Bėla Babai
Antal Béla Babai (April 27, 1914 – October 1, 1997) was an ethnic Romani musician and interpreter of romani music. Babai was born in Austria-Hungarian Empire and emigrated to the United States late 1930s, where he became famous as "The King of the Gypsy Violin". Babai was born in Graz, Austria-Hungary and grew up in Kaposvár near a large community of Romani. 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 in 1937, 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 to Emma Horvath, who was of Bashalde Romani descent, and had a son and two daughters. He died in Nesconset, New York. |
Birth and Death Data: Born April 27, 1914, Died October 1, 1997
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1925 - 1941
Roles Represented in DAHR: leader
Notes: Hungarian surnames customarily precede given names: Babai Bėla.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 72110 | 10-in. | 1925 or earlier | Nem vagy legény berci | Babai Bėla ės Cigany Zenekara ; Ernő Király | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | CO30227 | 10-in. | 1941 | Ácsi, Ácsi (Nyirbátorban van egy asszony) | Babai Bėla ės Cigany Zenekara ; Endre Szathmáry | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | CO30228 | 10-in. | 1941 | Ėdes anyám sirhalmára | Babai Bėla ės Cigany Zenekara ; Szojer Lenke | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | CO30229 | 10-in. | 1941 | Lehullott a rozsalevėl | Babai Bėla ės Cigany Zenekara ; Endre Szathmáry | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | CO30230 | 10-in. | 1941 | Nincs senki olyan jo | Babai Bėla ės Cigany Zenekara ; Szojer Lenke | Female vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | leader | |
Columbia | W100193 | 10-in. | 1925 or earlier | Kerek a káposzta-kék a szeme | Babai Bėla ės Cigany Zenekara ; Ernő Király | Male vocal solo, with instrumental ensemble | leader |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Babai, Bėla," accessed November 4, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/356567.
Babai, Bėla. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 4, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/356567.
"Babai, Bėla." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 4 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
Linked Open Data Sources
Wikidata: Béla Babai - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q6949536
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/3323147553267753800001
MusicBrainz: Béla Babai - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/14e3c722-96f2-4802-a910-2f04bc205ae8
ISNI: 0000 0000 5904 8253 - http://www.isni.org/isni/0000000059048253
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