Szabó Gábor István (8 March 1936 – 26 February 1982), better
known as Gábor Szabó, was an influential jazz guitarist, famous for mixing
jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.
Gábor Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary and began playing guitar at the age of 14, inspired by jazz music heard on Voice of America radio
broadcasts. He escaped Hungary in 1956, the year of the attempted revolt against Soviet-dominated Communist rule, and moved to the United States where he attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston.
broadcasts. He escaped Hungary in 1956, the year of the attempted revolt against Soviet-dominated Communist rule, and moved to the United States where he attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston.
In 1958, he was invited to perform at the Newport Jazz
Festival. Szabó then went on to perform with the quintet of Southern California
drummer Chico Hamilton from 1961 to 1965, playing what has been described as
chamber jazz, with "a moderate avant-gardism.". In 1962 and ’63,
Hamilton’s bands cut two albums consisting entirely of saxophonist Charles
Lloyd compositions, with the title track of Man From Two Worlds featuring
Szabó's guitar on top of a propulsive beat, parrying with Lloyd’s tenor sax.
The CD reissue of the album features a cut called "Lady Gabor" that
had been composed by Szabó.
Beginning in 1966 he recorded a well-received span of albums
under his own name on the Impulse! label. In the late 1960s he co-founded the
short-lived Skye record label along with Cal Tjader and Gary McFarland. Szabó
recorded an album with Lena Horne on Skye in October and November 1969. Szabó
had been part of Horne's backup band when she performed at The Nugget in Nevada
in November 1966 and then when she performed (with Harry Belafonte) at Caesar's
Palace in Las Vegas in September 1969. Likely Szabó had been first introduced
to Lena Horne by her long time accompanyist and his former band leader Chico
Hamilton.
Szabó's playing tended to incorporate elements of folk music from his native Hungary, from Gypsy and Roma influences, and also rock music's use of feedback. Szabó's album Wind, Sky And Diamonds on the Impulse! label features "The California Dreamers", a vocal-ensemble. During his solo career, Szabó performed with noted artists such as Ron Carter, Paul Desmond, and Bobby Womack.
"Bang Bang" taken from above 1966 album.
Gábor Szabó's mid-1960s jazz/gypsy guitar work also strongly
influenced Carlos Santana's playing. Indeed, Szabó's composition "Gypsy
Queen" was used as the second part of Santana's 1970 treatment of Peter
Green's composition "Black Magic Woman", almost down to identical
guitar licks. Santana's 2012 instrumental album Shape Shifter includes a song called
"Mr. Szabo", played in tribute in the style of Gábor Szabó.
Despite his influence on jazz music and the calibre of
players with whom he performed, Gábor Szabó felt he was never fully accepted as
a jazz artist in the
United States. During a 1977 engagement at the Catamaran Hotel in San Diego, he complained to the audience about George Benson's success with "Breezin'" (composer, Bobby Womack). He indicated that he had recorded that song before Benson and that Benson had plagiarized the arrangement from him. Szabó's earlier version can be heard on the High Contrast album with Bobby Womack.
United States. During a 1977 engagement at the Catamaran Hotel in San Diego, he complained to the audience about George Benson's success with "Breezin'" (composer, Bobby Womack). He indicated that he had recorded that song before Benson and that Benson had plagiarized the arrangement from him. Szabó's earlier version can be heard on the High Contrast album with Bobby Womack.
In the late 1970s, Szabo became affiliated with the Church
of Scientology and signed in November 1978 with Vanguard Artists International,
a firm headed by several Scientologists. In 1980, Szabó filed a $21 million
lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, accusing the organization of
embezzling his money, kidnapping him and forcing him to undergo a Scientology
"Life Repair Course." In a 36-page complaint, Szabó's attorney
detailed an elaborate list of accusations which included Scientology's alleged
takeover of the musician's career after he sought help in the church's drug
treatment program. The church filed a countersuit in March 1980 charging Szabó
with fraud, and in 1981 both sides dropped their suits.
Gábor Szabó died in Budapest in February, 1982 from liver and
kidney disease while on a visit to his homeland. He had arrived in the previous
July to produce a record album and had planned to stay until the summer. His
trip was also partly to find treatment for the drug habit he had been battling
for years. He was survived by an ex-wife and a son named Blaise. (Info edited
from Wikipedia)
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For Gabor Szabo “Spellbinder” (1966) go here:
http://www10.zippyshare.com/v/cBnnoadg/file.html
1."Spellbinder" - 5:30
2."Witchcraft" (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh) - 4:39
3."It Was a Very Good Year" (Ervin Drake) - 2:47
4."Gypsy Queen" - 5:13
5."Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" (Sonny Bono) - 2:28
6."Cheetah" - 4:10
7."My Foolish Heart" (Ned Washington, Victor Young) - 5:28
8."Yearning" - 2:59
9."Autumn Leaves/Speak to Me of Love" (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert, Johnny Mercer/Jean Lenoir) - 3:35
Recorded at Rudy Van Gelder Studio in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey on May 6, 1966
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