Naming an uncompromising jazz album in commemoration of a soccer victory is not as strange as it may appear, for sports and the creative arts share an ability to unite diverse people in a sense of community that grows rarer every day. As we become ever more autonomous, as civic and religious ties continue to fray, sports and the arts remain the stages that bring us together and unite us in our passions. The cheers that are heard on Viva Belgrano echo those we encounter when the best musicians touch us with their passion, imagination and soul. I've heard Oscar Feldman have that effect on a crowd, whether at a large festival like that in Punta del Este, Uruguay, where I first heard him perform, or in the closer quarters of Buenos Aires' legendary coffee house El Tortoni, where I was privileged to hear him sit in with one of his mentors, pianist Horacio Larumbe. The saxophonist's technique is beyond reproach, and his ideas are fresh and commanding, but what really got to me and the other listeners was his passionate, attention-grabbing sound. I immediately liked my sound, Feldman explains with a laugh. It was primitive, and I learned to develop it, but I was happy with where I started; and playing with a lot of singers made me see that it was important to go for more than just straight jazz technique. Gato Barbieri felt that way, too, that your sound is the source. Some people emphasize lines, where I put more effort into living every note. Feldman was born and raised in Cordoba, Argentina, where his father was the Director of Culture and owned an art gallery. He had bought a saxophone to learn himself, but quickly realized that he didn't have the time to develop like Coltrane and the other guys he was listening to on records. I got his sax in 1976, and really started to grow when I went to the local conservatory in '78, Feldman explains. Bob Blumenthal
