Elek Bacsik
Elek Bacsik  | |
|---|---|
| Born | 22 May 1926 Budapest, Hungary  | 
| Died | 14 February 1993 (aged 66) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.  | 
| Genres | Jazz | 
| Occupation | Musician | 
| Instrument(s) | Guitar, violin | 
| Years active | 1960s–1970s | 
| Labels | Fontana | 
Elek Bacsik (22 May 1926 – 14 February 1993) was a Hungarian-American jazz guitarist and violinist. He was the cousin of guitarist Django Reinhardt.[1]
Career
[edit]Bacsik was born in Budapest, Hungary. He was the son of Árpád Bacsik and Erzsébet Pócsi.
He studied classical violin at the Budapest Conservatory before moving to jazz guitar.[2] He worked in a big band with Jozsef Quitter and Geza Szabo and recorded for the first time in his career with this band[1] in 1943.[2] A few years later he went on tour in Europe and Lebanon with Mihaly Tabanyi.[2] He was hired by Renato Carosone to be in a quartet with Peter Van Wood and Gegè Di Giacomo in which he played bass, violin, and guitar.[2] When he lived in Paris, he accompanied American musicians who were passing through, such as Lou Bennett, Dizzy Gillespie,[1] Quentin Jackson, Art Simmons, and Clark Terry.[2] He also supported French singer Serge Gainsbourg.[2] In 1966, he moved to the U.S.[1] and until 1974 accompanied Teresa Brewer.[2][1] In the 1970s he recorded as a leader on violin and electric violin.[2] He played at the Newport Jazz Festival in 1974 and ten years later at the Olympic Games Jazz Festival in Los Angeles.[2][1]
Discography
[edit]As leader
[edit]- The Electric Guitar of the Eclectic Elek Bacsik (Fontana, 1962)
 - Guitar Conceptions (Fontana, 1963)
 - I Love You (Bob Thiele Music, 1974)
 - Bird and Dizzy: A Musical Tribute (Flying Dutchman, 1975)
 
As sideman
[edit]- Barbara, Barbara Chante Barbara (Philips, 1964)
 - Barbara, Au Bois De Saint-Amand (Philips, 1965)
 - Lou Bennett, Dansez et Revez (Phono 2017)
 - Serge Gainsbourg, Gainsbourg Confidentiel (Philips, 1964)
 - Serge Gainsbourg, 1963 Théâtre des Capucines (Mercury, 2001)
 - Dizzy Gillespie, Dizzy on the French Riviera (Philips, 1962)
 - Dizzy Gillespie, New Wave (Philips, 1963)
 - Quincy Jones, $ (Reprise, 1972)
 - Jeanne Moreau, Jeanne Moreau No.2 12 Chansons (Jacques Canetti 1967)
 - Claude Nougaro, No. 2 (Philips, 1963)
 
Bibliography
[edit]- Balval Ekel: Elek Bacsik - Un homme dans la nuit. La-Neuville—Aux-Joutes. 2015. ISBN 978-2-36336-170-7
 - Géza Gábor Simon: Season of the Rain - Elek Bacsik Bio-discography / Esős évszak - Bacsik Elek bio-diszkográfia, Budapest, 2016. ISBN 978-963-12-4707-7
 
References
[edit]Sources
[edit]- Barnett, Anthony. Almost Like Being in Bop: a Not-So-Brief Account of the Hidden History of the Swing to Recorded Bebop and Progressive Violin in America and Europe. Lewes, East Sussex: AB Fable, 2005. More information on his recordings on violin on AB Fable Bulletin : violin improvisation studies
 
External links
[edit]- Elek Bacsik on www.djangostation.com Archived 28 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
 - Biography on www.about-django.com Archived 20 June 2006 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
 
- 1926 births
 - 1993 deaths
 - Musicians from Budapest
 - American jazz guitarists
 - Romani guitarists
 - American jazz violinists
 - American male violinists
 - American people of Hungarian-Romani descent
 - American people of Romani descent
 - American Romani people
 - Hungarian emigrants to the United States
 - Hungarian jazz guitarists
 - Male guitarists
 - Hungarian Romani people
 - Hungarian violinists
 - Romani violinists
 - 20th-century American violinists
 - 20th-century American guitarists
 - American male guitarists
 - 20th-century American male musicians
 - American male jazz musicians
 - Hungarian male musicians