Hale Smith (1925-2009) was a composer, arranger, editor, musician, and teacher. Smith was born in Cleveland, June 29, 1925 and grew up amongst the city's Black cultural scene: the Smith family business, half print shop and half barber shop, was across the street from Karamu House.

After completing military service (1943-45), Smith enrolled as a composition major at the Cleveland Institute of Music (BM 1950; MM 1952). In 1958 he moved to New York City, beginning a period of collaborations with jazz artists, including Eric Dolphy, Dizzy Gillespie, and Ahmad Jamal. He also collaborated with Langston Hughes to set a selection of Hughes' poems to music.

After losing control over how a label used one of his compositions, Smith educated himself of copyright and the rights of creators. He served as an editor and consultant for several music publishers, and founded his own publishing company, Halsco Music Publishers, in the 1980s.

Smith taught at Long Island University, the University of Connecticut (1970-1984), and served as an advisor and the principle arranger/orchestrator for the Black Music Repertory Ensemble of the Center for Black Music Research, Columbia College. He was also the

In 1948, Smith married Juanita Hancock; they had four children.