Hal Singer is an American R&B and jazz bandleader and saxophonist. Hal was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma and studied violin as a child, but as a teenager switched to clarinet and then tenor saxophone, which became his instrument of choice. From the late 1930s he began playing in local bands, including that of Ernie Fields, before joining Jay McShann's orchestra in 1943 and then moving to New York. After working in various other bands, he joined Oran "Hot Lips" Page's band in 1947, and also began working as a session musician with King Records.