Billy Bauer R.I.P.

[Cyril]

Billy Bauer passed away

Yesterday I heard Billy Bauer passed away.

Billy was the guitarist of the Lenny Tristano Group and the Woody Herman Orchestra.

He also worked with the Lenny Tristano Group and the Woody Herman Orchestra.to name a few

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Billy Bauer

Billy Bauer, born in New York, 14/Nov/1915, was already an established professional guitarist in New York when players like Johnny Smith and Jimmy Raney arrived on the scene. He played with the Jerry Wald band before joining Woody Herman in 1944 as a member of the 1st Herd. And in 1946 he played with Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden.

Billy Bauer established and distinguished himself as a solid rhythm player with these bands but it was in the small groups that emerged from these bands, lead by Chubby Jackson, Bill Harris and Lennie Tristano, that Billy Bauer established himself as a significant soloist in the evolving bebop movement.

Billy Bauer's solo work with these groups has been sited as some of the best examples of early bebop guitar. But, more significantly, his solo work has been sited as some of the most progressive playing for any era. His work with Lennie Tristano in the mid 1940's certainly represented some of the most progressive guitar playing up to that time.

The trio and duet recordings Bauer made with Tristano around 1945 are especially interesting. Tristano and Bauer enjoyed a natural synergy in style and approach to their music. Tristano's intricate arrangements were a perfect match for Bauer's guitar. These examples demonstrated that Bauer was not just a good guitarist, but also an outstanding musician. His unison playing with Tristano was precise, and his accompaniment to Tristano's piano represented some of the best and earliest examples of great guitar comping.

Billy Bauer continued his pioneering guitar work with Lee Konitz in the 1950's and 1960's. As with Lennie Tristano, Bauer found a kindred musical spirit in Konitz. Konitz's avant-garde saxophone work was a perfect match for Bauer's advanced guitar.

On the recording Lee Konitz especially, the two musicians demonstrated a unique musical dialogue across a range of styles from bop and cool to the avant-garde. Duet For Saxophone and Guitar, was an unusual instrument paring, that really allowed Bauer’s great musicianship to be heard.

Early in 1956, Billy Bauer made recordings under his own name. Let's Have a Session and Plectrist put Bauer front and center throughout, playing great jazz guitar.

In the history of jazz guitar there have been many examples of great musicians who are often overlooked for the enormous influence they had. Billy Bauer is one of these. Anyone interested in the early evolution of the guitar in bop and cool jazz should start with Bill Bauer.

He led the way for guitarists like Jimmy Raney, and along with Lennie Tristano, brought the piano, guitar, bass trio to a whole new level.

He won Downbeat and Metronome polls during 1949-1953. Bauer spent most of the 1950s as a busy studio musician, although he did find time to record with the popular J.J. Johnson-Kai Winding quintet (1954), Bobby Hackett (1957), Cootie Williams (1957), and Lee Konitz (1955 and 1957).

In 1961, he opened his own jazz club in Long Island, NY, and then worked in lounges.

In 1970, Bauer opened up his own guitar school. He cut back drastically on his freelancing after a serious ear infection hit in 1975, but remained active as a teacher.

Edited June 20, 2005 by Cyril

[Cyril]

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