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

Hungarian music Hungarian music may refer to: * Music of Hungary, which includes many kinds of music associated with Serbian, Roma and ethnically Hungarian people *Hungarian folk music Hungarian folk music ( hu, magyar népzene) includes a broad array of Central ...

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 The Hungarian Revolution of 1956 (23 October – 10 November 1956; hu, 1956-os forradalom), also known as the Hungarian Uprising, was a countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the Hunga ...

, he moved to California and later attended the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music is a private music college in Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern American music, it also offers college-level cours ...

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 bandleader, ...

and included Charles Lloyd, playing what has been described as

chamber jazz Chamber jazz is a genre of jazz involving small, acoustic-based ensembles where group interplay is important. It is influenced aesthetically by the small ensembles of chamber music in musical neoclassicism and is often influenced by classical f ...

, 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 Gary Robert McFarland (October 23, 1933 – November 3, 1971) was an American composer, arranger, vibraphonist and vocalist. He recorded for the jazz imprints Verve and Impulse! Records during the 1960s. '' Down Beat magazine'' said he made "on ...

, then worked again with Lloyd in an energetic quartet with Ron Carter and Tony Williams. The song "Gypsy Queen" from Szabó's debut solo album '' Spellbinder'' became a hit for rock guitarist

Carlos Santana Carlos Humberto Santana Barragán (; born July 20, 1947) is an American guitarist who rose to fame in the late 1960s and early 1970s with his band Santana, which pioneered a fusion of Rock and roll and Latin American jazz. Its sound featured ...

. During the late 1960s, Szabó worked in a group with guitarist

Jimmy Stewart James Maitland Stewart (May 20, 1908 – July 2, 1997) was an American actor and military pilot. Known for his distinctive drawl and everyman screen persona, Stewart's film career spanned 80 films from 1935 to 1991. With the strong morality h ...

. He started the label

Skye Records Skye Records was a United States-based record label established in early 1968 by music executive/producer/artist manager Norman Schwartz, in partnership with musician/arranger Gary McFarland, guitarist Gábor Szabó, and vibraphonist Cal Tjader. ...

with McFarland and

Cal Tjader Callen Radcliffe Tjader Jr. ( ; July 16, 1925 – May 5, 1982) was an American Latin Jazz musician, known as the most successful non-Latino Latin musician. He explored other jazz idioms, even as he continued to perform music of Afro-Jazz, ...

. 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 Farkasréti Cemetery or Farkasrét Cemetery ( hu, Farkasréti temető) is one of the most famous cemeteries in Budapest. It opened in 1894 and is noted for its extensive views of the city (several people wanted it more to be a resort area than a c ...

Discography

As leader

* ''

Gypsy '66 The Romani (also spelled Romany or Rromani , ), colloquially known as the Roma, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic group, traditionally nomadic itinerants. They live in Europe and Anatolia, and have diaspora populations located worldwide, with sign ...

'' (

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 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 ...

* '' Spellbinder'' (Impulse!, 1966) * '' Simpático'' (Impulse!, 1966) - with

* ''

Jazz Raga ''Jazz Raga'' is an album by Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó featuring performances recorded in 1966 for the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1966

el. 1967 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 ...

* ''

The Sorcerer ''The Sorcerer'' is a two-act comic opera, with a libretto by W. S. Gilbert and music by Arthur Sullivan. It was the British duo's third operatic collaboration. The plot of ''The Sorcerer'' is based on a Christmas story, ''An Elixir of Lo ...

'' (Impulse!, 1967) * ''

More Sorcery ''More Sorcery'' is a live album by Hungarian jazz guitarist Gábor Szabó featuring performances recorded in 1967 in Boston and at the Monterey Jazz Festival for the Impulse! label.

'' (Impulse!, 1967

el. 1968 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 ...

* ''

Light My Fire "Light My Fire" is a song by the American rock band the Doors. It was recorded in August 1966 and released in January 1967 on their eponymous debut album. Released as an edited single on April 24, 1967, it spent three weeks at number one on t ...

'' (Impulse!, 1967) - with

Bob Thiele Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals * Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname ...

* ''

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'' ( Skye, 1968) * ''

Dreams A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

'' (Skye, 1968) * '' 1969'' (Skye, 1969) * '' Lena & Gabor'' (Skye, 1969 el. 1970 - 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'' (Blue Thumb, 1970) * ''

High Contrast Lincoln Barrett (born 18 September 1979), better known by the stage name High Contrast, is a Welsh electronic music producer, DJ and record producer. He produces drum and bass music, and his 2009 album ''Confidential'' reached BPI gold cer ...

