While I would consider myself a fan of international music, as an English speaker I must admit a bias for English and American artists. Not only is it the music I am surrounded with, but it's the music with lyrics I can understand! Primarily an instrumentalist, Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó overcomes this limitation. (Also he released music in English markets with English titles... but nonetheless!) In terms of transportive music, I have discovered few artists better at taking the listener on a trip over the years. And as with many of the greats, he died too young.

420 to 30: A Music Retrospective

60 Weeks to 30 Years-Old, with 420 Songs by 60 Different Artists


Here's 7 of my favorites from Gábor Szabó.

Week 17: GÁBOR SZABÓ

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#113/420 - Gábor Szabó, “Fingers”

(originally from 1971, High Contrast)

A fittingly titled song to kick off with for Gábor Szabó, this man indeed had fingers. And how they danced on the strings of his guitar.

Sometimes I really don’t need or want vocals to distract me, beckoning me to sing along. Sometimes I just need or want music to chill out with, set the mood. Gábor is perfect for this.

And whether it’s your fingers or toes or your wife, you can bet something will be getting tapped with Gábor Szabó music on in the background.

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#114/420 - Gábor Szabó, “Mizrab”

(originally from 1967, The Sorcerer)

I often prefer the refinement studio recordings provide, but in the case of Szabó’s The Sorcerer, this song becomes even better in the live format. Perhaps it better suits the improvised nature of jazz compared to other music genres. The texture of this song is really nice, well-recorded, and allows you to imagine yourself sitting right there with a cocktail in that dark jazz club listening to them play. Sorcery indeed.

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#115/420 - Gábor Szabó, “Three King Fishers”

(originally from 1968, Bacchanal)

Originally written by Donovan for his Sunshine Superman album, Gábor turns it into an instrumental, giving it less of a hippy sound and more of a gypsy sound. A very cool sound, I note. Although I don’t mind Donovan, in general, I definitely prefer the Gábor version here being sans lyrics and full of texture. This is the type of sound that I most associate with Gábor Szabó, and makes for excellent mood music.

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#116/420 - Gábor Szabó, “Breezin’”

(originally from 1971, High Contrast)

The original version of this song don’t get much more breezin’ than this. Right from the first notes, you know it’s a good one. Featuring the great pairing of Gábor Szabó and Bobby Womack.

This song and I go way back to the days of my neighborhood sketch comedy show during high school, “Friday Night Weekly”, where I used it once in one of my favorite skits we did. Today marks 16 years since I began that journey. Fitting for today! Happy anniversary.

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#117/420 - Gábor Szabó, “Lou-ise”

(originally from 1967, The Sorcerer)

Great atmosphere, killer tune. The frantic playing with the clinks and crowd coming in and out in the background is a trip. Dig it.

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#118/420 - Gábor Szabó, “Half the Day is the Night”

(originally from 1968, Dreams)

From my favorite Gábor Szabó album, this was what prompted my exploration of his body of work. This particular song is one of my absolute favorite atmospheres of any song I know.

It puts me at ease.

The song most reminds of nights with a full moon and a clear sky, where you can see everything because it’s bright enough, but not bright enough to where the world isn’t still nearly black and white.

A true gem among the pantheon of 20th Century music.

And also definitely a top 10 album cover for me.

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#119/420 - Gábor Szabó, “Galatea's Guitar”

(originally from 1968, Dreams)

One of the best album openers I know, and my favorite from Gábor Szabó. It’s hypnotic, grooving, sexy, enchanting, and mysterious. I love any evening that features this track and the album that follows, as you could imagine. And there’s been some good ones.

How about that change-up at 1:45? Very nice use of the güiro. Then the shakers. Then some other percussive instrument I am unsure of. They all kick ass though. And the growing intensity in the final minute of the song. Great from beginning to end.

Many artists so far have been easier to dissect for me than Gábor Szabó. Since I do not have a very technical musical knowledge, it is harder for me to express what is great about someone like this with my music vocabulary. But one of the great things about great music is that it really doesn’t need to be explained. I don’t really need to be doing what I’m doing! But of course, I am just doing it for me, because damn it, sometimes you gotta do things for yourself.

Turning on Gábor Szabó’s Dreams is one of those things I choose to do for myself every so often. And it’s a fine option to have.

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Next week, G month continues with a band that envelopes to me, the essence and frequency of the era of my youngest years, the end of the 1980s and the early 1990s. Their gentle genre of music has come to be known as shoegaze rock, and shoegaze is, oddly enough, exactly what their music sounds like, Galaxie 500.

420 to 30: A Music Retrospective

60 Weeks to 30 Years-Old, with 420 Songs by 60 Different Artists

Week 1: Johnny Cash
Week 2: The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
Week 3: A Tribe Called Quest
Week 4: Weezer
Week 5: Bob Dylan
Week 6: Led Zeppelin
Week 7: 2Pac/Makaveli
Week 8: Billy Joel
Week 9: Electric Light Orchestra
Week 10: Elvis Presley
Week 11: Dr. Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band
Week 12: The Jimi Hendrix Experience
Week 13: Nirvana
Week 14: The Doors
Week 15: The Rolling Stones
Week 16: Gnarls Barkley

View the full list of "420 Songs" here: https://tinyurl.com/y8fboudu (Google spreadsheet link)