Antal Béla Babai (April 27, 1914 – October 1, 1997) was a Hungarian-American of Romani descent violinist and interpreter of

Romani music Romani music (often referred to as Gypsy or Gipsy music, which is often considered a derogatory term) is the music of the Romani people, an ethnic-minority group concentrated in parts of Europe. Historically nomadic, though now largely settled, ...

. Babai was born in

Austro-Hungarian Empire Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military and diplomatic alliance, it consist ...

and emigrated to the United States in the late 1930s, where he became famous as "The King of the Gypsy Violin". Babai was born in

Graz Graz () is the capital of the Austrian Federal states of Austria, federal state of Styria and the List of cities and towns in Austria, second-largest city in Austria, after Vienna. On 1 January 2025, Graz had a population of 306,068 (343,461 inc ...

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

''Illinois, Federal Naturalization Records, 1856-1991'' and grew up in

Kaposvár Kaposvár (; also known by alternative names) is a city with county rights in southwestern Hungary, south of Lake Balaton. It is one of the leading cities of Transdanubia, the capital of Somogy County, and the seat of the Kaposvár District and th ...

near a large community of

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnic groups * Romani people, or Roma, an ethnic group of Indo-Aryan origin ** Romani language, an Indo-Aryan macrolanguage of the Romani communities ** Romanichal, Romani subgroup in the United Kingdom * Romanians (Romanian ...

. He learned to play the violin at a young age. At age 12 he would play in a local cafe, and in later years he would keep a clipping about those performances. After he emigrated to the United States in 1937, he noticed that the music from his country was played in Hungarian restaurants. Babai started an orchestra in which he played the

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

, accompanied by a kontras (second fiddler), a bratchas (violist), a bogos (double bass), a

cimbalom The cimbalom, cimbal (; ) or concert cimbalom is a type of chordophone composed of a large, trapezoidal box on legs with metal strings stretched across its top and a damping pedal underneath. It was designed and created by József Schunda, V. ...

-player, and a

cellist The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

. In 1953, he left

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

for New York, where he performed in the

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story, Art Deco landmark des ...

. Babai was married to Emma Horvath, who was of Bashalde Romani descent, and had a son and two daughters. He died in Nesconset, New York on October 1, 1997.

Discography

*''An Evening in Budapest with Bela Babai'' (1934) *''Gypsy Moods'' *''Gypsy Love'' (1957) (as ''Bela Babai and his Orchestra'') *''An Evening at Chardas'' (as ''Bela Babai and his Fiery Gypsies'') *''Frénésie Tzigane'' (as ''Bella Babaï'') *''Gypsy Panorama'' *''Spiel Für Mich, Zigeuner!'' (as ''Bela Babai und sein Ungarisches Ensemble'') *''Play For Me Gypsy'' (as ''Bela Babai and his Hungarian Ensemble'') *''Haunting Hungarian Melodies'' (as ''Bela Babai and his Gypsy Orchestra'') *''Let The Gypsies Play'' ("Cigányok Játszanak" Request Records, New Rochelle, NY) *''The Sound of Gypsies (Bella Babai with George Vig on tarogato; Murray Hill Records, New York, NY catalog #949199)

References

Rate Your Music: "Bela Babai"Discogs.com: "Bela Babai"
; {{DEFAULTSORT:Babai, Bela 1914 births 1997 deaths Musicians from Graz People from Kaposvár Romani music Romanian emigrants to the United States American bandleaders People from Nesconset, New York 20th-century American musicians American people of Romani descent