Hall Overton Was a Major Piece of the Jazz Loft Puzzle

Hall Overton moved into 821 6th Avenue in 1954. He shared a wall with Eugene Smith for 14 years. After carrying stretchers in combat in France and Belgium in World War II, he taught classical composition at Juilliard, Yale, and the New School for Social Research.

His wife, Nancy Swain Overton, was a successful singer who was part of the Heathertones and Chordettes. They shared home in Forest Hills, Queens, with their two young sons before he moved to the Jazz Lofts.

Overton was revered and beloved as an innovative teacher and arranger. At night and on weekends, Overton gave lessons to a range of folks such as the billionaire tobacco heiress Doris Duke, Marian McPartland, seminal conductor Dennis Russell Davies, and composer Carman Moore. Jazz legends would stop by without an appointment and pick Overton’s brain and soul, friendship and camaraderie the medium of exchange. His presence at 821 6th Avenue was critical to the ambiance at the Jazz Lofts.

He had a knack for finding and nurturing the unique qualities inside all of his students, rather than imprinting his methods on everyone. He worked with Charles Mingus, Oscar Pettiford, Teddy Charles, and Stan Getz, and forged a longstanding relationship with Thelonious Monk. Overton seemed to care nothing about acknowledgment. He preferred the obscurity of his studio loft to the hallowed halls of Juilliard.

Learn more about Hall Overton at http://www.jazzloftproject.org