SHINING THE SPOTLIGHT ON JAZZ SON HOPES TO SHARE HIS FATHER'S MUSIC.

Byline: Rick Coca Valley News

Von Babasin loved his father, the late bassist Harry ``The Bear'' Babasin. But his quest to give his father his just-jazz due is primarily about a love of virtuosity.

``This is more than being a good son; this is for posterity for generations to come,'' Babasin said of his efforts to establish a jazz museum to spotlight the accomplishments of his father and other West Coast jazz artists.

The elder Babasin's bass accompanied many of the greats, including Charlie Parker, Chet Baker, Louie Armstrong, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman and Mel Torme, to name a few. Singer Peggy Lee called him one of her two favorite bass players.

He lived in Pacoima for many years and earned his master's in music composition from San Fernando State University - known today as California State University, Northridge - and taught the university's jazz band.

Von Babasin lives in Studio City and is also a bassist whose band, ONOFFON, won the International Online Musical Awards' 2006 best album for ``Bridge to Presage,'' as well as 2005 ``Artist of the Year.''

He owns an extensive collection of original and remastered LPs, as well as reel-to-reel tapes, representing some of the unsung heroes of West Coast jazz, such as his father, who Babasin said is largely uncredited for having a hand in two important jazz innovations.

In 1947, while appearing with the Benny Goodman Orchestra on the motion picture ``A Song is Born,'' starring Danny Kaye and Virginia Mayo, Harry Babasin met and began playing with Brazilian guitarist Laurindo Almeida. In 1953, they, along with saxophonist Bud Shank and drummer and collaborator Roy Harte, recorded two LPs, combining jazz and traditional Brazilian rhythms. Von Babasin said these LPs represent the earliest recorded form of what would later be called ``bossa nova.''

Both recordings received five-star reviews but went largely unnoticed, he said.

``The public wasn't ready to hear it,'' Babasin said. ``That happens a lot with genius virtuosity.''

So his father received little credit for the style that exploded onto the music scene a decade later with the release of ``The Girl from Ipanema,'' by Brazilian bossa nova icons Antonio Carlos Jobim and Vinicius de Moraes.

Also on the set of ``A Song is Born,'' Babasin tried something that would revolutionize bass playing.

``He picked up an old prop cello and started plucking it,'' Von Babasin said.

Harry Babasin quickly realized the cello's tone was brighter and easier to hear than a stand-up bass, which made it better suited for solos. Babasin tuned the cello to match the fingering on the bass, and within a year did his first recordings on cello. He later recorded a duet ``pizzicato jazz cello'' album with fellow bassist Oscar Pettiford.

``He was pretty awe-inspiring,'' Babasin said of his father. ``He was definitely my first musical influence.''

Babasin grew up in Pacoima and said there was always music in the home. Players such as pianist Jimmy Rowles and drummer Roy Harte, who owned a home in Encino, were frequent visitors. Babasin said if young, aspiring artists could hear and appreciate the musicianship of his father and his contemporaries, maybe they would rely less on technology that allows them to create music without knowing how to play an instrument.

``Popular music, they're getting so far away from the real virtuosity,'' Babasin said. ``Back in those days, even the musicians who weren't (the very best), they were still really good. They could read music. If we show and respect and highlight what these guys were capable of doing back in those days, you might inspire kids today.''

Babasin would like to create a digital archive that aficionados and educators throughout the world could access via the Internet. With financial support he would like to open up a museum in the old Drum City building on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood, owned for a time by Harte, Harry Babasin's partner and drummer.

``It was the coolest drum shop in Hollywood for a time,'' Babasin said.

The pair recorded hundreds of hours of music along with other musicians under their Nocturne Record Label in a recording studio located on the same property as the drum shop. Babasin has more than 500 hours of master recordings, spanning four decades of jazz in Hollywood, much of it unreleased.

Babasin said the tapes of the sessions are currently in good shape.

``The most important crux of the museum is to digitalize the tapes before they fall apart,'' Babasin said. ``It's hard to garner support because people with money don't envision jazz as a way to make money.''

Babasin has been frustrated by the response from potential investors but knows there is an audience for his collection.

``I can't believe people aren't saying, 'Oh, my God, I can't believe you have this.' (I) loved my dad and as a son, I want to see him get his just deserts, but at the same time there are guys on here that are so good in their own right, that it's just not about my dad.''

You can view some of Von Babasin's collection at www.jazzinhollywood.com, or listen to his radio show at 6 p.m. every Tuesday on kclafm.com.

CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Von Babasin wants to establish a museum devoted to the West Coast jazz scene, in which his father, Harry ``The Bear'' Babasin, was a major player.

Rick Coca/Valley News

(2) Saxophonist Charlie Parker, bassist Harry Babasin and trumpeter Chet Baker play it cool.

Photo by William Claxton