As with hip-hop, I don't know very much at all about jazz other than I like what I like. That standard certainly won't measure up for critics and snobs — of which I am absolutely one in other genres — but that's where I am with it. Technical proficiencies be damned; if it's got a vibe, I'm in. Luckily, Hungarian guitarist Gábor Szabó has both style and substance in equal degrees and his Bacchanal album, according to Billboard, finds him “at the musical zenith of his career. This album could rank as his best to date.” Phew! I got one right!
Released in 1968, Bacchanal is counted as an early and exemplary model of jazz rock that would go on to form fusion. A quick glance at the song titles tells you exactly what's going on here.
Bacchanal finds Szabó in quintet formation, with classically trained guitarist Jimmy Stewart providing counterpoints to Szabó's playfulness. And the mix of sounds from jazz, rock, Europe, and India makes for something entirely unrivaled, in that era. Jazz critic Doug Payne wrote, “Bacchanal is an outstanding call to arms. It is a clear musical vision that comes between the overly sweetened Wind Sky and Diamonds and the overtly commercial Gábor Szabó 1969.”
A lot of late '60s rock brimmed with bombast and bluster, while jazz took one of two tacks: straight-laced or avant-garde. This album takes the best of all its influences and emerges with an elegant alchemy.
Hear the whole episode on January 21 at 6 am, 12 pm, and 6 pm PT.
