Released only 6 months after Gypsy '66, Gabor Szabo's 2nd album equally a leader (after leaving a sublime Chico Hamilton band that also included Charles Lloyd) remains 1 of his finest moments inward the studio. Szabo utilized the tales of bassist Ron Carter in addition to his onetime boss Hamilton on drums, equally good equally a duet of fine Latin percussionists -- Willie Bobo in addition to Victor Pantoja. The groove quotient was real high on Spellbinder, maybe fifty-fifty higher than on after albums such equally Jazz Raga or Sorcerer. This develop is all Szabo, drifting, wafting, in addition to soaring inward a higher identify all that rhythm; the rails alternative provides ample infinite for Szabo's highly individualized Eastern modal trend to shine. The develop opens amongst the championship track, a snaky guitar masterpiece amongst enough of droning strings in addition to pinched chords that are followed yesteryear opened upward string flourishes. Carter holds the entire band together equally Hamilton plays inward counterpoint to the percussionists. This is followed amongst 2 nuggets from the pop majority of the day, the Coleman/Leigh classic "Witchcraft" in addition to "It Was a Very Good Year." From the performances here, it's apparent that Szabo was deeply influenced yesteryear singers, in addition to Frank Sinatra was at his pinnacle during this time. There's the emerging '60s psychedelic audio inward Szabo's playing, but it is underlaid amongst bossa rhythms in addition to swells. These tracks, spell flavored amongst Latin in addition to pop stylings, are gorgeous guitar jazz. Szabo gets dorsum into his ain mystic thang amongst "Gypsy Queen" (the opening droning moments of which the Doors lifted exclusively for "The End"). Here the Latin rhythms in addition to guitar locomote caput to head, dot to counterpoint. H5N1 pronounced soundless elusive tune trace propels a serial of polyrhythms forrad into an abyss of melody, mode, in addition to frighteningly intense legato phrasing, leaving the listener breathless. He takes the border off amongst Sonny Bono's "Bang Bang (She Shot Me Down)." Szabo sings hither inward his plaintive Hungarian-inflected English, in addition to the tune becomes something other than a pop song, but a tome on despair in addition to loss. The funky "Cheetah" follows amongst gorgeous arpeggios, pointedly turning into chords of distinction equally Hamilton rides the crash cymbal into territories unknown in addition to double-times the band until it notches upward the intensity. This develop follows amongst 1 to a greater extent than Szabo original ("Yearning") in addition to a trio of standards, amongst a heartbreakingly beautiful read of "My Foolish Heart" in addition to a medley of "Autumn Leaves" in addition to "Speak to Me of Love." Szabo's read on jazz inward the '60s was brilliant. He embodied all of its close pop aspirations amongst a genuine spirit of excogitation in addition to adventure. Spellbinder is a masterpiece. All Music.
I dear Jazz Guitar in addition to demand maintain many many albums yesteryear the best inward the concern ;Kenny Burrell, Grant Green, Herb Ellis, Wes Montgomery, Bill Frissell, JIm Hall in addition to many others....
Of all the Jazz GUitar albums i own, Spellbinder album yesteryear Gabor Szabo is 1 of my favourites....his note is utterly unique in addition to coming from Republic of Hungary (eurpoe), has definietly added to his flavour.
on Spellbinder the organisation amongst a tonne of percussion in addition to bass lays a huge spacious foundation for Gabor Szabo to pigment over the top....there are no other treble instruments to locomote far his way....its all at that topographic point for Gabor Szabo to rip on in addition to he does!
H5N1 swell album opened me upward to his other industrial plant in addition to i bought 2 other albums which are also good, but Spellbinder is my favourite.....it fifty-fifty has the vocal rails 'Bang Bang- my infant shot me downwardly ' on it, the famous rails that was used, on the moving-picture present Kill Bill.
One of my favourite Jazz Guitar albums. By Grant Green.