'' (

Blue Thumb Blue is one of the three primary colours in the RYB colour model (traditional colour theory), as well as in the RGB (additive) colour model. It lies between violet and cyan on the spectrum of visible light. The eye perceives blue when o ...

, 1971) - with

Bobby Womack Robert Dwayne Womack (; March 4, 1944 – June 27, 2014) was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and record producer. Starting in the early 1950s as the lead singer of his family musical group the Valentinos and as Sam Cooke's backing guit ...

* '' Small World'' (Four Leaf Clover

weden Veden or Weden may refer to *Veden Manor in Norway *''Veden varaan'', a pop-rock album from the Finnish group PMMP * Sven Wedén (1913–1976), Swedish politician See also * List of hundreds of Sweden A hundred is a geographic division formerly ...

1972) * '' Mizrab'' ( CTI, 1972 el. 1973 * ''

Rambler Rambler or Ramble may refer to: Places * Rambler, Wyoming * Rambler Channel (藍巴勒海峽), separates Tsing Yi Island and the mainland New Territories in Hong Kong * The Ramble and Lake, Central Park, an area within New York City's Centr ...

'' (CTI, 1973

el. 1974 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 ...

* '' Gabor Szabo Live'' (Blue Thumb, 1974) - with Charles Lloyd; recorded 1972 * ''

Macho Machismo (; ; ; ) is the sense of being " manly" and self-reliant, a concept associated with "a strong sense of masculine pride: an exaggerated masculinity". Machismo is a term originating in the early 1930s and 1940s best defined as hav ...

'' (Salvation/CTI, 1975) * ''

Nightflight Night Flight or Nightflight may refer to: * a flight during the night, see red-eye flight Music * ''Night Flight'' (Justin Hayward album), 1980 * ''Night Flight'' (Gil Fuller album), 1965 * Night Flight, Op. 19, a 1964 tone poem by Samuel Ba ...

'' ( Mercury, 1976) * ''

Faces The face is the front of an animal's head that features the eyes, nose and mouth, and through which animals express many of their emotions. The face is crucial for human identity, and damage such as scarring or developmental deformities may affe ...

'' (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

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 Stephen Valentine Patrick William Allen (December 26, 1921 – October 30, 2000) was an American television personality, radio personality, musician, composer, actor, comedian, and writer. In 1954, he achieved national fame as the co-cre ...

* ''Songs for Gentle People'' (Dunhill, 1967) With

Paul Desmond Paul Desmond (born Paul Emil Breitenfeld; November 25, 1924 – May 30, 1977) was an American jazz alto saxophonist and composer, best known for his work with the Dave Brubeck Quartet and for composing that group's biggest hit, " Take Five". He ...

* ''

Skylark ''Alauda'' is a genus of larks found across much of Europe, Asia and in the mountains of north Africa, and one of the species (the Raso lark) endemic to the islet of Raso in the Cape Verde Islands. Further, at least two additional species are ...

'' (CTI, 1973

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, ja ...

* '' Comin' at Ya!'' (Mercury, 1976) With

* ''

Drumfusion ''Drumfusion'' is an album by drummer and bandleader Chico Hamilton recorded in 1962 and released on the Columbia Records, Columbia label.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 po ...

* '' Passin' Thru'' (Impulse!, 1962

el. 1963 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 ...

* '' A Different Journey'' (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 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 p ...

* ''

Chic Chic Chico ''Chic Chic Chico'' is an album by American jazz drummer Chico Hamilton featuring performances recorded in 1965 for the Impulse! label.

'' (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 ( , , ; sa, निर्वाण} ''nirvāṇa'' ; Pali: ''nibbāna''; Prakrit: ''ṇivvāṇa''; literally, "blown out", as in an oil lampRichard Gombrich, ''Theravada Buddhism: A Social History from Ancient Benāres to Modern Colombo.' ...

'' (Columbia, 1965

* ''

Waves Waves most often refers to: *Waves, oscillations accompanied by a transfer of energy that travel through space or mass. *Wind waves, surface waves that occur on the free surface of bodies of water. Waves may also refer to: Music *Waves (band) ...

'' (A&M, 1972) * ''Manhattan Stories'' ive(Resonance, 2014) - 2CD set; recorded 1965 With

* '' 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