Dreams

Mr Bongo proudly presents a reissue of Hungarian guitarist Gabor Szabo's masterpiece Dreams. Blending lush, Eastern European-tinged psychedelic jazz with beautiful arrangements by Gary McFarland, it's unique, delicate, charming sound has entranced record collectors for years. Originally released in 1968 on Skye Records, it's quite rightly become a sought-after LP, and here at Mr Bongo, we wanted to reissue as close a replica edition as possible.

Hungarian-born, Szabo left his home country with his family on the eve of the political uprising, and finally settled in California, USA. He went on to attend Berklee College, and in 1961, he joined the fabulous Chico Hamilton's quintet. Szabo's time with Chico had a supportive influence on the young guitarist and nurtured his individual guitar sound. You can often instantly recognise Szabo playing on a record just by his guitar tone. He would go on to record a whole host of classic records for the iconic record label Impulse!, and worked with many great musicians such as Lena Horne, Charles Earland, Tom Scott, and Coke Escovedo, to name a few. Szabo's music would years later become a staple sample source in hip hop culture, with acts such as People Under The Stairs, Black Star (Talib Kweli and Mos Def), Diamond D, and many more utilising his work. Skye Records was set up in 1968 by Norman Schwartz, Gabor Szabo, Cal Tjader, and Gary McFarland, and it was on this label that Dreams was released. Harnessing a mystifying, unique sound that pays homage to Szabo's Hungarian folk music heritage, Dreams, as it's title suggests, has an otherworldly, ethereal feel and a trance-like quality that is deep and meditative. A masterclass in Eastern European folk meets Western psychedelia, all colliding with jazz, the album features a number of tracks penned by Szabo and Gary McFarland, alongside two interpretations of tracks written by the Spanish composer Manuel de Falla. Additionally, there is an epic cover version of Donovan's 'Ferris Wheel', which was also released as a 7" single at the time the album came out. Other highlights include 'Galatea's Guitar', a cinematic psych-jazz beauty, reminiscent of The Doors in places. The tender 'Half The Day Is Night', with it's soothing lullaby texture, features Gary McFarland arrangements at full force. The whole recording is solid all the way through, managing to be easy-listening, but never feeling contrived or saccharine. It has a rich underground spirit bubbling in the background, one recorded for times of relaxation rather than rebellion. Szabo sadly died at the young age of forty-five while visiting his homeland of Budapest. However, he left a legacy through his exceptional music which still enriches listeners today, and will long continue to do so.