Nicknamed "the Bear" because of his imposing presence and the way he clawed at his instrument, Harry Babasin was a heavy presence as a creative and innovative bassist. He was also the first to record jazz solos on the cello in 1947. He has also been credited with being among the first jazz players to work in the Brazilian bossa nova style, and being one of the only bassists of his generation to become a bandleader. Some of the others who did, however, left even bigger footprints than the Bear may have, especially Charles Mingus. Like Mingus, Babasin was also a highly regarded record producer of his own short-lived jazz label. He was a Texan by birth and the son of an Armenian dentist and a Texas school music teacher. He studied many different instruments before focusing on the bass. He went to North Texas State University, contributing to this school's excellent reputation for jazz. Other players who have spent time there, swinging merrily in what is otherwise the totally uncool town of Denton, include such players as Herb Ellis, Jimmy Giuffre, Gene Roland, Johnny Smith, and Tommy Reeves. He played with Giuffre, a brilliant reed player who would later make modern jazz history, in the Bill Ware Orchestra in the early '40s. In 1942, he and Ellis checked out the Charlie Fisk Orchestra and were less than satisfied with the rhythm section. With perhaps a touch of arrogance, the pair of hotshots approached the bandleader and told him they could outplay his guys. Fisk kicked out the previous rhythm section after a quick audition. For Babasin, it meant leaving school in order to join the band. Thus began his road days. He toured the United States extensively over the next five years with the groups of Jimmy Joy, Bob Strong, Billie Rogers, Gene Krupa, Charlie Barnet, Boyd Raeburn, Benny Goodman, Woody Herman, Frank DeVol, Jerry Gray, and others. He relocated to Los Angeles during the job with Barnet in 1945 and wound up joining the Benny Goodman Orchestra, with whom he made many recordings. In the late '40s, Babasin appeared in the Danny Kaye film entitled A Song Is Born, a meeting of jazz aristocracy with Goodman, Barnet, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Mel Powell, Tommy Dorsey, and Louis Bellson all getting screen time. There was something even more important about this experience than Hollywood glitz to Babasin. He met a Brazilian guitarist on the set who was an extra. His name: Laurindo Almeida. Some subsequent jams, which included the two men plus drummer Roy Harte and saxophonist Bud Shank, are among the earliest blends of Brazilian music and American jazz. In 1954, these players recorded two 10" discs that laid the groundwork for what would become bossa nova, getting the jump on Stan Getz and Antonio Carlos Jobim by years.