I LOVE MY NEW GROUP "NEW ORBITS"HAMI

It was a wonderfully NEW experience with my new players at the premiere concert of The Suezenne Fordham Chamber Jazz LA "New Orbits"Series... All new players, and my Steinway.

Darren Ross my drummie of seven years all of the sudden called me and was moving to Denver, not liking LA anymore, and thinking crime there would be non existant.{HA] Looking back I really have known for about a year that it maybe was time for a change, and was delighted when Don Littleton could sub... I guess privately Darren felt the same about me... but it was very hard for me to say goodbye to my other sound...he was a very reliable inventive drummie, and we went many uncharted places musically.

Then there was Noah Garabedian, Contrabassist, who gave me an extra year of his musical life before parting for Berkley, and subsequently New York[ Brooklyn] toa bitterly difficult life as a Jazz player in Gotham[NYC]... THAT was the hardest for me... Noah was a wunderkind from UCLA when he called me begging for an audition...at the recommendation of Roberto Miranda, the first Contrabassist with SFCJLA. I finally relented, and after spending the better part of an afternoon playing, and throwing things at him musically, I decided to use him in an upcoming concert...Before intermission, he asked Darren if he could stop playing, his FINGERS HURT!!! Can you imagine stopping a concert because the Bass player didnt bring all the stuff you have to have if your callouses aren't thick enough.

And so he was with us for four years, except when he and I had volatile arguments, and I would fire him for insubordination... and call him back in fifteen minutes.... Another time he thought we could just go to the beach instead of playing a concert in Pasadena. OUT AGAIN!!!

And yet it was Noah who really became close, and I was always there for him, and sometimes he was there for me, my silly problems, and the only way I could survive him leaving was to turn my group into a Chamber Jazz group with TWO Contrabassists. Think Ornette's group in NY. So after much badgering,[he was very possessive of his gig] finally Noah came up with a splendid young Bassist from UCLA, Charlie Domingo, really fine.

And then I came up with Noah's eventual replacement,[ Noah can NEVER be replaced} Michael Alvidrez, who has a LOT of potential. So there were three concerts with Noah and CharlieandDarren [Don subbing for Darren for one of these, with Rochelle playing Percussion..

The "NEW ORBITS" players were TWO Drummers; Cassidy Turbin, and a splendid Latin Jazz percussionist, Rochelle Coatney... So it went from a Trio to a Quintet by the time we premiered the "New Orbits" series... It will remain that series til we spin furthert into the Universe.

And so it was finally parting with Noah, very painful, very gut wrenching. Weeks of deep depression. In reality, he was my Scotty La Faro, Bill's much loved bassist.... There was a depth of communication that I have rarely seen in my years being a leader. Sigh.

And the Premiere in South Pasadena was Awsome, my new playere are great players with huge inspitration, imagination and respect... there is a feeling already of the group "like" thing, a beginning of that Chamber Music closeness and love, we pay extraordinary attention to each other... and I love my new group, too. Thank you for all the inspiration and YOUR love.