Chico Hamilton - Man From Two Worlds (Remastered)

Styles: Jazz, Post Bop
Year: 1964/2019
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:32
Size: 155,5 MB
Scans: Front

( 6:02)  1. Man from Two Worlds
( 3:28)  2. Blues Medley
(10:36)  3. Forest Flower
( 3:52)  4. Child's Play
( 4:34)  5. Blues for O.T.
( 4:50)  6. Mallet Dance
( 3:49)  7. Love Song to a Baby
( 8:19)  8. Passin' Thru
( 2:45)  9. Transfusion
(13:18) 10. Lady Gabor
( 5:53) 11. Lonesome Child

This album actually combines two Chico Hamilton releases, namely Man from Two Worlds and Passin' Thru. There is great compositional range on this album, even though nine out the ten tunes were written by a single author (saxophonist Charles Lloyd). Some of these compositions spin off on an avant-garde tangent, while others are more direct and harmonically familiar. The title track is basically an extended jam, though there is a Monk-like main theme that is used to begin and end the tune. Clearly, this piece is influenced by Indian music, and guitarist Gabor Szabo best illustrates the exotic, modal leanings of this composition through his sitar-influenced solo. On the other hand, "Forest Flower" is much more harmonious and easy to follow. Using standard jazz chords and a catchy melody, this tune is much less demanding on the ear. As its the title implies, Man from Two Worlds really does focus on two distinct "worlds" of jazz, and is the perfect listen for all those who crave musical diversity. ~ Rovi Staff https://www.allmusic.com/album/man-from-two-worlds-mw0000098978

Personnel:  Chico Hamilton – drums; Charles Lloyd – tenor saxophone, flute; Gábor Szabó – guitar; Albert Stinson – bass; George Bohanon – trombone (tracks 8-11)

Man From Two Worlds

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Gabor Szabo - Gabor Szabo In Budapest Again

Styles: Guitar Jazz
Year: 2018
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 51:07
Size: 117,5 MB
Art: Front

(11:04)  1. Concorde
( 9:11)  2. Magic Mystic Faces
( 3:58)  3. Django Part 1
( 6:12)  4. Django Part 2
( 4:55)  5. Killing Me Softly
( 5:52)  6. The Last Song
( 4:44)  7. The Biz
( 5:07)  8. From A Dream

Gabor Szabo was one of the most original guitarists to emerge in the 1960s, mixing his Hungarian folk music heritage with a deep love of jazz and crafting a distinctive, largely self-taught sound. Inspired by a Roy Rogers cowboy movie, Szabo began playing guitar when he was 14 and often played in dinner clubs and covert jam sessions while still living in Budapest. He escaped from his country at age 20 on the eve of the Communist uprising and eventually made his way to America, settling with his family in California. He attended Berklee College (1958-1960) and in 1961 joined Chico Hamilton's innovative quintet featuring Charles Lloyd. Urged by Hamilton, Szabo crafted a most distinctive sound; as agile on intricate, nearly-free runs as he was able to sound inspired during melodic passages. Szabo left the Hamilton group in 1965 to leave his mark on the pop-jazz of the Gary McFarland quintet and the energy music of Charles Lloyd's fiery and underrated quartet featuring Ron Carter and Tony Williams. Szabo initiated a solo career in 1966, recording the exceptional album, Spellbinder, which yielded many inspired moments and "Gypsy Queen," the song Santana turned into a huge hit in 1970. Szabo formed an innovative quintet (1967-1969) featuring the brilliant, classically trained guitarist Jimmy Stewart and recorded many notable albums during the late '60s. The emergence of rock music (especially George Harrison, Eric Clapton, and Jimi Hendrix) found Szabo experimenting with feedback and more commercially oriented forms of jazz. During the '70s, Szabo regularly performed along the West Coast, hypnotizing audiences with his enchanting, spellbinding style. From 1970, he locked into a commercial groove, even though records like Mizrab occasionally revealed his seamless jazz, pop, Gypsy, Indian, and Asian fusions. 

