Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music.

Early years

Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age of 14. In the aftermath of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, he moved to California and later attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston between 1958 and 1960.

Career

In 1961, Szabó became member of a quintet that was led by

Chico Hamilton Foreststorn "Chico" Hamilton (September 20, 1921 – November 25, 2013) was an American jazz drummer and bandleader. He came to prominence as sideman for Lester Young, Gerry Mulligan, Count Basie, and Lena Horne. Hamilton became a bandleade ...

and included Charles Lloyd, playing what has been described as chamber jazz, with "a moderate avant-gardism." Szabó was influenced by the rock music of the 1960s, particularly the use of feedback. In 1965 he was in a jazz pop group led by Gary McFarland, then worked again with Lloyd in an energetic quartet with

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy awards, and is also a cellist who has recorded nu ...

and Tony Williams. The song "Gypsy Queen" from Szabó's debut solo album '' Spellbinder'' became a hit for rock guitarist Carlos Santana. During the late 1960s, Szabó worked in a group with guitarist Jimmy Stewart. He started the label Skye Records with McFarland and Cal Tjader. Szabó continued to be drawn to more popular, commercial music in the 1970s. He performed often in California, combining elements of Gypsy and Indian music with jazz. He returned often to his home country of Hungary to perform, and it was there that he died just short of his 46th birthday.

Death

While visiting family in Budapest during the Christmas holiday, Szabó was admitted to the hospital and finally succumbed to the liver and kidney ailments he suffered from and died on February 26, 1982. He was buried in Farkasréti Cemetery.

Discography

As leader

* '' Gypsy '66'' (

Impulse! Impulse! Records (occasionally styled as "¡mpulse! Records" and "¡!") is an American jazz record company and label established by Creed Taylor in 1960. John Coltrane was among Impulse!'s earliest signings. Thanks to consistent sales and positiv ...

, 1965 el. 1966 * '' Spellbinder'' (Impulse!, 1966) * '' Simpático'' (Impulse!, 1966) - with Gary McFarland * '' Jazz Raga'' (Impulse!, 1966 el. 1967 * '' The Sorcerer'' (Impulse!, 1967) * '' More Sorcery'' (Impulse!, 1967 el. 1968 * '' Light My Fire'' (Impulse!, 1967) - with Bob Thiele * ''

Wind, Sky and Diamonds ''Wind, Sky and Diamonds'' is an album by Hungarian jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó featuring performances recorded in 1967 for the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1967) * ''

Bacchanal The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome ...

'' (

Skye The Isle of Skye, or simply Skye (; gd, An t-Eilean Sgitheanach or ; sco, Isle o Skye), is the largest and northernmost of the major islands in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. The island's peninsulas radiate from a mountainous hub dominated b ...

, 1968) * '' Dreams'' (Skye, 1968) * '' 1969'' (Skye, 1969) * '' Lena & Gabor'' (Skye, 1969

el. 1970 EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

- with

Lena Horne Lena Mary Calhoun Horne (June 30, 1917 – May 9, 2010) was an American dancer, actress, singer, and civil rights activist. Horne's career spanned more than seventy years, appearing in film, television, and theatre. Horne joined the chorus of th ...

* ''

Magical Connection ''Magical Connection'' is an album by Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó featuring performances recorded in 1970 and released on the Blue Thumb label.Payne, DGábor Szabó discographyaccessed February 21, 2012 Reception The Allmusic review states ...

'' (Blue Thumb, 1970) * '' High Contrast'' ( Blue Thumb, 1971) - with Bobby Womack * '' Small World'' (Four Leaf Clover weden 1972) * '' Mizrab'' ( CTI, 1972

el. 1973 EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American po ...

* '' Rambler'' (CTI, 1973 el. 1974 * ''

Gabor Szabo Live ''Gabor Szabo Live'' (also referred to as ''Live with Charles Lloyd featuring Spellbinder'') is an album by Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó featuring performances recorded at The Troubadour in early 1972 and released on the Blue Thumb label in ...

