Galper Making Welcome Return To Hobart’s

It’s still a rare treat in Spokane when an intact working jazz ensemble shows up for a local club date. And signing on for two nights is unheard of.

But the Hal Galper Trio was heartily welcomed when it played Hobart’s Jazz Lounge last fall, so a return date is in order. Galper and his trio return to Hobart’s tonight and Saturday.

Galper’s name is well-known among bebop fans. After playing extended gigs with Cannonball Adderly and Chet Baker, and after leading his own quintet, the pianist settled into a 10-year playing, arranging and composing job with alto sax giant Phil Woods.

He left Woods in 1990 to pursue his own career and the trio is the result. With Steve Ellington on drums and Jeff Johnson on bass, Galper has found the place where he can find his own limits.

Ellington and Johnson form “a choice rhythm section that plays with a big beat and is sophisticated enough to go any direction,” he says. “We are really developing our own sound and identity, and I’m enjoying playing the piano more than I ever have before.”

It shows. Galper’s set last year was a fun-filled romp through some of the best music of the latter half of the century.

, DataTimes MEMO: This sidebar appeared with the story: Hal Galper Trio Location and time: Hobart’s Jazz Lounge, Saturday and Sunday, 9 p.m. Tickets: $12, available at Street Music, 117 N. Howard, and G&B outlets