Hal Galper

Harold "Hal" Galper is a jazz pianist born in Salem, Massachusetts on April 18, 1938. He studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz which he studied at the Berklee College of Music from 1955 to 1958. Around this time Jaki Byard and Herb Pomeroy taught him privately. He went on to work in Pomeroy's band. Later on he worked with greats like Chet Baker and Stan Getz. He also accompanied vocalist Joe Williams, Anita O'Day, and Chris Connor. In 1977, Hal Galper was the pianist on the Tony Williams album, Now Hear This, which also featured Cecil McBee on bass and Terumasa Hino on fluglehorn and trumpet. He performed in New York and Chicago jazz clubs in the late 1970's. Around this time, Galper recorded recorded several times with guitarist John Scofield for the Enja label, perhaps most notably on the 1980 album Ivory Forest.

Throughout the eighties he was a member of Phil Woods' Quintet which he joined in 1981. He counts Bud Powell as a prime influence.