Szabo had revisited his homeland several times during the '70s, finding opportunities to perform brilliantly with native talents. He was hospitalized during his final visit and died in 1982, just short of his 46th birthday.~ Douglas Payne https://www.allmusic.com/artist/gabor-szabo-mn0000184187/biography

Gabor Szabo In Budapest Again

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Gabor Szabo - 1969

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 35:54
Size: 82.2 MB
Styles: Guitar jazz
Year: 1969/1998
Art: Front

[2:42] 1. Dear Prudence
[2:46] 2. Sealed With A Kiss
[2:57] 3. Both Sides Now
[2:47] 4. Walk Away Renee
[3:43] 5. You Won't See Me
[4:03] 6. Michael From Mountains
[3:18] 7. Stormy
[2:34] 8. In My Life
[4:40] 9. I've Just Seen A Face
[2:27] 10. Until It's Time For You To Go
[3:51] 11. Somewhere I Belong

In the late '60s, many jazz artists were ignoring the rock and soul hits of the day -- when called upon to interpret popular songs, they stuck to their favorite Cole Porter, George Gershwin, and Irving Berlin standards and didn't see Beatles or Marvin Gaye hits as vehicles for jazz improvisation. But there were some jazz artists who didn't feel that way; Grant Green, Herbie Mann, and Charles Earland -- just to give three examples -- saw no reason why rock and soul tunes couldn't receive instrumental jazz makeovers. And on 1969, Gazor Szabo puts a jazz spin on popular songs of the 1960s, including "Walk Away Renee" (a major hit for the Left Banke), the Beatles' "In My Life," and Joni Mitchell's "Both Sides Now." Again, there were many jazz artists who wouldn't have touched these songs in 1969 -- they would have insisted on providing yet another version of "Our Love Is Here to Stay" or "My Funny Valentine." But Szabo acknowledges that worthwhile popular music didn't die with George Gershwin. The Hungarian guitarist doesn't always stretch out as much as he could on this album; at times, he ends a solo that probably should have lasted a few more minutes. But Szabo still deserves credit for bringing a jazz perspective to songs that so many other improvisers were ignoring. Produced by Gary McFarland, this 1969 date originally came out on vinyl and was finally reissued on CD in 1998. ~Alex Henderson

1969

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Charles Lloyd - Of Course, Of Course

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 56:05
Size: 128.4 MB
Styles: Bop, Saxophone jazz
Year: 1966/2014
Art: Front

[4:44] 1. Of Course, Of Course
[2:27] 2. The Song My Lady Sings
[5:16] 3. The Best Thing For You
[6:07] 4. The Things We Did Last Summer
[3:57] 5. Apex
[5:06] 6. One For Joan
[3:36] 7. Goin' To Memphis
[6:42] 8. Voice In The Night
[6:15] 9. Third Floor Richard
[4:53] 10. East Of The Sun (And West Of The Moon)
[3:23] 11. Island Blues
[3:32] 12. Sun Dance

Bass – Ron Carter; Drums – Tony Williams; Guitar – Gabor Szabo; Saxophone [Tenor], Flute – Charles Lloyd.

Charles Lloyd's second album as a leader teams him with guitarist Gabor Szabo (his old friend from the Chico Hamilton group), bassist Ron Carter, and drummer Tony Williams. Although Lloyd was still a member of Cannonball Adderley's group, his playing on the set shows that he was clearly ready to become a leader. Seven of the nine diverse compositions are his originals; he takes "The Things We Did Last Summer" as a duet with Szabo and rips through "Apex," a trio number without the guitarist, but it is this cut most certainly reflects Ornette Coleman's influence (whereas Lloyd and everyone else who played tenor were being written about in the shadow of Coltrane). Certainly Coltrane's flurry of notes and deconstruction of chords is evident in places, but here, it is Coleman's unshakable sense of melody and rhyme that is most prevalent, and it sports is a brief but wonderfully woody solo by Carter. Other notable selections include "Goin' to Memphis" and Sammy Kahn's "Things We Did Last Summer" (where, according to Stanley Crouch's new liner notes, the saxophonist directly quotes the melody of Coleman's "Free at 3:00 of..."). Other cuts that really stand out here are the title track and the serious blowing session of "One for Joan," where the twinning and counterpoint interplay between Szabo and Lloyd is almost synchronous. Whether on tenor or flute, Lloyd was quickly coming into his own as an original voice, and this underrated set is a minor classic. [In 2007, Mosiac Records in its Singles series, reissued the recording for the first time on CD. In addition to a beautiful remastering job that is warm and clean, there are three bonus tracks also recorded in 1965 but not released until Lloyd's Nirvana album in 1968. Two of these, "Island Blues," and "Sun Dance" feature Albert Stinson on bass and Pete La Roca on drums in place of Carter and Williams. Another oddity is that in addition to Szabo's guitar playing, the Band's Robbie Robertson makes an appearance on the Caribbean-flavored latter tune. The other bonus cut, "East of the Sun and West of the Moon," uses the primary rhythm section, and was recorded for the original session, and left off the final version of the LP.] ~Scott Yanow

