Agfdhyk

Gábor Szabó
Background information
Birth name	Gábor István Szabó
Born	(1936-03-08)March 8, 1936 Budapest, Hungary
Died	February 26, 1982(1982-02-26) (aged 45) Budapest
Genres	Jazz, pop, rock
Occupation(s)	Musician, composer
Instruments	Guitar
Years active	1958–1982
Labels	Impulse!, Skye, Blue Thumb, CTI

Gábor István Szabó (March 8, 1936 – February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian American guitarist whose style incorporated jazz, pop, rock, and Hungarian music.^[1]

Early years

Gábor Szabó was born in Budapest, Hungary. He began playing guitar at the age of 14. When he was 20, in the aftermath of the Hungarian revolution of 1956, he moved to California and he later attended Berklee College of Music in Boston between 1958 and 1960.^[2]

Career

In 1961, Szabo became a member of quintet that was led by Chico Hamilton and included Charles Lloyd,^[2] playing what has been described as chamber jazz, with "a moderate avant-gardism".^[3] Szabo 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 and Tony Williams.^[4] The song "Gypsy Queen" from Szabo's debut solo album Spellbinder became a hit for rock guitarist Carlos Santana. During the late 1960s, Szabo worked in a group with guitarist Jimmy Stewart.^[2] He started the label Skye Records with McFarland and Cal Tjader.^[5]

Szabo 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.^[2][6]

Discography

As leader

• 
  Gypsy '66 (Impulse!, 1966)


• 
  Spellbinder (Impulse!, 1966)


• 
  Simpático with Gary McFarland (Impulse!, 1966)


• 
  At Monterey (Impulse!, 1967)


• 
  The Sorcerer (Impulse!, 1967)


• 
  More Sorcery (Impulse!, 1967)


• 
  Jazz Raga (Impulse!, 1967)


• 
  Light My Fire with Bob Thiele (Impulse!, 1967)


• 
  Bacchanal (Skye, 1968)


• 
  Wind, Sky and Diamonds (Impulse!1968)


• 
  Dreams (Skye, 1968)


• 
  1969 (Skye, 1969)


• 
  Lena & Gabor with Lena Horne (Skye, 1970)


• 
  High Contrast (Blue Thumb, 1970)


• 
  Magical Connection (Blue Thumb, 1970)


• 
  Mizrab (CTI, 1972)


• 
  Small World (Four Leaf Clover [Sweden], 1972)


• 
  Rambler (CTI, 1973)


• 
  Gabor Szabo Live (Blue Thumb, 1973)


• 
  Macho (Salvation, 1975)


• 
  Nightflight (Mercury, 1976)


• 
  Faces (Mercury, 1977)


• 
  Jazz Mysticism/Exotica (1978)


• 
  Femme Fatale (Pepita, 1978)


• 
  Belsta River (Four Leaf Clover [Sweden], 1978)


• 
  The Szabo Equation (1990)^[7]
  

As sideman

With Steve Allen

• 
  Songs for Gentle People (Dunhill, 1967)

With Paul Desmond

• 
  Skylark (CTI, 1973)

With Coke Escovedo

• 
  Comin' at Ya! (Mercury, 1976)

With Chico Hamilton

• 
  Drumfusion (Columbia, 1962)


• 
  Transfusion (Studio West, 1962 [rel. 1990])


• 
  Passin' Thru (Impulse!, 1962)


• 
  A Different Journey (Reprise, 1963)


• 
  Man from Two Worlds (Impulse!, 1963)


• 
  Chic Chic Chico (Impulse!, 1965)


• 
  El Chico (Impulse!, 1965)


• 
  The Further Adventures of El Chico (Impulse!, 1966)

With Charles Lloyd

• 
  Of Course, Of Course (Columbia, 1965)


• 
  Nirvana (Columbia, 1965 [rel. 1968])


• 
  Waves (A&M, 1972)

With Gary McFarland

• 
  The In Sound (Verve, 1965)

References