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Billy Bauer
Biography
Guitarist Billy Bauer was a critical force behind jazz's evolution from swing to bebop, his precise, progressive fretwork foreshadowing the emergence of cool jazz and even the avant-garde. Born in New York City on November 14, 1915, Bauer played banjo as a child but moved to guitar in his late teens, first earning notice behind clarinetist Jerry Wald. In 1941 he made his first recordings with Carl Hoff & His Orchestra -- three years later, Bauer signed on with Woody Herman's First Herd, with whom he cut a series of sessions, followed by stints in support of Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden. The small groups that emerged from these big bands would prove Bauer's most fertile creative environment, however.

After brief collaborations with Chubby Jackson and Bill Harris, he teamed in 1946 with pianist Lennie Tristano, a three-year partnership that yielded the most inspired and influential work of the guitarist's career. Across a series of duet and trio recordings, Tristano and Bauer proved uniquely complementary musicians, with Bauer's razor-honed guitar navigating Tristano's intricate arrangements with nimble ease. Together, both men were cited as leaders of the growing bop movement, and on recordings like "Intuition" and "Digression," they effectively created free jazz.
Selected Discography

Plectrist
1956
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