ONOFFON

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I was sending out a few updates to a few individuals who have asked that I keep them up to speed on my progress on the documentary. There is an Armenian west coast jazz fan who has been following the production. This is the opening paragraph of her amazing response -"How lovely to hear from you, Von!!! And your glorious news is so welcome!!! I continue to pray for you and your excellent project. I have a picture of your dear Dad and Chet on my desktop, so that when I pray, I have them in front of me!!! I know that God is working to bring the film to fruition to honor those to whom He gave the gift of incomparable music!!!"Sometimes, there are things that occur that completely humble you. They light the way...

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Here's a piece of a post to my www.jazzinhollywood.com page -"Hello Von, I discovered your website while trying to find a copy of this [the Nocturne] box set. You have a great site, so glad someone is actively preserving and keeping alive this great music! Two of my favorite players are Herbie Harper and Bob Enevoldson, they deserve more notoriety. Do you know if the box set is still available? It has been very hard to track down. Thanks for your time... Ian Thomas"Herbie had two albums on the Nocturne label and Bob had one with his own quintet, as well as being a member of groups releasing two other Nocturne albums. Bob's quintet included guitar great, Howard Roberts. Herbie Harper is still alive but in failing health and we recently lost Bob Enevoldsen when he passed on November 19, 2005, at the age of 85. This is definitive west coast jazz history. It cannot be lost. It has to be added to the history books - the history books are big enough to include these guys... really... It's time...

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Here's a cool one - I mentioned a while back, that an Egyptian journalist who writes for the largest arts and entertainment magazine in the Middle East, El Kawakeb Magazine, did an interview with me via email. Well, she sent me a JPEG of the published page and I hope to receive a copy(ies) of the magazine for my archives. It's not a great image but it's very cool, nonetheless. I'll post the translation on another post -My father's story is truly international. I can't thank the writer, Mai Farouk, enough for this wonderful publicity.

