Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Happy Birthday, Gabor Szabo

Having lived under both Communism and Scientology Gabor Szabo (3/8/36-2/26/82) truly understood the nature of totalitarianism. Just kidding, please don't sue me.

Szabo discovered jazz in his native Hungary through Willis Conover's V.O.A. program. He was soon playing in local clubs on a crudely constructed guitar. It was the only possession Szabo brought with him when forced to exit Hungary during the 1956 revolution.

Eventually Szabo made his way to America, and found his initial fame with Chico Hamilton's distinctive quintet. Szabo's music fused jazz with traditional Indian and Gypsy music, but also took inspiration from contemporary pop tunes. An entrepreneur as well as an artist, Szabo joined with musicians Gary McFarland and Cal Tjader to form Skye Records, as a vehicle for their pop-jazz experiments.

In the late 1970's Szabo sought treatment for his heroin addiction at a Scientology-affiliated drug treatment center, and became deeply involved in the religion. In 1980, he broke from the Church, unsuccessfully filing suit for alleged financial mismanagement.": http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/canada/calgary-szabo-020980.htm snip> Jazz guitarist sues Scientologists February 9, 1980

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Jazz guitarist Gabor Szabo has filed a $21 million lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, accusing the organization of embezzling his money, kidnapping him and forcing him to undergo a Scientology "Life Repair Course."

In a 36-page complaint, Szabo's lawyer listed accusations which included Scientology's alleged takeover of the musician's career after he sought help in the church's drug-treatment program.

Szabo, born in Budapest in 1936, is best known for his worked with Lena Horne. During the late '60s and early '70s he was a regular at the Monterey and Newport jazz festivals. His most popular tune is Mizrab which came out in the late '70s.

Szabo contends the church induced him to sign a personal management contract with Artists International, a company he said is an arm of the Church of Scientology. He said the firm was inept in artist management and more concerned with using his name to win converts to Scientology.

He said the company charged a fee of 26 percent of his gross income for its services but did not pass on or account for the thousands of dollars he earned while they managed him. Szabo accused Scientology and Artists International of embezzling at least $15,000 from him.

The church's minister of public affairs, Heber Jentzsch, denied all allegations and said Szabo has been given a full refund of his money "and has signed documents to that effect."

Szabo says he was induced to sign a release and accept the money after a long period of harassment.

He said Scientologists told him he was a "pts" or "potential trouble source" because he could not fully commit himself to the teachings and principles of Scientology.

He said he was ordered to travel to Florida to undergo Scientology's Life Repair Course, a program which cost $12,000.

http://www.dougpayne.com/obit.htm snip> In the late 1970s he[Gabor] joined the Church of Scientology, performing charity concerts for a Scientology-sponsored drug rehabilitation program and also signed to be repped by Vanguard Artists International, which was head by Scientology.

In February, 1980 he filed a $21,000,000-lawsuit against both parties, accusing them of misappropriating his money and mismanagement of his career. The suit was dropped a year later."

http://home.snafu.de/tilman/faq-you/celeb.txt snip> Name:Gabor Szabo Profession:jazz guitarist and composer Status:in 1978, out 1980, sued scientology for embezzlement and kidnapping, but dropped it in 1981, and died 1982 of liver failure. got in thru "Vanguard Artists International" Achievement: "Mizrab", music score for Polanski's "Repulsion" Sources:AP 6.2.1980, AP 31.1.1981, AP 6.3.1982

http://groups.google.com/group/rec.music.makers.guitar.jazz/msg/42ce0d974ce5d4fc?hl=en& People in the News AP 31.1.1981

Los Angeles (AP). Guitarist Gabor Szabo has dropped a $21 million suit charging the Church of Scientology with embezzling his money, kidnapping and harassing him and the church has dropped its suit charging Szabo with fraud.

In a telephone interview Friday from Tucson, Ariz., where he is appearing, Szabo said he dropped the suit a week ago because "I found it too time-consuming and I couldn't concentrate on my career." He said he stood by his original allegations.

The church filed a countersuit in March 1980 charging Szabo with fraud. As part of the settlement, that suit also was dropped.

Szabo filed suit a year ago saying the Church of Scientology had taken over his career and his life after he sought help from their drug treatment program.

He had accused the church of inducing him to sign a personal management contract with Artists International, a company that he said was an arm of the church and more concerned with using Szabo's name to win converts than managing his career.

He alleged the company had charged him 26 percent of his gross income, but failed to account for or pass on to him money he earned.

In a statement, the church said Friday that in depositions Szabo had retracted his charges that threats, physical force and restraints had been used.

"We expected Mr. Szabo to ask for a settlement soon after his admission that the earlier charges he had made were false," the Rev. Douglas Smith said in the statement. "It saddens me to see an artist fallen on hard times, but that wasn't really justification to extort money from us."

(blog cont.) In 1981 Szabo moved back to Hungary in effort to kick the habit, but his body would soon give out. Szabo came full circle, leaving behind an extremely eclectic discography, which you can investigate courtesy of: http://www.dougpayne.com/szabo.htm

Biography: http://www.dougpayne.com/bio.htm snip> 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 anti-Communist uprising and eventually made his way to America, settling with his family in California.

He attended Berklee College (1958-60) and in 1961 joined Chico Hamilton's innovative quintet featuring Charles Lloyd. Urged by Hamilton, Szabo crafted a most distinctive sound; 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 the rock group, Santana, turned into a huge hit in 1970.

Szabo formed an innovative quintet (1967-69) featuring the brilliant, classically-trained guitarist Jimmy Stewart and recorded many notable albums during the late 1960s.

The emergence of rock music (especially George Harrison, Eric Clapton and Jimi Hendrix) found Szabo successfully experimenting with feedback and less successfully (but innovative at the time) with more commercially-oriented forms of jazz.

During the 1970s, Szabo regularly performed along the West Coast; hypnotizing audiences with his enchanting, spellbinding style. But from 1970, he was locked into a commercial groove – even though records like MIZRAB occasionally revealed the success of his jazz, pop, Gypsy, Indian and Asian fusions.

Szabo had revisited his homeland several times during the 1970s, 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 and five years after his final American album was released."

Tardis Box -- -- Number Six: "Leado" http://freemasonry.bcy.ca/fiction/images/prisoner02.jpg

Do *not* pronounce the letter "w" when saying: http://www.toledofreepress.com/images/50656.gif Down the Kilkenny hatch even though Guinness bought them out.

Remember, it's the 17th. I'm starting early...

"ohhhh danny boy......." <whistling down the bucolic byways.... of Inishmore>

Hibernia forever. Erin Go Braugh...

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