When Gato Barbieri wields his tenor saxophone, all abstractions melt in the relentless heat. In his trademark wide-brimmed hat, the cat from Argentina invokes a grainy tone that explodes with passionate spririt. Using a variety of whirlwind Latin rhythms as inspiration for his melodic improvisations, Barbieri and his band trasport sun-starved listeners to the sweltering forests, sandy beaches and gyrating Carnival abandon of the tropics. Barbieri came to prominece playing bebop in the 1950s Buenos Aires. By the ’60s he was living in Rome, where he began to intergrate South American music into his jazz expression. This more provocative sound garnered considerable international attention. By 1972 he had composed and performed the score for