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Here is the translation of my interview from the article in the previous post - most of you already know of what I'm talking about -STARS ABROADMai Farouk"In his interview with El Kawakeb Magazine by e-mail, Von Babasin says:- I hope to visit Egypt...1-Tell me more about the movie you are making about your father?'Harry Babasin's Jazz In Hollywood' is a documentary about an unsung hero of jazz bass. Touring with such big bands as The Benny Goodman Orchestra and Woody Herman's 'Second Herd', Harry came to Hollywood in 1946, where he helped define the 'west coast jazz movement'. His innovations include pizzicato jazz cello and the birth of the bossa nova, while also starting one of the first musician produced record labels, Nocturne Records, in 1954, whose landmark 'Jazz In Hollywood' series set the standard for 'cool' on the west coast. Not only was Harry an accomplished musician, but he helped many now famous jazz musicians get their starts in their careers and even served as mentor and father figure to some. A wonderful example of this come's in the movie, 'The Band's Visit', the award winning 2007 Israeli film about an Egyptian band's visit to Israel. In the film, the leader of the band says that he is a Chet Baker fan. He says, 'I like Chet Baker. I have all his recordings. From the beginning, with the Harry Babasin Octet, to the last concert in '88.' This illustrates that Baker's first recordings were with my father. Receiving the sponsorship from the New York Foundation for the Arts to help produce this important film is extreme validation of my father's musical contributions and my life's work.2-What is your Artwork and what is the best you have done?Being raised literally surrounded by the entertainment industry, I have extensive backgrounds in all aspects of music, film, and video production and direction. Music has been a constant in my life, though I have worked in many different capacities in film and video. I worked for a number of years with special effects crews on such movies as 'Airport '77', 'Jaws 2', 'The Incredible Shrinking Woman', and John Carpenter's 'The Thing', and as a credited Grip on the film, 'La Bamba', for director, Luis Valdez. I directed a music video for a group I was with, Uranus, for a song I wrote, 'Lonely Streetfighter', that garnered sporadic airplay and a label deal with a German record company, ZYX Metal. I became production manager and director for an independent music video company and had a video I directed, 'Blast', nominated for an Independent Screening Award at the 1984 Billboard/MTV Music Video Conference. Another group I was with, The RH Factor, performed at the 1988 Long Beach Jazz Festival, after which music and film joined for me when we wrote the underscore, featured songs, and even appeared in the 1992 feature film, 'Forever', starring Sean Young and Diane Ladd. My latest musical ensemble is called ONOFFON. We have been together for eleven years and released three CDs in that time. We continue to receive critical acclaim from every corner of the globe. We were named 2005 'Artist of the Year' by the International Online Music Awards. In the following year, the IOMA's named our latest release, Bridge to Presage, 2006 Best Album, and in last year's event, I was named 2007 Best Bass Player and our drummer, Dave Goode, received Best Drummer honors. We receive airplay around the world and our music has been used in productions by FOX Sports, the Discovery Channel, Travel Channel, and Food Network, as well as a dozen different arts and independent films. I am currently fiscally sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts to produce a documentary film about my father's life and career called, 'Harry Babasin's Jazz In Hollywood'.3-What is your opinion about the American movies and is it going forward or back?While I don't appreciate the mainstream American entertainment industry filling our airwaves full of gratuitous sex and violence in the name of profit, I still feel that the film industry in particular celebrates and nurtures its movement of independent filmmakers. I am always encouraged to see small budget, independent, and foriegn films get more and more recognition at film awards ceremonies. The Independent Spirit Awards shows the heart and soul of the film industry and truly gives me hope for the future and art of filmmaking.4-Do you know any one of the celebrities Egyptians or Arabs ?I've worked with hundreds of celebrities in film and music but I can't say that I know any of Egyptian or Arab descent.5-Have you visited Egypt before?I have not had the good fortune to visit Egypt before, but I would certainly love to sometime in my life.6-What is your opinion about the Middle East and Egypt?Since I was born and raised in Hollywood, what I love most about your part of the world is that you have thousands of years of social and cultural history to celebrate - the 'cradle of civilization'. California only has a few hundred years of history with the film and music industries our only true cultural contributions. Also, since I am of Armenian descent, I feel an attraction to the entire Middle East.7-What is your opinion about the Palestinian cause?I believe every group of people deserve a 'homeland' - unfortunately, this invariably leads to armed conflict and wars. We need to realize that we are all part of the same human race and that we have to work together for the good of mankind and the planet we live on. Too many wars have been fought in the name of nationality, race, and religion. I have to say, I love the Olympics. It brings the world together in sport - pride without hate, competition without bloodshed, we rejoice in our similarities and respect our differences."Again, huge thanks to Mai Farouk and El Kawakeb Magazine for giving me the opportunity to receive such wonderful publicity throughout their part of the world...

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I made a new friend on my FaceBook page today - someone contacted me after I commented on something Derek Sivers had posted - this was his first message to me -"Wow! Harry Babasin - there's a name I haven't heard in a while. My old man was a fan."Well - how cool is that? How nice that this guys father liked my father's work and it made such an impression on him growing up, he remembered... so, I thanked him for his comment and told him a little about the film - he came back -"Hi VonLooking forward to seeing your documentary about your father. My dad was a jazz fan, so I was exposed to a lot of great music growing up. Your father's music was part of that heritage. I am honored to met you.Cheers,jim"No, Jim, the honor is all mine...

