Hal Galper born 18 April 1938

Harold Galper (April 18, 1938 – July 18, 2025) was an American jazz pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer.

Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Galper first began taking piano lessons at age six. A gifted performer, he entered Berklee School of Music in Boston from 1955 to 1958, honing his skills by studying with noted pianist and teacher Madame Chaloff. During college, he hit the jazz clubs, playing with such luminaries as Sam Rivers, Herb Pomeroy, and Jaki Byard. He also garnered his own gigs, working as the house pianist at such Boston venues as The Stables, Connelly's, and Lennie's on the Turnpike. After graduating, he launched his professional career, touring and recording for three years with iconic trumpeter/vocalist Chet Baker. From there, he also played with such luminaries as Joe Henderson, Cannonball Adderley, and others .He also accompanied vocalists Joe Williams, Anita O'Day, and Chris Connor.

By the '70s, Galper had begun to embrace an expansive soul-jazz and fusion sound, a style he showcased on two 1971 recordings for Mainstream Records, "The Guerilla Band and Wild Bird," both of which featured trumpeter Randy Brecker and his brother, saxophonist Michael Brecker. A third Mainstream session, the trio date Inner Journey, followed in 1972 and found Galper returning to a more acoustic sound. He played with Stan Getz for a year starting in 1972, and in 1973, he played electric piano in Cannonball Adderley's Quintet, but he quickly became dissatisfied with the instrument. He replaced George Duke and stayed with Adderley until 1975. 

                         Here's "Yellow Days" from above LP

                                

He then joined saxophonist Lee Konitz for the straight-ahead duo session "Windows". Galper's follow-up as leader, 1976's Reach Out, reunited him with the Brecker Brothers for a fiery and searching post-bop set. Along with several more sessions with the Breckers, he rounded out the decade by recording two albums with John Scofield for the Enja label in 1978-79, the first led by Scofield, and the second led by himself.

The '80s were also a busy time for Galper, who recorded again with Baker. He worked steadily with Phil Woods for much of the decade, appearing on 14 of the saxophonist's albums. Consequently, his own output slowed somewhat, though he did deliver several highly regarded efforts like 1982's Naturally with bassist Rufus Reid and drummer Victor Lewis, 1986's Dreamsville, and 1987's Time to Remember. After releasing his 1989 trio album Portrait, he decided to return to more regular solo work. Galper left the Woods group in August 1990 to tour and record with a trio with Steve Ellington on drums.

From 1990 to 1999, his group was on the road six months a year. Galper's output increased steadily and he recorded for such labels as Concord, Enja, and Philology with albums like 1992's Tippin', 1995's Rebop, and 1999's Let's Call This That.

Along with performing, Galper has worked as an educator and helped found New York's New School of Jazz and Contemporary Music. He also taught at Purchase University until 2014. He also authored a highly regarded theory textbook, Forward Motion. His theoretical and practical articles appeared in six of Down Beat editions. His scholarly article on the psychology of stage fright, originally published in the Jazz Educators Journal, has subsequently been reprinted in four other publications.

During these years, he remained active, recording a handful of trio albums including 2007's Agents of Change with bassist Tony Marino and drummer Billy Mintz, 2009's Art-Work with former John Coltrane bandmates bassist Reggie Workman and drummer Rashid Ali, and 2012's Airegin Revisited with bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop. In 2018, Galper delivered Cubist, a quartet date featuring saxophonist Jerry Bergonzi. A concert album, The Zone: Live at the Yardbird Suite, appeared the following year and found the pianist leading his trio. It proved to be one of his last major projects.

In his final years, Galper continued to perform locally in upstate New York, notably with drummer Billy Mintz and bassist Tony Marino at Rafter’s Tavern in Sullivan County, where he continued to “explore his roots and learn something new every day.” In November 2024, he announced a hiatus from performing to focus on writing.

Hal Galper died in Cochecton, New York, on July 18, 2025 at the age of 87.

(Edited from AllMusic, Wikipedia, New Grove Jazz Dictionary & Hal Galper's website)