Best known for his composition of the 1960s rock musical Hair, Canadian pianist, composer and theater writer Galt MacDermot has worked his way from the ‘60s all the way through the ‘00s with his original jazz-funk sound, taking his affinity for show tunes and testing them to the max in dozens of hit musical renditions.

Born and raised in Montreal, Canada, MacDermot grew up under the influence of his diplomat father, a pianist who taught him the importance of music from a young age. MacDermot's father introduced him to opera, show, classical and swing jazz music, teaching the young musician to play the recorder at age five and piano by age 14. Deeply enamored by the popular boogie woogie music in the U.S., MacDermot altered his style and got hooked on music, studying history and English at Bishop University but spending the rest of his time dedicated to everything music. In 1950, MacDermot's father got appointed to High Commissioner to South Africa, uprooting the family to Cape Town where Galt enrolled in a music program at the university there. Dubbing this time in his life "The African Experience," MacDermot delved deep into the honesty and passion of African music, eventually inspiring a move to New York in 1964 upon which the talented musician embarked on a golden musical journey. In 1967, MacDermot's contributions with James Rado and Gerome Ragni's lyrics led to the smash soundtrack for the Broadway hit Hair, garnering the budding musician incredible amounts of fame and establishing Galt MacDermot as a staple pianist, composer and arranger in the jazz music realm.

After the amazing success of Hair eventually blew over, MacDermot continued writing scores to musicals like Two Gentlemen of Verona and The Human Comedy, also composing various musicals and plays while working on composing ballet and film scores, chamber music and drama accompaniments. The incredible musician formed the New Pulse Jazz Band in 1979, working with the band while also continuing his legacy as a solo artist well through the mid-2000s.