1956 in jazz:

James Peter Giuffre (April 26, 1921 – April 24, 2008) was an American jazz clarinet and saxophone player, composer and arranger. He is notable for his development of forms of jazz which allowed for free interplay between the musicians, anticipating forms of free improvisation.

Born in Dallas, Texas, of Italian ancestry, Giuffre (pronounced "Joo-fray" in Italian, usually "Joo-free" in English) was a graduate of Dallas Technical High School and North Texas State Teachers College (University of North Texas College of Music). He first became known as an arranger for Woody Herman's big band, for which he wrote the celebrated "Four Brothers" (1947). He would continue to write creative, unusual arrangements throughout his career. He was a central figure in West coast jazz and cool jazz. He became a member of Howard Rumsey's Lighthouse All Stars in 1951 as a full time All Star along with Shorty Rogers and Shelly Manne. The Lighthouse Cafe in Hermosa Beach CA became the focal point of West Coast Jazz in the 1952/1953 time period. It was during this time when he collaborated with Shorty on many of the successful charts written for the All Stars. The first recording released by the LHAS was a not so WCJ chart named Big Boy which he and Shorty had put together. It became an instant hit with the local LA community. He left the LHAS in September 1953 and was a member of Shorty Rogers and His Giants before going solo. Giuffre played clarinet, as well as tenor and baritone saxophones, but eventually focused on clarinet.

Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American composer, pianist, and big-band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions. In the opinion of Bob Blumenthal of The Boston Globe "In the century since his birth, there has been no greater composer, American or otherwise, than Edward Kennedy Ellington." A major figure in the history of jazz, Ellington's music stretched into various other genres, including blues, gospel, film scores, popular, and classical. His career spanned more than 50 years and included leading his orchestra, composing an inexhaustible songbook, scoring for movies, composing stage musicals, and world tours. Several of his instrumental works were adapted into songs that became standards. Due to his inventive use of the orchestra, or big band, and thanks to his eloquence and extraordinary charisma, he is generally considered to have elevated the perception of jazz to an art form on a par with other traditional genres of music. His reputation increased after his death and the Pulitzer Prize Board bestowed on him a special posthumous honor in 1999.

Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Harris April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz singer and songwriter. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and musical partner Lester Young, Holiday had a seminal influence on jazz and pop singing. Her vocal style, strongly inspired by jazz instrumentalists, pioneered a new way of manipulating phrasing and tempo.

Critic John Bush wrote that Holiday "changed the art of American pop vocals forever." She co-wrote only a few songs, but several of them have become jazz standards, notably "God Bless the Child", "Don't Explain", "Fine and Mellow", and "Lady Sings the Blues". She also became famous for singing "Easy Living", "Good Morning Heartache", and "Strange Fruit", a protest song which became one of her standards and was made famous with her 1939 recording.

Billie Holiday was born Eleanora Fagan on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, to Sarah Julia "Sadie" Fagan (née Harris). Her father, Clarence Halliday (Holiday), a musician, did not marry or live with her mother. Her mother had moved to Philadelphia when thirteen, after being ejected from her parents' home in Sandtown-Winchester, Baltimore for becoming pregnant. With no support from her own parents, Holiday's mother arranged for the young Holiday to stay with her older married half sister, Eva Miller, who lived in Baltimore.

Billy Bauer (November 14, 1915 – June 16, 2005) was an American cool jazz guitarist.

Bauer was born in New York City. He played banjo as a child before switching to guitar. He played with the Jerry Wald band and recorded with Carl Hoff and His Orchestra in 1941 before joining Woody Herman in 1944 as a member of the First Herd and in 1946 he played with Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden.

Working in small groups led by bassist Chubby Jackson and trombonist Bill Harris, Bauer established himself as a soloist in the bebop movement.

In 1946 he began working with Lennie Tristano. Tristano and Bauer enjoyed a natural synergy in their style and approach. Their development of "intuitive music" led to the 1949 session which included the free improvisations "Intuition" and "Digression". He was a member of the NBC Tonight Show band in NYC and played in the Today Show band at the start of early television.

Bauer continued his pioneering guitar work in a partnership with Lee Konitz, whose avant-garde saxophone work was a perfect match for Bauer's guitar. The two musicians' dialogue crossed styles from bop and cool to the avant-garde. Their recordings have been described as "some of the most beautiful duet recordings in jazz". "Duet For Saxophone and Guitar", was an unusual instrument pairing which has been described as redefining the role of jazz guitar.