Conny Bauer

Konrad "Conny" Bauer (born July 4, 1943) is a world-renowned free jazz trombonist.

Konrad Bauer was born in Sonneberg in Thuringia. As student at senior high school in Sonneberg between 1957 and 1961 he was enthusiastic about modern dance music like Swing, Boogie-Woogie, Blues and Rock'n'Roll. He learned self-educated to play guitar and piano. After leaving school with A-levels he tried to play his music in several bands and got the nickname "Conny" by his friends. Soon he recognized that he did not know enough about music to become a real professional musician. That's why he studied modern dance music from 1964 until 1968 at "Carl Maria von Weber-Conservatory" in Dresden. Because too many students want to study guitar he bethought his practical experiences with playing trombone and entered the trombone-class. In 1968 he left the conservatory for Berlin to improve his skills with private lessons. From 1969 until 1971 he started his career as guitarist and singer in the band of Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky. In addition he has been in demand as a trombone soloist since 1970. During the 1970s he became one of the prominent representatives of jazz in Europe. Conny Bauer was founder-member of numerous groups pioneering and influencing the development of Jazz in East Germany ("FEZ" and its following-up quartet and trio formations, quartet "Doppelmoppel", "Zentralquartett" together with Ernst-Ludwig Petrowsky, Ulrich Gumpert and Günter "Baby" Sommer and so on). In 1986 Conny Bauer toured Japan for several weeks encountering numerous Japanese musicians. From 1988 until 1989 he directed the National Jazz Orchestra of the former GDR. Since 1983 he has worked with Tadashi Endo, Sheryl Banks, Tony Oxley, Derek Bailey, Maggie Nichols, Peter Brötzmann, Peter Kowald, Han Bennink, Barry Altschul, Jay Oliver, Louise Moholo, Gerry Hemingway, George Lewis and others.

Discography

• "Synopsis", Amiga 855395 LP (1974)
• "Auf der Elbe schwimmt ein rosa Krokodil", FMP 0240 LP (1974)
• "FEZ", Amiga 855585 LP (1977)
• "Was ist denn nun?", Konrad Bauer Trio, FMP 0780 LP (1979)
• "Secret Points", Conny Bauer & Gianluigi Trovesi, Dragon DRLP 21 LP (1979)
• "Konrad Bauer Solo", Amiga 855783 LP (1980)
• "Round about Mittweida", Konrad Bauer Quartet, FMP 0980 LP (1982)
• "Flüchtiges Glück", Konrad Bauer Solo, Riskant 4017 LP (1984) / EFA-CD 15713
• "Reflections", Doppelmoppel, FMP CD 74 (1986)
• "Jazzorchester der DDR", directed by Konrad Bauer, Amiga 856455 LP (1987)
• "Live im Völkerschlachtdenkmal", Konrad Bauer Solo, Amiga 856439 LP (1988)
• "Zentralquartett", ZOOM 2170 019 ADD (1990)
• "Torontotöne", Konrad Bauer Solo, Victo CD 017 (1991)
• "Three Wheels - Four Directions", Konrad Bauer Trio, Victo CD 023 (1992)
• "Plié", Zentralquartett, Intakt CD 037 (1994)
• "Bauer - Bauer", Intakt CD 040 (1995)
• "Generations from (East) Germany", Conny Bauer with Joachim Kühn, Klangräume, LC 6035 (1995)
• "Careless Love", Zentralquartett, Intakt CD 050 (1998)
• "Aventure Québécoise", Doppelmoppel, Victo CD 065 (1999)
• "Alice im Wunderland", Walfriede Schmitt with Konrad Bauer, Eulenspiegel Verlag (2000)
• "News from Berlin",