Harry Babasin, who was nicknamed “the Bear” for his intimidating presence and his clawing at his instrument, was an influential bass player and creative innovator. In 1947, he was the first to record jazz solos using the cello. He is also credited for being the first jazz player to use the Brazilian bossa Nova style and being the first bassist of his generation to become bandleader. Charles Mingus and others left bigger footprints than the Bear. Babasin, like Mingus was also a respected record producer for his short-lived jazz label. Born in Texas, he was the son of an Armenian dentist as well as a Texas school music teacher. Before concentrating on the bass, he studied many instruments. He attended North Texas State University and contributed to the school’s outstanding reputation for jazz. There have been many other players who spent time there, including Herb Ellis and Gene Roland, Johnny Smith, Tommy Reeves, and Johnny Smith. Giuffre was a great reed player and would make modern jazz history in the Bill Ware Orchestra. He was there in the early ’40s. He and Ellis visited the Charlie Fisk Orchestra in 1942 and were not satisfied with its rhythm section. The two hotshots approached Ellis with a hint of arrogance and said they could outplay his men. After a quick audition, Fisk expelled the rhythm section. Babasin had to leave school in order join the band. His road adventures began. Over the next five-years, he toured extensively the United States with groups such as Billie Rogers and Gene Krupa, Jimmy Joy, Bob Strong, Gene Krupa and Charlie Barnet. After being fired by Barnet, he moved to Los Angeles and joined the Benny Goodman Orchestra. He made many recordings with them. Babasin was featured in Danny Kaye’s film A Song Is Born (1940s), a movie about jazz royalty that saw Goodman, Barnet and Louis Armstrong. Babasin saw something more important than Hollywood glamour. As an extra, he met a Brazilian guitarist. His name: Laurindo Almeida. The two men, Roy Harte, the drummer, and Bud Shank the saxophonist, recorded some subsequent jams that include Brazilian music and American Jazz. These two 10-inch discs, recorded in 1954 by these musicians, set the stage for bossa nova. They beat Antonio Carlos Jobim and Stan Getz by many years. Babasin began practicing pizzicato jazz cello at this movie set. His frustration with projecting ideas onto the bass on stage was what sparked this interest. He tuned his cello in fourths to allow it to hold down the standard bass and still allow him to solo. With the Dodo Martorosa Trio at the end 1947, he recorded his first solos on cello. These recordings are available on the CD Up In Dodo’s Room Jazz Classics. Next was to add a bass player to give the cellist more space to solo. Ron Carter, a bass player in his own bands, adopted the same approach decades later. Babasin also recorded his own bands for labels like Discovery and World Pacific. A duet cello session he cut with Oscar Pettiford is also a highlight of his use of this instrument, not only in terms of pitch being bowed or plucked. The cellist kept trying out different combinations of instruments that would highlight his cello, such as adding vibraphone. Harte was always there for Harte. They met up with their musical friends Marty Paich and Howard Roberts in 1952 and decided to record and put out their own music. As one would expect, the move was made because there was no interest from record companies. This was the start of Nocturne. The label appeared to be an artistic success, so it is not surprising that it failed to break even. Harry Babasin was born.
