Gábor Szabó's Guitar Cuts Through the Ensemble
Szabó's angular, wiry tone pushes Hamilton's ensemble away from smoothness into something grittier and less predictable.
The standout presence here is Gábor Szabó's guitar. He arrives with a tone that's thin and edgy, almost uncomfortable against the warmer horns around him, and that tension becomes the album's defining character. Hamilton assembled a genuinely mixed group — Clark Terry on trumpet, Charlie Mariano on alto sax, Jerome Richardson on flute, Jimmy Cheatham on trombone — but it's Szabó who refuses to blend. His lines dart and twist where the arrangement might expect something more settled, and the rhythm section, anchored by Richard Davis and Ron Carter on bass and Willie Bobo and Victor Pantoja on percussion, has to stay alert just to keep up.
This isn't Hamilton's most coherent record. Allmusic reviewer Ron Wynn noted the inconsistency — "Sometimes super and sometimes ragged cuts" — and that's fair. Not every arrangement justifies the lineup, and some tracks feel like they're still finding their shape. But the ragged moments often come from genuine musical friction, from voices that don't automatically agree on where a phrase should land.
If you're looking for the tidy, orchestrated Chico Hamilton sound, look elsewhere. This is Hamilton willing to let his ensemble members argue a little, Szabó refusing to be anything but himself, and the whole thing refusing the safety of polish. It's an interesting late-60s snapshot of a bandleader testing whether sophistication and unpredictability could occupy the same space.
Who's playing
Richard Davisbass
Ron Carterbass
Gábor Szabóguitar
Charlie Marianoalto saxophone
Clark Terrytrumpet
Jimmy Cheathamtrombone
Jerome Richardsonflute
Chico Hamiltondrums
Willie Bobopercussion
Victor Pantojapercussion
Danny Bankpiccolo
Where next?
More by Chico Hamilton
All 30 albums →
The musicians on this record
Dreams 1968
Gabor Szabo
plays guitar here
plays guitar here
Uptown Conversation 1969
Ron Carter
plays bass here
plays bass here
Bobo Motion 1967
Willie Bobo
plays percussion here
plays percussion here
