The Complete Gabor Szabo In Budapest (2025)
Gabor Szabo
- Magical Connection (John Sebastian)
- My Foolish Heart (Victor Young/Ned Washington)/Fly Me to the Moon (Bart Howard)
- Az Esó es en (The Rain and I) (Tamás Somló/Anna Adamis)
- Sombrero Sam (Charles Lloyd)
- Django (John Lewis)
- Thirteen (Gabor Szabo)
- My Love (Paul and Linda McCartney)
- Reinhardt (Wolfgang Melz)
- Concorde (Nightflight) (Ritchie Rome/Gábor Szabó)
- Magic Mystic Faces (Gábor Szabó/Sylvia St. James)
- Django (John Lewis)
- Stormy (Buddy Buie/James Cobb)
- Killing Me Softly with His Song (Charles Fox/Norman Gimbel)
- The Last Song (Gábor Szabó)
- The Biz (Bobby Lyle)
- From a Dream (Neil Larsen)
Gábor Szabó – guitar (except 13)
Gyula Babos – guitar (9-15)
János Másik – electric piano (1-15)
Attila Garay – electric piano (16)
István Lerch – synthesizer (9-15)
Aladár Pege – bass (2, 6, 8), electric bass (1, 3, 4, 5, 7)
Péter Dandó – electric bass (9-16)
Imre Köszegi – drums, percussion (1-15)
János Solti – drums, percussion (9-15)
István Dely – conga (1-8)
Kati Kovács – vocal (3, 7)
Kati Bontovics – vocals (13)
László Dés – tenor saxophone (13)
Tracks 1-8 recorded on September 12, 1974, at Magyar Rádió 8.Stúdiójába; Budapest, Hungary for the TV Special Jazzpódium 74: Szabó Gábor (USA) műsora broadcast in two parts on May 18 and August 5, 1975.
Tracks 9-15 recorded live in January 1978 at the Hilton Budapest for the TV special Ismét Pesten (Again in Pest) and broadcast May 1978.
Track 16 recorded August 1981 at Magyar Televísió for the TV broadcast Pulzus (Pulse).
Mastered by Jessica Thompson. Liner notes by Douglas Payne.
Tracks 1-16 issued in 2025 on LP as Ebalunga!!! EBL/020LP and on CD as Ebalunga!!! EBL/0202CD.
“[A]merikában egzotikum vagyok, idehaza viszont amerikai.” (“[I]n America I am considered an exotic European, here in my homeland I am seen as American.”) – Gábor Szabó (1981)
Jazzpódium 74: Szabó Gábor
While such a sense of rootlessness may well have haunted other displaced souls, Gábor Szabó (1936-82) seemed to regard it as a point of pride. The fledgling guitarist fled his native Hungary at age 20, upon the Communist uprising in 1956. Several years after his arrival in the United States, Szabó ascended to become a top jazz guitarist and a commercial recording artist of international renown.
By the early-seventies, amnesty was offered to those, like Szabó, who fled the country during Hungary’s Communist takeover. The guitarist desired to revisit his homeland and share its riches with his family, wife Alicia and their young son, Blaise. The family left Los Angeles in mid-July 1974, four months after the guitarist’s latest album, Rambler, was released.
They stayed with an aunt and uncle still residing in Budapest. Gábor’s younger cousin, Sándor Darányi, was the guitarist’s guide through the city and its environs, all in an effort to reawaken Szabó’s “Hungarian roots.”
“It was a strange feeling going back under such radically different conditions,” recalled Szabó at the time. “During the first two or three weeks of my visit, so many memories came back that it was hard to adjust. Seeing police on the street, I would feel very guilty and look around. I even had nightmares that I couldn’t get out of the country.”
Szabó’s fears were gently allayed by his family and he was eventually persuaded to go out and explore his home country. He discovered very little had changed among the “old people;” however, the younger people he met, in his observation, were very accustomed to American music, jazz and very much into current American lifestyles such as jeans and long hair.
