Thursday, March 22, 2012

Gábor Szabó: Witchcraft

Gábor Szabó
(March 8, 1936 - February 26, 1982)

Earlier today I was listening to my copy of The Best of Gábor Szabó on vinyl. For a beautiful spring day that it was, it made my afternoon seem brighter. This Hungarian native was big on simplicity. And with simplicity, it helped to breed a genius on guitar in his own right in the world of Jazz. Although not known by many, he has a catalog of more than 20 albums and has also been a sideman for Chico Hamilton, Paul Desmond, Coke Escovedo, Steve Allen and Charles Lloyd. In 1969, he recorded Lena & Gabor with Lena Horne on his short lived Skye record label.

The tune I wish to share today is rather interesting, to say the least. "Withcraft", recorded in 1966 and composed by Cy Coleman, hosts a group of serious musicians. Szabó on guitar of course, with a helping hand from Ron Carter on bass, Chico Hamilton on drums, and percussionists Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja. It was originally released on Szabó's Spellbinder album.

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