Bio
Experimentation was the hallmark of Gabor Szabo’s storied career. A tireless innovator, the famed guitarist’s distinctive compositions incorporated a range of styles. Szabo created songs that were cutting-edge, producing evocative music from a number of disparate sources – jazz and rock fused with hints of his native Hungary, as well as Indian, Asian and Latin traditions. Aside from a stint at the Berklee College of Music in the late 1950s, Szabo was largely self-taught, and this solitary training imbued him with a penchant for independent thinking, helping to shape his experimental style. During the 1960s, Szabo played with the likes of the avant-garde Chico Hamilton quintet, the Gary McFarland quintet, and the Charles Lloyd quartet. His solo work, along with the quintet he formed in the late 1960s, expanded upon his push-the-boundaries style. Despite his impressive output, Szabo is perhaps best known for his song “Gypsy Queen,” which was reinterpreted by Carlos Santana into his hit “Black Magic Woman.” Szabo was just 45 when he died in 1982, but his artistry and creativity remain standards for inventive, original musicianship.
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Gabor Szabo
Jazz Raga
LITA 053
Gabor Szabo was a fearless innovator, and 1967’s Jazz Raga stands as a testament to his experimental brilliance. It is a record stuffed with myriad styles, a cross-section of global influences that include jazz, rock and psychedelic folk tinged with sitars, a Latin-influenced backbeat (courtesy of session drummer Bernard Purdie, whose play here is sterling), as well as traditional European sounds. It is a hypnotic blend, a rich musical fusion crafted by a master artisan.
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Gabor Szabo
Jazzpódium '74 - Live in Budapest (1974)
Moiras 007
The Hungarian-born jazz guitar legend was at the peak of his career in 1974, when he first visited his abandoned homeland after 18 years of absence. He was invited by the Hungarian Television to record a few tracks with session musicians of his choice. The project came to life in September 1974, when six artists gathered in a studio of the Hungarian Radio and gave an hour-long, live concert. The program was compiled mostly of material from Szabo’s albums published in the West, as well, as arrangements of Hungarian and international pop hits. The sessions’ television broadcast was quite a success that in fact officially introduced this great artist to his homeland’s audience. The recordings have remained unreleased to this day.