There was no intention that Szabó went to Hungary to work. This trip was meant to be a family reunion and vacation for the guitarist. But as cousin Sándor began introducing Gábor to those in Budapest’s jazz circles, the itch to work in the public places where jazz was once prohibited surely needed scratching. On August 11, Szabó sat in with drummer and old comrade Gyula Kovács – the two recorded “Stalintown Blues” together way back in 1956.
Szabó also played two concerts with the Budapest-based jazz-rock band Interbrass, which included percussionist brothers István and László Dely. The first Interbrass show was an impromptu meeting with Szabó at the Marczibányi tér jazz club that featured mostly standards.
A second concert was scheduled for August 19, at the theater of the cultural center, where Szabó and Interbrass performed Charles Lloyd’s “Sombrero Sam” and the standards “Fly Me to the Moon” and “My Foolish Heart” – all of which are heard here.
Szabó also sat in jam sessions with violinist/viola player Csaba Deseö at club dates on September 12 and 19. Eventually, the guitarist was invited to the Conservatory of Music to speak with students at a round-table discussion. He expressed disappointment that he met so few jazz guitarists in Hungary but was encouraged by the emergence of rock in the still-Communist country and the success of a band called Locomotive GT, which released its American debut (and sole release) on ABC Records that year.
The high point of the 1974 trip, however, was surely the TV program devoted to celebrate the return of Hungary’s prodigal son. Szabó biographer Károly Libisch indicates that the event was planned and coordinated by Hungarian TV producer Péter Módos at the urging of bassist Aladár Pege. Módos and Szabo did rounds at Budapest clubs to handpick his accompanists.
“I was offered the elite of the Hungarian jazz world,” Szabó recounted upon his return to America, “and they were all playing at these clubs.” The guitarist was undeniably pleased with results too. “The show was marvelous,” he exclaimed. “Enthusiasm and sheer love supplied what was lacking in money.
“I was given complete freedom in my choice of material and musicians; as a consequence, I didn’t pick the obvious players, but looked for some new talent. The pianist I discovered, János Másik, was just fantastic and because of the exposure the TV show afforded him, he’s now accepted by his peers and has since been appearing on television quite a lot.”
Szabó is joined here by the aforementioned János Másik (b. 1952) on keyboards (in his recording debut); the legendary Aladár Pege (1939-2006), considered “the Paganini of the double bass” and surely the guitarist’s lynch pin and aide-de camp here; Imre Köszegi (b. 1944) on drums and percussion; and István Dely (b. 1944), who became better known as Shango Rey Dely (he currently resides in Cartagena).
The program consists of Szabó favorites featured in his repertoire for many years. Remarkably, the only Szabó original here is “Thirteen,” the magnificent charmer from the guitarist’s 1973 album Mizrab, and one that is notably based on the Hungarian folk song “A csitári-hegyek alatt.”
The real surprises, though, are the vocal numbers: the intoxicating “Az Esó Es En” (The Rain and Me) and a cover of the 1973 Paul McCartney & Wings hit “My Love.” The vocalist, Kati Kovács (b. 1944), handles the former in her native Hungarian and the latter in particularly effortless English. “Az Esó Es En,” a terrific Latinate, which seems to riff off Linda Ronstadt’s hit “You’re No Good,” originally appeared on the 1974 album Kovács Kati + Locomotiv GT. “My Love” belongs to this session alone. Both are sublime and elicit superb performances from the guitarist.
Szabó also sat for an interview on September 11, 1974, atop a hotel roof garden located on Budapest’s beautiful Vörösmarty Square, offering a particularly picturesque view of the Danube. Portions of this interview – in Hungarian – were inserted between the studio performances.
The Szabó family returned to California in late September. The guitarist was positively rejuvenated by his trip to Hungary. “Musically,” he said the following year, “the trip has renewed my awareness of my Hungarian Gypsy heritage. I want to merge elements of both my acoustic and electric styles with a return to my musical roots. My journey to Hungary has inspired me with new ideas about how to use my first musical influences — I feel that I’ve come full circle!”
