Eduardo Gutiérrez del Barrio, known professionally as Eddie del Barrio, is an Argentinian composer, arranger, songwriter, and pianist. He is a founding member of the jazz fusion band Caldera. He has collaborated with Earth, Wind & Fire, Stan Getz, Herb Alpert, and Dianne Reeves.
Early life
Eduardo del Barrio was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in 1937. In 1942 his family moved to Mendoza, where his father started a music school. Del Barrio is a classically trained pianist. At seventeen he led a jazz band, playing in clubs. In 1965 he moved to the United States.[1] His brother Jorge del Barrio was classically trained and moved to Los Angeles, where he worked as an arranger.
Career
Eduardo del Barrio and Jorge Strunz of Costa Rica were the founding members of Caldera, a jazz fusion group. Caldera was composed of Del Barrio on keyboards, Strunz on guitar, Dean Cortez on bass and Steve Tavaglione on saxophone, Cuban drummer Carlos Vega, and Brazilian percussionist Mike Azevedo.
Del Barrio composed "Fantasy", "Runnin' ", "Star",[11] "Sailaway", "Sparkle", "Straight from the Heart" and "Miracles" for Earth, Wind & Fire.[12][13] "Runnin'" was re-recorded by American jazz musician Marcus Miller with additional music and lyrics under the title "Keep 'Em Runnin".[14] "Fantasy" received a nomination for Grammy Award for Best R&B Song. "Runnin" won a Grammy award for Best R&B Instrumental Performance.[15][16]
Del Barrio collaborated with Dianne Reeves during the recording sessions for Caldera's album Sky Islands when she sang on the song "Ancient Source".[17][18] Reeves sang a version of "Ancient Source" on her album The Nearness of You. Del Barrio was a composer on her albums Dianne Reeves and Bridges and produced her album Art and Survival.[19][20][21][22]
Del Barrio began his collaboration with Herb Alpert by composing four songs for his 1988 album Under a Spanish Moon. He composed and played on Alpert's North on South St.[26] and worked as an orchestrator on Alpert's album Midnight Sun.[27] Del Barrio then arranged, orchestrated, and played keyboards on Alpert's album Steppin' Out.[28]Steppin' Out won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Instrumental Album in 2013.[29] Herb Alpert signed Del Barrio to A&M, where he recorded his album Free Play.