This album, heard at a friend's identify inward the belatedly 60s, left an indelible memory. I decided to assay it out to uncovering out whether it was equally proficient equally I remembered. The respond is yes. It's non only Szabo's guitar, but the accompaniment in addition to recording, equally well: Ron Carter, bass; Rudy Van Gelder, engineer, Bob Thiele, producer. The latin percussion is likewise mesmerizing. Wonderful. By InTents.
Many stone listeners who graduated to jazz volition demand maintain picked upward the scent, in addition to thus to speak, of Gabor Szabo; he was the composer of the "Gypsy Queen", played yesteryear Santana on the extraordinary offset side of "Abraxas".
Such listeners would demand maintain been disconcerted, perhaps, when they heard this, equally I was, many years ago. Szabo's recording was only remotely connected inward mood to the Santana performance. But, amongst time, I picked upward on the excellence of the performance. H5N1 mutual transition when stone listeners made the transition to jazz, the bigger vehicle, the woman bring upward music of America, in addition to increasingly, Europe.
Republic of Hungary has the same mythic connector to music equally African America. Perhaps this is rubbish, harmless or insidious of limiting stereotype, I don't know. But Szabo (of damnably brusk life, dying inward his forties inward '82) was Hungarian, fleeing the province when the drunkards of the USSR cracked downwardly on the opening inward Budapest inward 1956. By this time, the compatriot of Bartok and, inward a dissimilar way, the "Gypsies" had discovered American jazz music. Itself an affront to the Communists.
So America got Szabo. What at that topographic point is of "Gypsy" here, I'm non sure. The exotic chemical gene is the Latin American percussion: at that topographic point are 2 Latin percussionists here, the entirety driven yesteryear the car shell of the swell Chico Hamilton, who had previously featured Szabo on 1 of his unpredictable albums. At that time, Szabo in addition to Hamilton were associated amongst Charles Lloyd, the tenor saxophonist. Lloyd is absent on "Spellbinder", a relief to this listener; I uncovering his alternate copyings of Coltrane in addition to Ornette Coleman cloying, in addition to equally domineering equally Flip Phillip's excursions on "Jazz at the Philharmonic".
This is a minimalist, percussion-dominated record. The swell bassist Ron Carter stays inward the background here, in addition to the leader himself, using a wooden guitar amongst pickup (I think), plays remarkably but subtly throughout, no guitargoddism here. Because the only soloist plays for the music, non the solo (rather similar Miles Davis), a 2nd soloist (reed, or mayhap a violin) isn't missed.
He's close at domicile playing his ain compositions, but does reasonably good on standards, "My foolish heart", inward this case. The Sonny Bono publish succeeds, too, over the whole, but I'm sad to tell that I could demand maintain done without the singing. Szabo isn't a bad singer, but it seemed to me out of place.
My re-create is a Japanese import. Very proficient sound, over the whole; it wouldn't demand maintain been difficult to tape this properly, in addition to non difficult to remaster, I wouldn't think. Good job, inward whatever case, though I mean value it could live on said that the bass (Ron Carter) isn't quite properly salient. By (((Marco Buendia))).
Track listing:
All compositions yesteryear Gábor Szabó except equally indicated
1 "Spellbinder" - 5:30
2 "Witchcraft" (Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh) - 4:39
three "It Was a Very Good Year" (Ervin Drake) - 2:47
four "Gypsy Queen" - 5:13
five "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" (Sonny Bono) - 2:28
6 "Cheetah" - 4:10
vii "My Foolish Heart" (Ned Washington, Victor Young) - 5:28
8 "Yearning" - 2:59
ix "Autumn Leaves/Speak to Me of Love" (Joseph Kosma, Jacques Prévert, Johnny Mercer/Jean Lenoir) - 3:35
Personnel:
Gábor Szabó - guitar, vocals
Ron Carter - bass
Chico Hamilton – drums
Willie Bobo, Victor Pantoja - percussion
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