Of Course, Of Course

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Chico Hamilton - Chic Chic Chico

Styles: Hard Bop, Post Bop, Cool Jazz 
Year: 1965
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:07
Size: 83,4 MB
Art: Front

(2:49)  1. Chic Chic Chico
(5:36)  2. Corrida de Toros
(3:08)  3. Tarantula
(6:05)  4. What's New
(3:07)  5. St Paddy's Day Parade
(6:40)  6. Carol's Walk
(2:47)  7. Swampy
(5:51)  8. Fire Works

Very very cool set of weird grooves from Chico Hamilton. Some tracks are Latiny, others have lots of weird guitar, and they're all kind of spacey, but not exactly free. This period of Chico's is one of his weirdest, and it's kind of hard to figure out where he was heading, but the trip to that place is always a joy, and these tracks are all marked by a very fresh approach to jazz. Players include Willie Bobo, Jimmy Woods, Harold Land, Lou Blackburn, and other obscure jazz players from the LA underground. Gabor Szabo, of course, plays guitar on most tracks as well. With "Tarantula", "Swampy", "Fire Works", and "Carol's Walk". (Rainbow label pressing. Cover has a small cutout hole.) © 1996-2016, Dusty Groove, Inc. https://www.dustygroove.com/item/15105

Personnel:  Bass – Albert Stinson;  Drums – Chico Hamilton;  Flute, Flute [Piccolo] – Bill Green;  French Horn – Henry Sigismonti;  Guitar – Gabor Szabo;  Tenor Saxophone – Harold Land;  Trombone – Lou Blackburn;  Trumpet – John Anderson

Chic Chic Chico

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Lena Horne, Gabor Szabo - Watch What Happens

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:06
Size: 82.7 MB
Styles: Jazz vocals, Jazz guitar
Year: 1970/2009
Art: Front

[4:05] 1. Watch What Happens
[3:09] 2. Something
[2:54] 3. Everybody's Talkin'
[3:45] 4. The Fool On The Hill
[4:07] 5. Yesterday
[3:30] 6. Rocky Racoon
[4:41] 7. My Mood Is You
[3:17] 8. Message To Michael
[3:39] 9. Night Wind
[2:56] 10. In My Life

The pairing of chanteuse Lena Horne and guitarist Gabor Szabo may seem incongruous on paper, but Watch What Happens! is an unexpected delight, capturing a soulfulness and sass largely absent from the singer's previous efforts. Producer and arranger Gary McFarland's candy-coated orchestral settings afford Horne the opportunity to step out of the elegant but often stuffy refinement of her classic LPs and let down her hair. Her vocals pirouette around Szabo's hypnotically funky guitar leads with the focused abandon of a child playing hopscotch. Keyboardist Richard Tee, bassist Chuck Rainey, and drummer Grady Tate contribute the supple grooves that highlight so many McFarland sessions, and the material is top-notch, including no fewer than three Beatles covers: "In My Life," "Fool on the Hill," and "Rocky Raccoon," the latter featuring the most purely joyful performance of Horne's career. [Watch What Happens! was originally released on Szabo's Skye Records label as Lena & Gabor in 1970.] ~Jason Ankeny

Watch What Happens

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Paul Desmond - Skylark

Styles: Saxophone Jazz
Year: 1973
File: MP3@320K/s
Time: 53:51
Size: 124,4 MB
Art: Front

(6:10)  1. Take Ten
(9:42)  2. Romance De Amor
(4:51)  3. Was A Sunny Day
(6:44)  4. Music For A While
(5:20)  5. Skylark
(3:59)  6. Indian Summer
(5:55)  7. Music For A While (alt tk)
(5:38)  8. Skylark (alt tk)
(5:27)  9. Indian Summer (alt tk)

Moving over to the CTI label with Creed Taylor, Paul Desmond injects a bit of the 1970s into his sound, obtaining agreeable if not totally simpatico results. Here, the cool altoist is teamed with the progressive-slanted drumming of Jack DeJohnette (who might have been too busy a drummer for his taste), and Bob James' electric and acoustic pianos, with Ron Carter as the bass anchor, Gene Bertoncini on rhythm guitar, and, most interestingly, another individualist, Gabor Szabo, on solo electric guitar. For the first and only time, even taking into account the most inspired moments of Jim Hall, Desmond is not the most interesting soloist on his own record, for it is Szabo who most consistently draws you in with his mesmerizing incantations over vamps from the rhythm section. 

