ONOFFON

[onoffon]

I just recently found this CD release on eBay (where else?) - it's a recording of a jam session back in 1947 that took on almost mythic proportions - it was called BopLand - I've included an excerpt of the review in AMG - Bopland: The Legendary Elks Club Concert L.A. 1947Dexter GordonReview excerpt -"At long last, the historic Elks Club Concert from 1947 has been released in its entirety. This event has been excerpted countless times on 78s, 10" LPs, 12" long-players, and even on CDs both officially issued and pirated. The significance of the concert can hardly be overstated, since it features a sheer who's who of the Los Angeles Central Avenue jam scene at the dawn of the bebop era. While Dexter Gordon is a prominent figure in this collection, he is by no means the only one. Gordon was a featured soloist with the Howard McGhee Orchestra in 1947, and the other players in this illustrious outfit include Wardell Gray, Sonny Criss, Hampton Hawes, Barney Kessel, McGhee (of course), Trummy Young, drummer Roy Porter, and bassist Harry Babasin. The 19-plus minute jam on "Bopera" (aka Coleman Hawkins' "Disorder at the Border") is a stunning cutting session featuring burning solos from the players...." - Thom Jurek, All Music GuideNeedless to say, I've got to get this one... There's my dad - on the cutting edge of bebop on the west coast - playing on Central Avenue with the best of the best... this story just keeps getting better and better...

[onoffon]

It's been a while since I've posted something for ONOFFON - so - let's have a little ONOFFON SSP today for a change.Nothing too fancy - I had posted on a Nomi thread on the General Board about a reviewer, Jason Spatola, who had written about our Your Mind CD - "Your Mind is one of the greatest albums of all time by any artist."High praise, indeed! Of course, anyone who likes your music on that scale, you want to make sure that he gets a copy of your latest release as well.Only problem is, he no longer actively writes reviews, even though his review site is still online, and I only had an old, out-of-date email address on the fellow.Well, lo and behold, I happen to have a page over at Facebook.com. It was created for me by GarageBand.com. They have some deal where every artist with music on their website would automatically have a page on Facebook. Where do they come up with this stuff?So, I get this email that tells me I have a friend request on my Facebook page from none other than Jason Spatola! How cool is that? And he procedes to tell me he picked up a copy of Bridge to Presage as soon as he knew it was out there! What do you know - a true fan...So, here's what he had to say about this CD -"Mr. Von Babasin!Oh dude, I ordered Bridge to Presage as soon as I knew it existed. Freaking superb album. It never gets old. Words can't express how much I love it. It's a record I know I'll be listening to twenty years from now - and that's something I can't really safely say about very many other albums. Rest assured that you have god status as far as I'm concerned. I hope you guys continue to record together. Like until you're dead.Awesome, VB -- JSS"Needless to say, I wish this were posted somewhere I could link to and promote with. Still, I'm not sure how I feel about that 'dead' line. I know it's a compliment - it's just a little creepy... Our sincere thanks to Jason Spatola for not only buying the CD but for loving it so much...

[onoffon]

Well, it's that time once again - it's the third weekend of the month and you know what that means....Another wild weekend in the O.C. - I'm playing with my cover band on Friday, Sept. 14th, and Saturday, Sept. 15th, at -Chaser's Lounge 2765 N. Orange Olive Rd Orange, CA 92865 714-637-6530One block south of the intersection of Orange Olive Rd. and Lincoln Blvd. We'll be on from 9:00 pm to 1:30 am.Of course, if anyone from these boards actually came to a gig I'd probably have a coronary!!!!! Next month, we're playing two weekends back to back. Have I mentioned we have quite the following there? It seems that the owner wants to throw a Halloween party the Saturday after our usual booking so he locked us in for that weekend as well... Pretty darn cool if you ask me...

