One of the leading jazz pianists in Europe, Fritz Pauer was a warmly sophisticated performer whose style straddled swinging hard bop and adventurous free jazz. He first emerged as a member of Art Farmer's group in the 1960s and went on to play with a vibrant cross-section of stars throughout his career. From the '70s onward, he balanced his performing with teaching on the university level, releasing albums like 1978's Blues Inside Out, 1996's City Blues, and 2008's Moods from Wonderland.

Born in 1943 in Vienna, Pauer began playing jazz in his teens, working with Hans Koller and Friedrich Gulda. He eventually led his own groups in Berlin. In 1966, he gained wider attention after winning first prize at the Competition for Modern Jazz in Vienna. There, he met flügelhornist and contest juror Art Farmer, who hired him to play with his group. Other artists took notice and Pauer worked extensively throughout the rest of the decade playing with such luminaries as Dexter Gordon, Don Byas, Klaus Weiss, Booker Ervin, and others. In 1967, he appeared on the concert album Annie Ross Pony Poindexter, recorded at the German Jazz Festival Frankfurt. He also worked with Carmell Jones, appearing on a 1969 festival concert album, Carmell Jones in Europe.

Along with performing, Pauer moved into education, teaching at the Vienna Municipal Conservatory from 1968 to 1970. His own recording picked up over the next decade with the release of 1977's Water Plants and 1978's Blues Inside Out. In the '80s, he lived for a time in Peru before settling in Switzerland in 1986. The following year, he reunited with Farmer for the album Azure and continued to work with him throughout his life. Pauer eventually returned to Austria, where he taught for many years at the University of Music and Performing Arts Graz. He stayed active, releasing albums like 1996's City Blues, 2000's New York Meeting, and 2008's Moods from Wonderland. Pauer died in 2012 at the age of 69. An archival album, 3 for the Road, appeared in 2020 that captured the pianist in a 2001 trio session with singer Jay Clayton and trombonist Ed Neumeister. ~ Matt Collar, Rovi