EVERY MINUTE COUNTS - (Gabor Szabo)

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Every Minute Counts - (Gabor Szabo)

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(วันนี้ขี้เกียจเขียนภาษาไทย ก็ฟุตฟิดฟอไฟซ๊ะหน่อยเน้อ)

At one point, in the late '60's, I was playing in a band with my red Hofner electric guitar at a very tiny club in "ราชประสงค์" area. My playing skill was snake snake fish fish (= so so = งูๆปลาๆ). There was a very clean cut, good looking guy and his wife that came to talk to me during the break. They appeared to be European and on vacation, a very polite and friendly couple. The gentleman looked to be in his early or mid 30's, with a little European accent, asking me if he could sit in (แจม) with us and I said certainly as long as the rest of the band knows the tune. He assured us that there's nothing to worry about because it's going to be in the key of E and that the band simply had to play only the E chord for the entire song. I was thinking "Bro...just wake me up when you're done 'cause it's gonna be so boring with just one chord", then I handed him my guitar and went to accompany his wife at the table. He started it off (kicked it off) gracefully with light strums then the rest of the band slowly joined in. I think at that time Dang, my guitar mate, (like Brian Jones/Keith Richards style) was playing rhythm guitar (กีต้าร์คอร์ด) with his brown Greco (Gretch 6120 double cutaway copy). At any rate, from the first moment of the Jammer's first strum I could easily sense that this guy was someone special and not just an ordinary "Wham Bamm Twelve-Bars Blues Farang". In other words a well-seasoned or polished guitarist. After awhile I was mesmerized by the sound, thinking how the hell could he create such a beautiful statement on my shitty Hofner guitar and one chord progression like that? I remember he was sitting on a tall stool looking as if he was doing meditation and wailing on the guitar like I never heard before. It was jazzy yet sweet, simple, and understandable unlike most of the American Jazz music but also connected as if there were another tune stuffed inside the "one chord tune" that he was playing. I'm not making it up and although I can't remember his name I'll never forget his face, the sound, and style he had. It was instantly implanted into my pre-computer aged hard drive called "little brain".

Later on in America (1974-75) I went to a Gabor Szabo concert just to hear him play one of my favorite tunes at that time called Breezin' (written by Bobby Womack). The concert was in a small room and I remember Gabor playing my favorite song Breezin' and all his other songs with his Martin D-45 sporting a D'Armond pickup. I still recall he had a Kick Ass (= เก่งฉิบหายเลย) bass player who was European named Wolfgang Metz. After the concert we all (long haired audience) went to the side lawn to have SOME wine and chat with Gabor. The moment I saw him up close and talked to him it was like I had met him before (Deja Vu?) but I couldn't put my thoughts together.. God knows I was a little drunk then. My (then girlfriend) wife wanted his autograph and typically sucked-up (ประจบสอพลอ/ตอแหล) to him by saying she loved his Breezin' tune so I asked him if my wife and I could have a picture taken with him by a friend with our Kodak box camera. The picture came out completely dark and I think my friend forgot to use the flash or something. I was really really, really PISSED!

Soon after that I studied some of his work and at one point I realized that Gabor Szabo could be the same guy who sat in and jammed with my band that night years ago. That face, the voice, the smell of his Hungarian style of music, the simplicity, the hypnotic sound he created without using drone strings, the straight notes without sustain or vibratos, the Gypsy spirit kind of playing...made me think it must be him! Well.. he's passed on now but his beautiful sound he created is still here with us or with me at the least. This particular tune, "Every Minute Counts", was copied from an old vinyl LP called "Night Flight" so the sound quality is not that great but it should give you some idea of what kind of style/sound he created.

I have a funny story to tell you.....and I have to tell you first that I'm not here to insult anyone and the following story I quoted it from my friend's words and not mine.

Most of you probably know how famous the tune Breezin' is. Gabor was the first jazz guitarist to put the song on the map in1972-73 on the album called "Contrast", in collaboration with Bobby Womack (black guitarist/singer/songwriter) and that was when I first heard this beautiful tune which later on George Benson made even more popular in 1976, I think. Anyhow, most people were more familiar with the Breezin' by George Benson. In the late 70's, during those days I played music 7 days a week even on my day off I still worked with a substitute band sometimes. Every Sunday night the band had a young black chick (girl) who sang with us and I always gave her a ride to and from work since she lived near my place. One night on the way home from work I played a Gabor Szabo tape since I hadn't heard his version of Breezin' for awhile. All of a sudden the black singer on the passenger seat asked me "Woody...Woody...Who plays this song, I know it's not George Benson? I said to her " Why do you want to know..he's no big deal?" She said, "Oh Boy..It was so pretty I could feel the breeze. Come on.. tell me who that is, I want to buy his album." I jived "What's the matter with you, don't you like the George Benson version, he's black like you?" She said " It's different, this guy plays so simple and beautiful I can almost see a picture in pastel colors...the way George plays reminds me of an OVERDRESSED PIMP! " My Good Lord ! I laughed so much I almost fell off the drivers seat. I like George Benson, don't get me wrong! By the way, this black singer has an English mother! Later she went on to New York to study art and piano.

Every Minute Counts - (Gabor Szabo)>>>>

Every Minute Counts - Gabor Szabo

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