'' (Blue Thumb, 1974) - with Charles Lloyd; recorded 1972 * '' Macho'' (Salvation/CTI, 1975) * '' Nightflight'' (

Mercury Mercury commonly refers to: * Mercury (planet), the nearest planet to the Sun * Mercury (element), a metallic chemical element with the symbol Hg * Mercury (mythology), a Roman god Mercury or The Mercury may also refer to: Companies * Merc ...

, 1976) * '' Faces'' (Mercury, 1977) * ''

Belsta River ''Belsta River'' is an album by Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó featuring performances recorded in Stockholm in 1977 and released on the Swedish Four Leaf Clover label.

'' (Four Leaf Clover weden 1978) * ''

Femme Fatale A ''femme fatale'' ( or ; ), sometimes called a maneater or vamp, is a stock character of a mysterious, beautiful, and seductive woman whose charms ensnare her lovers, often leading them into compromising, deadly traps. She is an archetype of ...

'' (Pepita, 1981) * ''The Szabo Equation: Jazz/Mysticism/Exotica'' (DCC Jazz, 1990) * ''In Budapest'' (Moiras, 2008) - broadcast TV recordings from 1974 * ''In Budapest Again'' (Kept Alive Records, 2018) - broadcast TV recordings between 1978-1981

As sideman

With Steve Allen * ''Songs for Gentle People'' (Dunhill, 1967) With Paul Desmond * '' Skylark'' (CTI, 1973 el. 1974 With Charles Earland * ''The Great Pyramid'' (Mercury, 1976) With

Coke Escovedo Joseph Thomas "Coke" Escovedo (April 30, 1941 – July 13, 1986) was an American percussionist, who came from a prominent musical family including five musician brothers and his niece, Sheila E. He played in various genres, including R&B, jazz ...

* ''

Comin' at Ya! ''Comin' at Ya!'' is a Spanish-American 3D Western film, featuring Tony Anthony, Victoria Abril and Gene Quintano and directed by Ferdinando Baldi. It was produced as a co-production between American company Filmways and The Lupo-Anthony-Quinta ...

'' (Mercury, 1976) With

* '' Drumfusion'' (Columbia, 1962) * ''Transfusion'' (Studio West, 1962

el. 1990 EL, El or el may refer to: Religion * El (deity), a Semitic word for "God" People * EL (rapper) (born 1983), stage name of Elorm Adablah, a Ghanaian rapper and sound engineer * El DeBarge, music artist * El Franco Lee (1949–2016), American ...

* '' Passin' Thru'' (Impulse!, 1962 el. 1963 * ''

A Different Journey ''A Different Journey'' is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton recorded in 1963 and released on the Reprise label. Reception The Allmusic review by Scott Yanow states: On All About Jazz David Rickert wrote: Track listing ''Al ...

'' (Reprise, 1963) * ''

Man from Two Worlds ''Man from Two Worlds'' is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1963 for the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1963 el. 1964 * '' Chic Chic Chico'' (Impulse!, 1965) * '' El Chico'' (Impulse!, 1965) * ''

The Further Adventures of El Chico ''The Further Adventures of El Chico'' is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1966) With Charles Lloyd * '' Of Course, Of Course'' (Columbia, 1965) * '' Nirvana'' (Columbia, 1965 el. 1968 * '' Waves'' (A&M, 1972) * ''Manhattan Stories'' ive(Resonance, 2014) - 2CD set; recorded 1965 With Gary McFarland * '' The In Sound'' (Verve, 1965) * '' Profiles'' (Impulse!, 1966)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Szabo, Gabor 1936 births 1982 deaths Hungarian emigrants to the United States Hungarian jazz guitarists American male jazz musicians Male guitarists Musicians from Budapest American jazz guitarists 20th-century guitarists 20th-century American male musicians Blue Thumb Records artists CTI Records artists Impulse! Records artists Skye Records artists Hungarian male musicians Burials at Farkasréti Cemetery