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.
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