Hal Singer

I lost my "Jazz Dad" on August 16, 2020. Hal Singer was a Friend, a Brother, a Father, a Mentor and the Best Musical Counsellor I could have ever had.

In 1984, Ian Stewart told me all about how Hal was doing. Of course I was familiar with Hal's jumping records from the 40s and 50s like "Hot Rod" and "Cornbread," and was glad to hear he was in Paris and had been for many years. In fact he had found a Second Life in Paris and is honored by the French jazz scene.

In 1986, I was invited by Maxine Howard's band to the Belgian Rhythm and Blues Festival in Peer, and lo and behold, Hal played in the band too! We hit it off right off the bat. What a treat. Naturally I looked for opportunities to do more with him, and after a big solo success in Lugano later that year, I was asked to bring a band for the next year. Naturally I brought Hal. We played many festivals and concerts together in western Europe in the salad days of the 80s and 90s.

Hal always brought a big Presence to the stage, and I was even more grateful to have been asked by Hammond Scott to make a Black Top record with Hal in New Orleans. I wrote "Royal Blue" with Ellington in mind and Hal, who had left his prized chair in the Duke's orchestra to follow his own success with "Cornbread" which he had recorded after hours in NYC, gave that tune and the rest of the record that unique touch of his.

Yes, he rocked out, and it's safe to say his best records were improvs played on the spot. By the time I met him, he was a completely well-rounded muture Musician, respected, respectable and respectful. We have stayed in touch over the years and I have benefitted enormously from his professional experience and personal friendship now for over 34 years. I will never forget him, and he is perhaps the end of the line of those Musicians from the 40s.

He taught never to compare, that it's all about Style and Individuality. "If you were going to follow Art Tatum onstage, you'd just go up there without feeling less than the Master, because he had his audience and you have yours." He emphasized how important ist was just to be yourself. ("We don't dig copycats.")

Perhaps one of the most important things he taught me was "You can't give orders unless you can take them." I think he was happy with my being the bandleader and doing all that background work (contracts, hiring, road managing) even though he had at one point been co-leader of the Apollo Theater house band (in the mid 60s with Gus Johnson.) We had one ex-Army musican from Alabama who called him "The Bird Colonel" because of the way he commanded respect.

He didn't have a prejudiced bone in his body. While he was perfectly free to point out what was wrong about people, it was always only about how they thought, and he had an absolutely great sense of humor.

We played a city concert for 10,000 in Milan in the heat of August, without any airconditioning anywhere. I asked "How do you like your room?" (waiting for the worst) and he said "Oh it's fine....and the streetcar comes right through it every ten minutes."

Later that night he said "There was a couple living on the Lower East Side during an August heat wave, and she came out of the shower and said, 'Gee honey, I'm sorry. I just used up all the cold water.'"

We had tons of fun, and his laughter and smile are with me always. I can hear him now answering the phone "Hey Baby Boy, how are you two lovebirds?"

Here's to you, Hal!