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Well, another year has almost passed. I've been so close - closer each time - more and more support from so many wonderful people. Going on my third year of my NYFA sponsorship.It's daunting and awe-inspiring all in the same breath.I recently received another recommendation posted over on my LinkedIn.com page. It's really a wonderful website for professional networking - a myspace but for like minded business contacts.Here's my latest recommendation -Von Babasin - LinkedInhttp://www.linkedin.com/pub/dir/Von/BabasinLinkedIn RecommendationsJ Steven Opp has endorsed your work.Dear Von, I've written this recommendation of your work to share with other LinkedIn users. Details of the Recommendation: "If you have ever had the pleasure of speaking with Von, then I'm sure that you recognized his passion for his project and life. I am especially impressed with his strong and honest character. I'm rooting for him in every aspect and hope that I can be of help to him now and in the future. Whatever you do, make sure you don't miss out on any opportunity to witness or share in his vision."It's really amazing to have people like Steve say such things about me based on speaking with me a few times over the phone. Much like the support many of you have shown me in just reading my posts here - I have to count my blessings...Thanks to everyone who has been my friend here in the TAXI community. It's hard to convey how deeply I appreciate you all.Merry Christmas - Happy Chanukah - Happy Kwanzaa - have a wonderful holiday season however you choose to celebrate it!!!!

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Did this year fly by faster than ever????!?!!!!!!?!?!Yet another December 31st... And yet another wild and crazy New Year's Eve gig. Yes - it's with my cover band - at the same club FOR THE THIRD STRAIGHT NEW YEAR'S EVE!!!!!People have reserved every table in the club!! It will be packed and rockin'!!!So, I'll be ringing it in - from 9 PM until 1:30 AM - and giving what I've got to give!And once again, I'll raise a glass at midnight to all my TAXI Dot family and everyone who'll be sharing their time to see me play and doing what I was born to do... Cheers to 2009 - the best to one and all!!!!!

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Let's file this one under the heading "weird and quirky"...It seems that the words "Baba sin" are an Icelandic slang term for "father". So, someone in Iceland found me on FaceBook and, over the last three days, I've had more than 50 friend requests from Icelanders!One guy actually made a group called 'Synir Baba sin' and I'm what I'd affectionately call their mascot... It's all good - they've all been very nice and I love having all my new friends from Iceland...

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A few days ago I had the idea that I might try to get in touch with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, since he is a well known mega-jazz fan.I found his website and it is dedicated to basketball and jazz. He even lists Charlie Parker as one of his personal heroes.Well, I called and talked with his assistant and she seemed very excited - she gave me her private email address and invited me to send a proposal their way. I started it off with the picture of Harry playing with Bird and Chet Baker in 1952.Sadly, I received this email today -"Dear Mr. Babasin,We sincerely thank you for your interest in Mr. Abdul-Jabbar’s participation in your documentary. However, at this time, Mr. Abdul-Jabbar will be unable to join you in your efforts. We applaud you and your team for making a difference in the lives of many. We hope that your project is a tremendous success!The Private Office of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar"As encouraging as their message is, it's equally discouraging - one more in an endless line of congratulatory refusals that applauds my efforts and apologizes for their non-participation...I've lost count now... 500+ foundations - 1000+ individuals - all with generally the same response - what a worthy project - how great that you are honoring your father - we wish we could help...Onward...

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Wow - what a night I had last night.I went to a famous L.A. jazz club called The Baked Potato, owned by keyboardist, Don Randi. Don was a member of the original "Wrecking Crew" - the group of legendary studio musicians that recorded with everyone from Elvis to the Beach Boys to Wayne Newton throughout the 60's and 70's. It was Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame drummer, Hal Blaine's 80th birthday party. Of course, every musician in the room knew, or knew of, Harry Babasin. Don Randi knew him quite well - the rest looked up to him in an awe-inspiring way - Hal Blaine, Max Bennett, Chuck Berghofer, Gary Coleman, Gene Cipriano, and others who slip my mind right now.The high point of the evening for me came when I met one of my personal bass heroes, Leland Sklar!!!!!!! OMG!!!!!! I got to shake his hand and have a nice conversation with him - he knew of Harry and thought it was wonderful that I was trying to honor him with the documentary. How personally inspiring it was to me...Toward the end of the night, Hal actually got up and played a few tunes. He spoke afterward and, believe it or not, I actually gained additional insights to my father's artistic integrity and musical identity. I can't expalin it now but I most certainly will in the film...An amazing night!