[onoffon]

While we were kicking *ss all weekend, something pretty cool took place.A guitarist by the name of Michael Epstein came out to see us Friday night. Apparently, he regularly plays with John Avila, bassist, and drummer John Hernandez, both from Oingo Boingo. What made this so cool was that when he came in, he stated that he could only hang out for a few songs. I'm sure you've been there - you go in, not really knowing what to expect, and set it up for you to make a respectable early exit when the band sucks rocks.Well... not only did he stay the entire night Friday (until last call) - he came back and did the same thing Saturday night! I LOVE it when that happens... Very cool...

[onoffon]

I have to say -Today is my oldest son's, Sean Harry Babasin's, 18th birthday!!!!!What more can I say? I'm so proud of him...

[sgs4u]

Quote:I have to say -Today is my oldest son's, Sean Harry Babasin's, 18th birthday!!!!!What more can I say? I'm so proud of him... Congratulations to both of you, Von! What a great milestone. Does he get the cars keys now?

[onoffon]

Quote: Congratulations to both of you, Von! What a great milestone. Does he get the cars keys now? No... no car keys for young Babasin...One of the drawbacks of having a starving artist for a dad... he understands though... he's got a job and he's working toward saving his money for a car and insurance...Just another reason to admire the young man...

[onoffon]

Back to the documentary -All my life, we grew up with a wonderful coffee table book in our living room called 'Jazz West Coast' - published in 1955, it featured pictures taken by one of the great jazz photographers, William Claxton, along with articles, discographies, and history of West Coast Jazz. Of course, it contained all the players I've mentioned throughout my many posts on this subject, including Harry Babasin.Now, once again thanks to eBay, I found the companion album that was released in tandem with the book. Originally released by Pacific Jazz Records - "A Richard Bok Production" - it is a compilation of definitive west coast jazz called "Jazz West Coast - An Anthology of California Music". Included in the groups featured are the Chet Baker Ensemble, the Gerry Mulligan Quartet, the Clifford Brown Ensemble, the Zoot Sims Quartet, and many others. One of the tracks was from my father's Nocturne Record label, 'Lotus Bud', by the Bud Shank Quintet, a composition written and arranged by Shorty Rogers, who also plays in the group with Harry; and 'Speak Low', by the Laurindo Almeida Quartet, the group my father formed and played in that recorded the earliest forms of the bossa nova, though it wasn't called bossa nova back then. The liner notes start -"The music enclosed here gathers together a sampling of the cream of the West Coast crop, presenting them in selections that typify their finest efforts, and offering the jazz follower - dedicated or casual - a varied program of current jazz at its best. This anthology of West Coast jazz was compiled both as a companion piece for the book of photographs called Jazz West Coast and as a progress report on California jazz activity as it stands in 1955."Truly a gem and further validation of my father's contributions to the history of jazz...

[onoffon]

I may have posted this picture before but I think it's worth reposting -It's a publicity still from the 1947 movie, "A Song Is Born". You can see my father just over the shoulder of the great vibraphonist, Lionel Hampton.In the foreground, from left to right, is Charlie Barnet, Louis Armstrong, Danny Kaye, Tommy Dorsey, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, and Virginia Mayo. Just over my father's shoulder, between him and Benny Goodman, is the great Brazilian guitarist, Laurindo Almeida.This movie was extremely significant to my father's career as it led to his identity as one of the most innovative bassists of his time.

[onoffon]

I just learned that Fred Dutton has passed away. He was a long time member of the L.A. Philharmonic as a bassoon player and also played a lot of jazz bass. Way back in 1955, when my father was experimenting with the idea of his "picking" band, Fred played bass, backing up my father as he played melody on his cello. They recorded an albums worth of material that never released back then but became the basis for Harry's award winning group, The Jazzpickers.That recording is part of the archives I've often spoken of and would be a wonderful addition to a box set of Jazzpicker CDs once I get funding to remaster the more than 500 hours of jazz masters we still own.I was honored to meet Fred Dutton on a few occasions - he was one of the guys - his talents will be missed.Yet another wonderful musician that has passed away while countless foundations ponder the worthiness of my west coast jazz documentary.