Harold Galper (born April 18, 1938) is an American

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

pianist, composer, arranger, bandleader, educator, and writer.

Biography

He was born in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

, United States. Galper studied classical piano as a boy, but switched to jazz which he studied at the

Berklee College of Music Berklee College of Music () is a Private university, private music college in Boston, Boston, Massachusetts. It is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known for the study of jazz and modern Music of the United ...

from 1955 to 1958. He hung out at Herb Pomeroy's club, the Stable, hearing local Boston musicians such as Jaki Byard, Alan Dawson and Sam Rivers. Galper started sitting in and became the house pianist at the Stable and later on, at Connelly's and Lenny's on the Turnpike. He went on to work in Pomeroy's band. Later on he worked with

Chet Baker Chesney Henry "Chet" Baker Jr. (December 23, 1929 – May 13, 1988) was an American jazz trumpeter and vocalist. He is known for major innovations in cool jazz that led him to be nicknamed the "Prince of Cool". Baker earned much attention and ...

and

Stan Getz Stan Getz (born Stanley Gayetski; February 2, 1927 – June 6, 1991) was an American jazz saxophonist. Playing primarily the tenor saxophone, Getz was known as "The Sound" because of his warm, lyrical tone, with his prime influence being the wis ...

and accompanied vocalists Joe Williams,

Anita O'Day Anita Belle Colton (October 18, 1919 – November 23, 2006), known professionally as Anita O'Day, was an American jazz singer and self-proclaimed “song stylist” widely admired for her sense of rhythm and dynamics, and her early big band appe ...

, and

Chris Connor Mary Jean Loutsenhizer, known professionally as Chris Connor (November 8, 1927 – August 29, 2009), was an American jazz singer. Biography Chris Connor was born Mary Loutsenhizer in Kansas City, Missouri, to Clyde Loutsenhizer and Mabel Sh ...

. Between 1973 and 1975, Galper played in the

Cannonball Adderley Julian Edwin "Cannonball" Adderley (September 15, 1928August 8, 1975) was an American jazz Alto saxophone, alto saxophonist of the hard bop era of the 1950s and 1960s. Adderley is perhaps best remembered by the general public for the 1966 soul ...

Quintet replacing

George Duke George Martin Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as ...

. He performed in New York and Chicago jazz clubs in the late 1970s. Around this time, Galper recorded several times with guitarist

John Scofield John Scofield (born December 26, 1951) is an American guitarist and composer. His music over a long career has blended jazz, jazz fusion, funk, blues, soul and rock. He first came to mainstream attention as part of the band of Miles Davis; he ...

for the Enja label. For 10 years (1980–1990) he was a member of

Phil Woods Philip Wells Woods (November 2, 1931 – September 29, 2015) was an American jazz alto saxophonist, clarinetist, bandleader, and composer. Biography Woods was born in Springfield, Massachusetts. After inheriting a saxophone at age 12, he began t ...

's quintet. Galper left the Woods group in August 1990 to start touring and recording with his new trio with Steve Ellington on drums and Jeff Johnson on bass. From 1990 to 1999, his group was on the road six months a year. Galper is internationally known as an educator. His theoretical and practical articles have appeared in six of ''

Down Beat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

'' 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. He is on the faculty of Purchase College and the New School for Jazz and Contemporary Music.

Discography

As leader

As sideman

With

* '' Inside Straight'' (Fantasy, 1973) * '' Love, Sex, and the Zodiac'' (Fantasy, 1973) * ''

Pyramid A pyramid () is a structure whose visible surfaces are triangular in broad outline and converge toward the top, making the appearance roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be of any polygon shape, such as trian ...

'' (Fantasy, 1974) With Nat Adderley * ''

Double Exposure In photography and cinematography, a multiple exposure is the superimposition of two or more exposures to create a single image, and double exposure has a corresponding meaning in respect of two images. The exposure values may or may not be id ...

'' (Prestige, 1975) With

Franco Ambrosetti Franco Ambrosetti (born 10 December 1941) is a jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist and composer. He was born in Lugano, Switzerland; his father, Flavio Ambrosetti, Flavio, was a saxophonist who once played opposite Charlie Parker.Heartbop'' (Enja, 1981) With

* '' The Most Important Jazz Album of 1964/65'' (Colpix, 1964) * '' Baby Breeze'' (Limelight, 1965) * ''Live at Fat Tuesday's'' (Fresh Sound, 1981) With

Randy Brecker Randal Edward Brecker (born November 27, 1945) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, and composer. His versatility has made him a popular studio musician who has recorded with acts in jazz, rock music, rock, and R&B. Early life Brecker was ...

* '' Score'' (Solid State, 1969) With

Tom Harrell Tom Harrell (born June 16, 1946) is an American jazz trumpeter, flugelhornist, composer, and arranger. Voted Trumpeter of the Year of 2018 by ''Jazz Journalists Association'', Harrell has won awards and grants throughout his career, including mul ...

* ''Open Air'' ( SteepleChase, 1986) With Sam Rivers * ''

A New Conception ''A New Conception'' is the third album by American saxophonist Sam Rivers (jazz musician), Sam Rivers, recorded in 1966 and released on the Blue Note Records, Blue Note label.

'' (Blue Note, 1966) With

* '' Rough House'' (1978) With

* ''Birds of a Feather'' (Antilles) * ''Bop Stew'' (Concord) * ''Boquet'' (Concord) * ''All Birds Children'' (Concord) * '' Dizzy Gillespie Meets Phil Woods Quintet'' (Timeless, 1986)

Bibliography

*''Forward Motion: From Bach To Bebop. A Corrective Approach to Jazz Phrasing'', AuthorHouse, 17 July 2003, *''The Touring Musician: A Small Business Approach to Booking Your Band on the Road'', Alfred Publishing, 10 January 2007,

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Galper, Hal 1938 births Living people American jazz pianists American male jazz pianists Mainstream Records artists Enja Records artists SteepleChase Records artists 20th-century American pianists 21st-century American pianists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American male musicians Cannonball Adderley Quintet members Double-Time Records artists Origin Records artists Musicians from Salem, Massachusetts