Gábor Szabó (March 8, 1936 - February 26, 1982) was a Hungarian jazz guitarist, famous for mixing jazz, pop-rock and his native Hungarian music.
Szabó was born in Budapest and began playing guitar at the age of 14, inspired by jazz music on the Voice of America broadcasts.
He escaped Hungary and moved to the United States in 1956 and attended the Berklee School of Music in Boston.
In 1958, he was invited to perform at the Newport Jazz Festival. From 1961-1965, he performed with the Chico Hamilton quintet. In the late 1960s he co-founded, along with Cal Tjader and Gary McFarland the short-lived Skye record label.
His album for Impulse!, Wind, Sky And Diamonds, features "The California Dreamers", a vocal-ensemble consisting of Ron Hicklin, Al Capps, Loren Farber, John Bahler, Tom Bahler, Ian Freebairn-Smith, Sally Stevens, Sue Allen and Jackie Ward.
His playing incorporated elements of folk music from his native Hungary and rock music's use of feedback. His composition "Gypsy Queen" became a hit for Santana in 1970 (see Black Magic Woman). During his solo career, he performed with artists such as Ron Carter, Paul Desmond, Lena Horne and Bobby Womack.
He died in Budapest in 1982 from liver and kidney disease while on a visit to his homeland
Discography
- Gypsy '66 (1966) (Impulse! Records)
- Spellbinder (1966) (Impulse! Records)
- Jazz Raga (1966) (Impulse! Records)
- Wind, Sky And Diamonds (Impulse! Records)
- The Sorcerer (1967) (Imp ulse! Records)
- Bacchanal (1968) (Skye Records)
- Dreams (1968) (Skye Records)
- Gabor Szabo (1968) (Skye Records)
- High Contrast (1971) (Blue Thumb Records)
- Mizrab (1972) (CTI Records)
- Rambler (1974) (CTI Records)
- Nightflight (1976) (Mercury Records)
- Faces (1977) (Mercury Records)
Gypsy '66
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Yesterday (2:24) | |
| A2 | The Last One To Be Loved (3:35) | |
| A3 | The Echo Of Love (4:10) | |
| A4 | Gypsy '66 (7:51) | |
| B1 | Flea Market (2:43) | |
| B2 | Walk On By (2:46) | |
| B3 | If I Fell (3:14) | |
| B4 | Gyp sy Jam (5:54) | |
| B5 | I'm All Smiles (5:54) |
Jazz Raga
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Comin' Back (2:46) | |
| A2 | Summertime (3:32) | |
| A3 | Caravan (2:07) | |
| A4 | Mizrab (3:11) | |
| A5 | Search For Nirvana (3:42) | |
| A6 | Walking On Nails (1:55) | |
| B1 | Paint It Black (4:40) | |
| B2 | Raga Doll (3:52) | |
| B3 | Ravi (2:59) | |
| B4 | Krishna (2:58) | |
| B5 | Sophisticated Wheels (2:28) |
THE SORCERER
Tracklisting:
| 1 | The Beat Goes On (4:52) | |
| Written-By - Sonny Bono | ||
| 2 | Little Boat (O Barquinho) (4:23) | |
| Written-By - B. Kaye* , R. Menescal* , R. Boscoli* | ||
| 3 | Lou-ise (4:17) | |
| Written-By - Jimmy Stewart (2) | ||
| 4 | What Is This Thing Called Love? (5:15) | |
| Written-By - Cole Porter | ||
| 5 | Space (6:39) | |
| 6 | Stronger Than Us (4:13) | |
| Written-By - Francis Lai , Pierre Barough* | ||
| 7 | Mizrab (6:58) | |
| 8 | Comin' Back (1:53) | |
| Written-By - Clyde Otis , Gabor Szabo | ||
| 9 | Los Matadoros (12:09) | |
| 10 | People (5:18) | |
| Written-By - Bob Merrill , Jul | ||
| 11 | Corcovado (3:22) | |
| Written-By - Antonio Carlos Jobim | ||
Tracklisting:
| A1 | Three King Fishers | |
| A2 | Love Is Blue | |
| A3 | Theme From Valley Of The Dolls | |
| A4 | Bacchanal | |
| B1 | Sunshine Superman | |
| B2 | Some Velvet Morning | |
| B3 | The Look Of Love | |
| B4 | Divided City |