The guitarist was initially inspired to form a new group, Perfect Circle, a septet mixing former group players with members of Szabó’s current band. “I want to merge elements of both my acoustic and electric styles with a return to my musical roots.” After several performances, however, the concept proved untenable.
“It was one of those things,” keyboardist and Perfect Circle member Richard Thompson told me later, “that sounded like a good idea on paper and in practice but it never really did crystalize the way (Gábor) wanted it to.” Although the Perfect Circle never really got off the ground, the guitarist kicked off his next album, Macho (1975), with a jazz take on Hungarian composer Franz Liszt’s “Hungarian Rhapsody.”
Remarkably, the Jazzpódium 74: Szabó Gábor recording remained commercially unavailable until 2008, when it was issued by the Hungarian Moiras label as Gabor Szabo In Budapest.
Ismét Pesten
By late 1977, Gábor Szabó was at a crossroads. His marriage to Alicia Solari had collapsed – she filed for divorce in July 1977 (finalized in 1980) – and his previous two American albums, waxed for Mercury Records, turned out to be commercial duds. Happily, though, he had fallen in love with the lovely Marianne Almásy (a.k.a. L. Mariae), an aspiring Hungarian actress and, later, artist living in Los Angeles since 1967.
Szabó and Almásy were friends and neighbors for years, yet they only came together following Mariann’s divorce from husband László. Marianne became Gábor’s muse and the two remained partners until the end of the guitarist’s life (both can be seen together on the Femme Fatale album cover).
According to Szabó biographer Károly Libisch, the couple travelled to Europe to spend the New Year in Paris. They then embarked to Stockholm, where longtime Szabó friend Péter Totth arranged the guitarist’s second Swedish studio recording, Belsta River.
The pair’s next stop brought them both back to Budapest for a televised concert at the luxurious Hilton hotel called Ismét Pesten, or “Again in Pest.” This time, though, Szabó was not afforded the freedoms or flexibility he previously enjoyed in 1974. The musicians were selected for him and the material was decidedly more commercial in nature. The producers, including, again, Péter Módos, likely assumed that this is what the audience wanted.
The band accompanying Szabo here are mostly comprised of members of what was then the Tomsits Jazz Group (TJG), which issued the record Álom És Valóság (Dream and Reality) on Pepita, later in the year. They include pianist János Másik (b. 1952) and drummer Imre Köszegi (b. 1944), both of whom participated Szabó’s 1974 Hungarian recording.
Other members of the TJG include guitarist Gyula Babos (1949-2018); bassist Péter Dandó (1951-97); percussionist János Solti (b. 1953), who was also in Locomotiv GT; and saxophonist László Dés (b. 1954), who does not actually play with Szabó here. István Lerch (b. 1953), who was married at the time to vocalist Kati Kovács, adds occasional synthesizer statements throughout.
Regardless of the restrictions placed on Szabó, the program is largely drawn from material featured on the guitarist’s Mercury albums. Chief among these is “Concorde (Nightflight),” a Szabo original that had already become a staple in the guitarist’s repertoire. John Lewis’s “Django,” another staple, is the only song repeated from the 1974 performance.
Surprisingly not heard in the 1974 concert but presented here is the 1968 Classics IV hit “Stormy,” misidentified as “Django (Pt. 2)” on the previous Kept Alive/Moiras issue, a song that was part of the guitarist’s repertoire since he first recorded it on Gabor Szabo 1969.
For whatever reason, Szabó steps aside for “Killing Me Softly,” a number one hit in 1973 for Roberta Flack. Here, it is a feature for singer Kati Bontovics (b. 1953), whose 1979 album Ártlatlan Bűn (Pepita) featured János Másik (who also co-composed and arranged the disc) as well as lyrics by Anna Adamis (who wrote the lyrics to the earlier “Az Esõ És Én,” as well as other tracks from the 1974 album Kovács Kati + Locomotiv GT). László Dés is heard here in his only appearance on tenor saxophone.
Again, these recordings were not made public until many years later, when the Hungarian Kept Alive/Moiras label issued this concert – as well as the 1981 performance of “From a Dream” – in 2018 as Gabor Szabo In Budapest Again.
