During the 80s and 90s, Halley was the leader of the Lizard Brothers, a three or four horn sextet that released five recordings on Avocet and Nine Winds and performed in the US and Canada.
In 1991-92 Halley played in the cooperative band Jack's Headlights that included trumpeter Rob Blakeslee, saxophonist Hans Teuber, bassist Michael Bisio and drummer Aaron Alexander.