Hal Galper Trio to perform at IU

Pianist Hal Galper, who is known for his improvisational playing style and cohesive ensembles, will be teaching several workshops this week with bassist Jeff Johnson and drummer John Bishop.

The Hal Galper Trio will also be performing at 8 p.m. Thursday at Auer Hall.

“I think he combines a lot of different styles in his playing so that he will play in a way that communicates very well with the audience,” Thomas Walsh, associate professor of music, said. “He can combine a very appealing approach with a more contemporary, intellectual approach in a way that is unique.”

The concert will consist of classic jazz from the American songbook as well as original compositions by Hal Galper, Walsh said. The members of this trio listen to each other very deeply and respond, so they can take the music in any direction at any moment, he said.

“The trio plays very conversationally,” professor of jazz studies Patrick Harbison said. “It syncs together like one mind.”

Galper said even when they are improvising, he knows they all share one musical thought.

Galper has performed and recorded with legendary jazz artists Chet Baker, Cannonball Adderly, John Scofield and Phil Woods. The experience of these artists and the breadth of different styles among them had a strong influence on Galper as a young musician, Harbison said.

“Galper has been in touch with almost 50 years of jazz and has always kept his eyes to the front,” Harbison said. “Since then, he has had time to synthesize their teachings into his own musical worldview. He is not reacting to what is going in jazz today. He is following his own musical vision and sense of purpose.”

In Galper’s article “Comping: The Pianists Role in a Jazz Group,” he described the piano as a “harmonic colorist.” He goes on to stress the importance of coming together as an ensemble to produce one whole sound instead of many parts.

If another soloist is present, the pianist should provide a “harmonic carpet” for him to walk on. He also urges musicians to listen more to their bandmates than themselves when playing together.

Most famous jazz bandleaders are horn players, and Galper has played with some of the most widely-known of these artists. In Galper’s trio, there is no horn player, so Galper must play the lead.

The piano allows Galper more versatility than a horn because he can accompany himself with chords while he plays the melody. Even when he is improvising, he is shaping and designing the music.

“His concept of how a piano works in the group informs how he will accompany himself,” Walsh said. “He is someone who has thought very deeply about the role of each instrument in the group.”

The concert and workshops are all free and open to the public.
 
“Galper is an excellent teacher,” Luke Gillespie, associate professor of music, said. “He tells it like it is. We are fortunate to have him teach here and for our students to have the chance to hear him perform.”

Want to learn from Hal Galper?
Galper will be teaching an improvisation clinic at 2:30 p.m. Thursday in Ford Hall at the Jacobs School of Music. He will be teaching a combo workshop at 12:20 p.m. Friday at MA454 and a rhythm section workshop in the Auer Green Room at 2:30 p.m. The concert and workshops are all free and open to the public.