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MORE SORCERY Gabor Szabo Jazz Workshop, Boston: April 14-15, 1967 Gabor Szabo, Jimmy Stewart (g); Louis Kabok (b); Marty Morell (d); Hal Gordon (per).
Monterey Jazz Festival; Monterey,
California: September 17, 1967
Gabor Szabo dazzled audiences throughout his twenty-year career in jazz. Occasional live recordings like this hinted at Szabo’s "sorcery" more than many of his studio dates. Side one showcases three excellent performances at the Jazz Workshop and side two features three show-stopping performances from Szabo’s electrifying and memorable appearance at the 1967 Monterey Jazz Festival. Guitarist Jimmy Stewart is in fine form, prompting Szabo to some daring sounds and exciting interplay – especially during "Lucy in the Sky With Diamonds." This performance of "Spellbinder" is also featured in the film 10TH ANNUAL MONTEREY JAZZ FESTIVAL . Directed by Lane Slate, the 59-minute NET Festival Presentation features rehearsals, performance footage and interviews. Narrator and festival director Ralph J. Gleason (also the film's co-producer) concentrates on the festival itself -- how it originated, how it's organized, how it's managed -- seemingly at the expense of the music. While Dizzy Gillespie, Don Ellis, Richie Havens and B.B. King are seen performing, Szabo's "Spellbinder" plays while Gleason and festival organizer Jimmy Lyons talk about the festival's appeal and scenes of audience enjoyment are shown. Only the hands of a percussionist, presumably Hal Gordon, are shown for several seconds during the performance of "Spellbinder."
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