Gabor Szabo ~ Hungary ~ USA

Mizrab (1973)

  

Rambler (1974)

Standard issue Szabo album with lightly amplified acoustic guitar strummed over instrumental jazz rock. Bassist Wolfgang Melz is the centerpiece of the album, having written five of the six songs. His playing is also very noticeable. The title is a good description of Szabo's style. Not one of my favorites from him but good enough to keep for now.

Ownership: 1974 CTI (LP). Gatefold.

7/23/24 (acquired / review)  

Bacchanal (1968)

Bacchanal isn't quite as hypnotic as the albums I know from him during the same period which include the aforementioned Dreams as well as High Contrast and Gypsy '66, two albums I skipped over for documentation but do own. That said, it's still highly enjoyable. It's his usual mix of covers and original compositions, though in this case it's 75% of the former. Lays down a groove and Szabo picks away on his lightly amplified electric guitar. A timeless formula.

Ownership: 2006 Skye / Muzak (CD). Papersleeve. 

12/18/23 (LP acquired / review); 8/4/24 (CD acquired / update)

Dreams (1969)

My big score from the Denver Record show. Five bucks (yep) and a very nice copy at that. I beat the Rocky Mountain showrunner to it (the other Denver show), who subsequently shook his head wildly and went "DAMN!". It was from a wacky old lady who almost refused to sell it to me. She yelled "You're just going to resell it!!". I promised her I would not, that I really wanted it for my collection (all true). It took about five minutes of prostrating myself before the court before she relented. Jeesh. This is proof positive the best stuff goes when the dealers set up. Even the early entry fee guys missed out. We'd already set up and JL took the tables while I wandered around (as per protocol). 

OK, lots of talk about how I obtained it, but what about the music? It's classic 60s Gabor Szabo for sure. I love his guitar style and the groove of the jazzy backdrop. It's light but intoxicating. And how about that cover? I need to find a place on the wall for it. But I would have to remove the price tag. Can't do that.

Ownership: 1969 Skye (LP). Gatefold. 

10/28/23 (acquired / review)

Macho (1975)

As noted on one of the other Szabo reviews, I'll buy any of his albums, no questions asked. And to date I've kept them all, this one no exception. 

My notes from the next album Nightflight stated: "...Everything about it screams the era from which it came...Enter in Gabor Szabo, who then proceeds to jam over what appears to be backing tracks. His tone is that of a lightly amplified electric guitar, and sporadic acoustic guitar. Some of his solos are sublime, while others don't belong at all, adding to the strange vibe." 

That could work here, though it must be said that Macho seems more put together. Macho is a very soothing album, and the funk and disco elements are mostly muted. This was a known jazz guitarist beginning to branch out into new mediums. Full eight piece band with lots of invention.

---11/17/25

I've moved back to one of my older philosophies of collecting, that of selling commodity LPs and bringing in more scarce CD reissues. Szabo sells well at the shows, and I have no nostalgia here. Besides I appreciate his sound in clear digital form. Some of his LPs, however, are going nowhere. And you can guess at least one. :-) Using history as my guide, these Japanese CDs will likely skyrocket. You can get them dirt cheap now, for those of you so inclined.

Ownership: 2025 CTI / Salvation / King (CD). Booklet with notes all in Japanese.

12/16/22 (LP acquired / review); 11/17/25 (CD acquired / update)

Gabor Szabo Live with Charles Lloyd (1974)

This is a strange little title. If you've been keeping up with this blog you'll have noted I've become something of a Szabo nut. So I'm buying everything I see - and once again this one was languishing in a thrift shop. Not sure how any album with a cover like this goes unnoticed, maybe I got there right after they put it out? Well it's not rare or anything.... The weird part of this is the title itself. Charles Lloyd is on about half of one of the four songs - it's the one he composed ('Sombrero Sam'). Guess Szabo needed his name to sell the album? I didn't realize one was more known than the other. It's a nice track with some fine flute from Lloyd. The selling point for me is 'Stormy' and here the flute is more fiery - this time from woodwinds specialist Tony Ortega. Meanwhile Szabo does what he does - finger pick his lightly amplified guitar. If there was ever a time for him to plug in and wail, it would have been this album. Guess that wasn't to his taste. Pity. 

Ownership: 1974 Blue Thumb (LP)

11/6/20 (acquired / review)

Nightflight (1976)

I don't know a lot about Szabo's discography, but I found Nightflight to be very engaging. Everything about it screams the era from which it came. Had I not known better, I would have presumed the album to have come from France, as the sound here isn't that far removed from some of the artists you'd find on the Cobra label for example. In some ways, it's a bit too pre-packaged. The occasional strings and disco beat only underscore this point. On other tracks, one will hear a heavy funky racket in the background, with wah-wah guitars and tribal rhythms. Enter in Gabor Szabo, who then proceeds to jam over what appears to be backing tracks. His tone is that of a lightly amplified electric guitar, and sporadic acoustic guitar. Some of his solos are sublime, while others don't belong at all, adding to the strange vibe. And Szabo sings too - at least I think it's him - in the grand ill advised tradition of other jazz fusion artists like Tony Williams and Al Di Meola. Still, the compositions are well written, and the melodies stick out in a good way. I can live without 'Funny Face' and 'Theme for Gabor', but the other five tracks are super.

Overall the album captures the optimism of mid to late 70s Paris. Richard Pinhas would later also celebrate jet-setting across the pond, except his vision turned Szabo's upside down into a nightmarish fiery inferno.

Ownership: 1976 Mercury (LP). Single sleeve. The inner sleeve has an advert for the Mercury stock of artists, in addition to a rant on the "dangers of home taping". 

12/22/19 (acquired / review) 

Other albums I own and still need to review: Gypsy '66; High Contrast

Other albums I once owned: Magical Connection

12/22/19 (new entry)