Harold Jerome Stein (September 5, 1928, in Weehawken, New Jersey – April 27, 2008, in Oakland, California) was an American jazz musician and bebop saxophone player.
He went on to work with Gene Krupa, Buddy Morrow, Les Elgart, Artie Shaw, Charles Mingus, Rudy Williams, Roy Haynes, Georgie Auld, Claude Thornhill, J. C. Heard and others.
He also played the alto saxophone, recording on it with Al Cohn on "Broadway" (1954); in his own session with Warren Fitzgerald, simply called Hal Stein and Warren Fitzgerald (reissued decades later after becoming something of a cult classic in Japan, under the name Hal Stein-Warren Fitzgerald Quintet-The Classic Sessions") with sidemen Bob Dorough, Paul Motian and Alphonso Cotton (1955); on vibraphonist Teddy Charles's albums The Teddy Charles Tentet album's cd re-release (1956) and Word from Bird (1957); and as one of the Four Altos with Juilliard buddy Phil Woods, Sahib Shihab, and Gene Quill (1957).
Stein embarked on a career as an educator, primarily to make a steady income to support his burgeoning family, while continuing to perform regularly.
In 1968 he moved out West for good, living first in Las Vegas, then in Seattle, and finally settling in the Bay Area in California in 1971, where he remained for the rest of his life.
As bandleader With Teddy Charles With Al Cohn With Giorgio Diaferia With Tab Smith, Doc Pomus and Leonard Feather With Phil Woods, Gene Quill and Sahib Shihab