Update: I was very pleased last month to share the news of author and journalist Stefano Orlando Puracchio's September 10 presentation of his new book, Gábor Szabó – il jazzista dimenticato. The event commerates the publication of Stefano's Italian-language book and celebrates the life and musical legacy of the Hungarian guitarist.
I have just learned that keyboardist and composer Károly Németh will now join musicians Ádám Török and Ádám Fehér to perform music by and associated with Gábor. Additionally, the event is now free and open to the public. The original announcement appears below, edited to include the updated news.
The esteemed Italian Cultural Institute of Budapest has announced that Stefano Orlando Puracchio will present his magnificent book Gábor Szabó – il jazzista dimenticato on September 10, 2022, at one of the most prestigious houses of art and culture in Hungary, the Virág Benedek Ház.
The bilingual event presents the first-ever Italian-language book about the great Hungarian guitarist in the very storied city of his birth, youth and all-too early death.
Special musical guests include flautist/vocalist Ádám Török, dean of Hungarian prog-rock and founder of the jazz-rock group Mini, along with guitarist Ádám Fehér and keyboardist and composer Károly Németh, performing a selection of material associated with Gábor Szabó. Török, who played with Gábor in a 1974 jam session, regularly features Szabó-related material in his repertoire. Bassist and collaborator of Italian jazz magazine JAZZIT Andrea Parente is also set to appear.
“Gábor Szabó – il jazzista dimenticato” – “The Forgotten Jazzman” in English and “Az elfeledett jazzman” in Hungarian – was published by the Italian press Demian Edizioni earlier this year, marking the fortieth anniversary of the guitarist’s death. Stefano’s book not only memorializes the life and musical journey of Gábor Szabó, but reveals just how influential and meaningful the guitarist’s legacy has become over the last four decades.
Stefano’s book beautifully serves as a tonic for or corrective to the myths and marketing that grew – with or without Gábor’s consent – around the guitarist and likely stifled the way people heard his music. While Szabó’s highs and lows necessarily factor into any study of the guitarist, Stefano looks beyond labels like “exoticism” (or “esotism”) and “gypsy” that marginalize or “other”-ize Gábor Szabó.
The event is free and open to the public. If you are in Budapest on September 10 and can visit the Virág Benedek Ház, please drop in. This is sure to be a great celebration of Gábor Szabó’s music and the incredible legacy he left behind.
Viva Gábor Szabó and folks like Stefano Orlando Puracchio who keep this great guitarist’s music and legacy alive.
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