Born Harold Galper on April 18, 1938 in Salem, Massachusetts, the jazz pianist,
composer, and bandleader is better known as Hal Galper. Studying classical piano
at the age of six, he eventually switched to jazz and studied at the Berklee
College of Music between 1955 and 1958. Hanging out quite frequently at the
Stable – a club owned by jazz trumpeter Herb Pomeroy – he eventually became the
house pianist. He eventually held the same position at popular nightclubs
Connely’s and Lenny’s on the Turnpike. In the 1960s, Hal Galper spent three
years with Chet Baker and worked as a sess...