For those who missed it the first time, Desmond remakes "Take Ten" without the Middle Eastern elements "Romance de Amor" is eventually dominated by Szabo, and the inclusion of "Was a Sunny Day" proves that Desmond's involvement with the music of Paul Simon in 1970 was not a passing infatuation. Don Sebesky is credited with the "arrangements" but his orchestrating hand is not felt except for a single solo cello (George Ricci) in an adaptation of Purcell ("Music for a While"). It's a cautious change of pace for Desmond, although the fiercer context into which he was placed doesn't really fire his imagination. ~ Richard S.Ginell http://www.allmusic.com/album/skylark-mw0000651923

Personnel: Paul Desmond (alto saxophone); Gabor Szabo, Gene Bertoncini (guitar); George Ricci (cello); Hilary James , Bob James (piano, electric piano); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Ralph MacDonald (percussion).

Skylark

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Lena Horne & Gabor Szabo - Empathy

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:51
Size: 84.4 MB
Styles: Vocal jazz, Guitar jazz
Year: 2006
Art: Front

[4:06] 1. Watch What Happens
[3:12] 2. Something
[2:58] 3. Everybody's Talkin'
[3:49] 4. The Fool On The Hill
[4:13] 5. Yesterday
[3:36] 6. Rocky Raccoon
[4:46] 7. My Mood Is You
[3:22] 8. Message To Michael
[3:44] 9. Night Wind
[2:59] 10. In My Life

This is the sound track of the original "LENA & GABOR" by A&R Recording Studio produced during Oct-Nov, 1969 by SKYE Recording Co LTD N.Y. The original LPs went out of production in 1970. This album was used during the 1970's to demo hi-end speakers and stereo systems as the quality of it nearly the same as the Direct-to Disc recordings of that time. I recommend this CD as it is the same as my original SKYE LPs. ~Gregory K Lewis

Empathy

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Various - Latin Nights (2-Disc Set)

Album: Latin Nights (Disc 1)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 67:54
Size: 155.4 MB
Styles: Latin jazz
Year: 2008

[6:59] 1. Juan Pablo Torres - When Day Breaks
[5:23] 2. Julio Barreto Cuban Quartet - Coming Home Baby
[4:40] 3. Cheo Feliciano - Anacona
[4:11] 4. Armando Peraza - Souled Out
[2:36] 5. Celia Cruz - Burundanga
[5:05] 6. Humberto Ramírez - Paradise
[3:33] 7. Armando Peraza - Wild Thing
[7:32] 8. Juan Pablo Torres - Moonlight Serenade 2
[6:12] 9. Michael Philip Mossman - Iron And Blood
[9:17] 10. Ray Barretto - Club Mix 50 Aniversario
[4:52] 11. Armando Peraza - Viva Peraza
[7:29] 12. Ray Barretto - Fuerza Gigante

Latin Nights (Disc 1)

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Album: Latin Nights (Disc 2)
Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 52:18
Size: 119.7 MB
Styles: Latin jazz
Year: 2008
Art: Front

[7:57] 1. Juan Manuel Ceruto - A Puerto Padre
[4:43] 2. Josep Soto - Tornasol
[2:59] 3. Gary McFarland - Flamingo
[2:23] 4. El Rey Del Mundo - Originale
[4:26] 5. Voces Del Milenio - Juguete
[3:05] 6. Cal Tjader - Morning Mist
[3:13] 7. Armando Peraza - Al Bajar El Sol
[5:09] 8. Humberto Ramírez - Con El Corazon
[4:57] 9. Cal Tjader - Nica's Dream
[6:31] 10. Humberto Ramírez - Tus Ojos
[3:14] 11. Gabor Szabo - The Look Of Love
[3:35] 12. Gary McFarland - O Morro

Latin Nights (Disc 2)

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Gabor Szabo - Spellbinder

Bitrate: MP3@320K/s
Time: 36:11
Size: 82.8 MB
Styles: Post bop, Guitar jazz
Year: 1966/1998/2015
Art: Front

[5:25] 1. Spellbinder
[4:33] 2. Witchcraft
[2:43] 3. It Was A Very Good Year
[5:08] 4. Gypsy Queen
[2:24] 5. Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)
[4:04] 6. Cheetah
[5:25] 7. My Foolish Heart
[2:53] 8. Yearning
[3:31] 9. Autumn Leaves/Speak To Me Of Love

