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Béla Babai

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Name
  
Bela Babai


Role
  
Musical Artist

Albums
  
Haunting Gypsy Melodies (feat. The Hungarian Gypsy Orchestra)

People also search for
  
His Fiery Gypsies, Francis Saas, Budapest Gypsy Symphony Orchestra

B la babai j nos vit z


Béla Babai (Kaposvár, Hungary cir. 1914 – Nesconset, New York) October 1, 1997) was a Hungarian American musician and interpreter of romani music. Babai was born in Hungary and emigrated to the United States late 1930s, where he became famous as "The King of the Gypsy Violin".

Contents

Babai grew up in a Romani area near his birthplace and he learned to play the violin at a young age. At age 12 he would play in a local cafe, and in later years he would keep a clipping about those performances.

After he emigrated to the United States he noticed that the music from his country was played in Hungarian restaurants. Babai started an orchestra in which he played the violin, accompanied by a kontras (second fiddler), a bratchas (violist), a bogos (double bass), a cimbalom-player, and a cellist.

In 1953 he left Chicago for New York, where he performed in the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

Babai was married, and had a son and two daughters.

Discography

  • An Evening in Budapest with Bela Babai (1934)
  • Gypsy Moods
  • Gypsy Love (1957) (as Bela Babai and his Orchestra)
  • An Evening at Chardas (as Bela Babai and his Fiery Gypsies)
  • Frénésie Tzigane (as Bella Babaï)
  • Gypsy Panorama
  • Spiel Für Mich, Zigeuner! (as Bela Babai und sein Ungarisches Ensemble)
  • Play For Me Gypsy (as Bela Babai and his Hungarian Ensemble)
  • Songs

    Ha Meguntal Edes Rozsam
    Erik A Buzakalasz
    Play Gypsy & Sari Waltz

    References

    Béla Babai Wikipedia