Pulzus
The late seventies turned into a tumultuous period in Gábor Szabó’s life. He became embroiled with the California-based Church of Scientology and its management company, Artists International. The guitarist would later claim the church and its officials kidnapped and beat him, forced him to pay for counseling and embezzled money from him. Lawsuits and countersuits were filed in 1980, but dropped the following year.
“I found it too time-consuming,” said Szabó at the time, “and I couldn’t concentrate on my career.”
Meanwhile, Szabó’s career meant contracting with Atlantic Records in 1979 for an album that featured Chick Corea and David Campbell (the father of pop singer-songwriter Beck), both of whom were also members of Scientology. But Atlantic, for reasons of its own, ultimately declined to release the album.
The guitarist was unable to interest any American label in the music – something that Atlantic may not have permitted anyway. There may have even been a brief attempt to re-record the music in the hopes of appealing to some label – to no avail. By 1981, Szabó was able to acquire the original tapes. He and his partner Marianne returned to Hungary in the hopes of getting a Hungarian label to issue the music.
By this point, however, Szabó’s health had taken a sharp downturn. He was already in and out of hospitals for care. Still, he managed to get the popular Hungarian label Pepita to issue the 1979 recordings in the summer of 1981 as Femme Fatale. This record ultimately became the guitarist’s final studio record, although there is material from the sessions that remains unreleased.
In August 1981, Szabó gave a final interview to Hungarian TV for the variety show Pulzus (Pulse). There, he performed the lovely “From a Dream.” Since this appearance was part of Szabó’s promotion of the Femme Fatale album, it is possible that “From a Dream” – which had never previously appeared on any Szabo recording – may have been one of the album’s unissued tracks (although no evidence of this exists).
Titled on the program as “Egy Álomban,” which translates (mistakenly) as “In a Dream,” “From a Dream” is a song by L.A.-based keyboardist Neil Larsen (b. 1948) that originally appeared on the composer’s 1978 solo debut, Jungle Fever, a record produced by Tommy LiPuma. It was, of course, LiPuma who had previously produced Szabo’s earlier Blue Thumb discs, including the original version of “Breezin,” which the producer also turned into a huge hit for guitarist George Benson in 1976.
“From a Dream” is tailor-made for Szabo’s sensibilities and serves as the guitarist’s official swan song: he is not known to have recorded anything else ever again. He performs the song as though it was coming from his soul; a heartfelt performance he can easily claim as his very own dream.
This magnificent performance is what the guitarist himself might have called a “full circle” moment. On this, his final known recording, Gábor Szabó is joined by pianist Attila Garay (1931-2013), who was part of Szabo’s very first recordings in 1956: ”Stalintown Blues,” “Bernie’s Tune” and “Canon” (all heard on the 2016 CD Revolutionary Jazz = Forradalmi Jazz). Bassist Péter Dandó, who was previously heard with Szabó at the 1978 concert, also reunites with Szabó here.
During the Pulzus interview, Szabó confirmed that his next album would be made in Hungary with Hungarian musicians – that would have included Garay and Dandó. Unfortunately, this was among the last public statements he ever made.
The guitarist’s health had worsened considerably and by December that year, he was hospitalized. In what is probably a bit of wishful thinking, he talked with friends back home about returning to America to record a Christmas album. It was Christmastime, after all. Obviously, neither recording ever happened.
To the astonishment of his friends and family, he remained hospitalized well past Christmas. Gábor Szabó eventually died of liver and kidney failure on February 26, 1982, only several days shy of turning 46 years old. He was buried in Budapest’s historic Farkasrét Cemetery.
Now, Gábor Szabó has been gone nearly as long as he was alive. But the music of this Hungarian-American musician, in general, and the American-Hungarian mix of music heard here, in particular, lives on for all to enjoy.
Douglas Payne
October 2023
Special thanks from the author and much love to János (John) Szabó, Sándor Darányi, Károly Libisch, Mark Cathcart and Diane Toma.