Released just six months after Gypsy '66, Gabor Szabo's second album as a leader (after leaving a sublime Chico Hamilton band that also included Charles Lloyd) remains one of his finest moments in the studio. Szabo utilized the tales of bassist Ron Carter and his old boss Hamilton on drums, as well as a pair of fine Latin percussionists -- Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja. The groove quotient was very high on Spellbinder, maybe even higher than on later albums such as Jazz Raga or Sorcerer. This set is all Szabo, drifting, wafting, and soaring above all that rhythm; the track selection provides ample space for Szabo's highly individualized Eastern modal style to shine. The set opens with the title track, a snaky guitar masterpiece with plenty of droning strings and pinched chords that are followed by open string flourishes. Carter holds the entire band together as Hamilton plays in counterpoint to the percussionists. This is followed with two nuggets from the pop book of the day, the Coleman/Leigh classic "Witchcraft" and "It Was a Very Good Year." From the performances here, it's apparent that Szabo was deeply influenced by singers, and Frank Sinatra was at his pinnacle during this time. There's the emerging '60s psychedelic sound in Szabo's playing, but it is underlaid with bossa rhythms and swells. These tracks, while flavored with Latin and pop stylings, are gorgeous guitar jazz. Szabo gets back into his own mystic thang with "Gypsy Queen" (the opening droning moments of which the Doors lifted entirely for "The End"). Here the Latin rhythms and guitar go head to head, point to counterpoint. A pronounced yet elusive melody line propels a series of polyrhythms forward into an abyss of melody, mode, and frighteningly intense legato phrasing, leaving the listener breathless. He takes the edge off with Sonny Bono's "Bang Bang (She Shot Me Down)." Szabo sings here in his plaintive Hungarian-inflected English, and the tune becomes something other than a pop song, but a tome on despair and loss.

The funky "Cheetah" follows with gorgeous arpeggios, pointedly turning into chords of distinction as Hamilton rides the crash cymbal into territories unknown and double-times the band until it notches up the intensity. This set follows with one more Szabo original ("Yearning") and a trio of standards, with a heartbreakingly beautiful read of "My Foolish Heart" and a medley of "Autumn Leaves" and "Speak to Me of Love." Szabo's read on jazz in the '60s was brilliant. He embodied all of its most popular aspirations with a genuine spirit of innovation and adventure. Spellbinder is a masterpiece. ~Thom Jurek

Spellbinder

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Gabor Szabo - His Great Hits

Bitrate: 320K/s
Time: 81:02
Size: 185.5 MB
Styles: Post bop, Crossover jazz
Year: 2011
Art: Front

[ 5:05] 1. Sophisticated Wheels
[ 4:43] 2. Simpatico
[ 5:27] 3. My Foolish Heart
[ 3:02] 4. Twelve-Thirty (Girls Are Coming To The Canyon)
[ 3:10] 5. Krishna
[ 4:24] 6. Mountain Heir
[ 7:01] 7. Gypsy '66 (Lady Gábor)
[ 3:14] 8. Evil Eye
[ 3:21] 9. If I Fell
[ 2:15] 10. Spring Song
[11:01] 11. Lady Gábor
[ 5:21] 12. People
[ 2:07] 13. Search For Nirvana
[ 2:29] 14. White Rabbit
[ 4:38] 15. El Toro
[ 2:54] 16. Yearning
[ 6:37] 17. Space
[ 4:04] 18. Spellbinder

To date, this is easily the best Gabor Szabo sampler ever issued because it thoroughly sums up exactly five years of extraordinary creative curiosity on two LPs. Once Szabo had left the Chico Hamilton band -- though not leaving him entirely behind -- he got caught up in the whole 1960s idea of restless, eclectic experimentation. Yet Szabo fit in brilliantly; his unique tone and attacks gave everything he touched a signature sound, and his yen for hypnotic incantatory improvisations rooted in Hungarian folk music was made to order for the wave of Indian influences that swept the Western music scene then. There is Indian-tinged music here -- Szabo's overdubbed sitar playing may have been technically crude, but it added appealingly off-kilter microtones to his blues jams -- as well as small-combo jazz, big band stuff, Latin grooves, and show and rock tunes. The innovative Gary McFarland often turns up with intriguing big band charts or vibraphone work, presaging their later collaborations on McFarland's Skye label. Szabo the composer is amply represented by superb tunes like the lovely "Spring Song" and the Latin-accented "Evil Eye." The mysterious "Lady Gabor" turns up twice -- once with McFarland and the second time in a lengthy flashback to the Hamilton band of 1962. There were failures, like the hokey TV commercial-like version of John Phillips' "Twelve-Thirty," but it is more noteworthy that so many of these experiments worked. Given the shockingly bare state of Szabo's catalog, GRP ought to lift this entire collection of tracks for a CD reissue. ~Richard S. Ginnell

His Great Hits

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