest jazz yet from this early jazz-fusion pioneer.

“I didn’t know anything about smooth jazz,” Barbieri said. “Many years ago, Marvin Gaye was one of my friends and he told me you have to do something quiet. And I said why? And he said because I want you to. Now, I understand that I’m some kind of model [for smooth jazz].”

Indeed, Barbieri’s lusty “Last Tango” theme and his version of Carlos Santana’s “Europa” continue to be smooth jazz favorites. But little else is heard from the saxophonist’s 30-some albums.

“I really never was recognized, except early in my career, in 1969 and 1970,” he said. “Now, all people know me for is ‘Last Tango.’

“I was playing Argentine bebop when I was 17, and [Argentine President Juan] Peron said we had to play Argentine music. So we played tango and folk music. I played with Brazilians and I went to Europe and played with [avant-garde] trumpeter Don Cherry and then [pianist-composer] Carla Bley and [bassist] Charlie Haden and the Liberation Orchestra. I have this big ground to stand on. I don’t play Latin, though my music touches all the South American countries. And I don’t play jazz. I play this reactionary Latin jazz.”

*

He defends the commercial appeal of “Que Pasa” even while suggesting he’d like to do something different on the next recording. “Look at John Coltrane. He recorded the album with vocalist Johnny Hartman and people asked why would he do that. We’re not supermen. Sometimes we need recognition with some kind of money.

“But the next album? I can never explain what I want to do. When I start going there, it’s easy to see. When the time comes, I’ll decide what I want.”

* Gato Barbieri plays the Glen Ellen Winery Newport Beach Jazz Festival, Hyatt Newporter Hotel golf course, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach, on Sunday, 6 p.m. Festival runs Saturday-Sunday, noon-8 p.m. One-day pass, $25; two-day pass, $40. Two day VIP ticket, $85. Children younger than 12, $5. (714) 650-5483.

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Newport Beach Jazz Festival

Saturday’s Schedule:

Main Stage

11 a.m.: Joyce Cooling

12:30 p.m.: Brian Culbertson

2: Candy Dulfer

4: Bobby Caldwell’s Big Band

6: Boney James

Second Stage

Noon: Thom Rotella

2:30: Rotella

3:30: Bob Mamet

5: Mamet

Sunday’s Schedule:

Main Stage

11 a.m.: Chuck Loeb

12:30 p.m.: Ray Obeido, Michael Paulo and Wayne Braxton

2: Jim Brickman

4: Patti Austin

6: Gato Barbieri

Second Stage

Noon: Brian Tarquin

1:30 p.m.: Tarquin

3:30: Steve Reid’s Bamboo Forest

5: Bamboo Forest

Hyatt Newporter, 1107 Jamboree Road, Newport Beach. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday. One-day pass $25, two-day pass $40; two-day VIP ticket $85. Children younger than 12, $5. (714) 650-5483.