Hall Overton

Hall Franklin Overton (February 23, 1920 – November 24, 1972) was an American composer, jazz pianist and music teacher. Life He was born in Bangor, Michigan, the first of the three sons of Stanford and Ruth (Barnes) Overton. He grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan. After taking piano lessons as a youngster, Overton realized he'd have to travel beyond his small Midwestern town to find the kind of music instruction he wanted. His high school music teacher recognized Overton's gift and recommended he attend The Chicago Musical College after graduation. Overton studied theory and composition there from 1940 to 1942. He then entered the armed services and served in overseas combat duty with the U.S. 3rd Armored Division until 1945. It was during his time in the service that he learned to play jazz. Upon his discharge from the army, Overton continued his musical studies at The Juilliard School of Music, studying composition with Vincent Persichetti. He graduated in 1951 with an M.S. degree, then became a member of the faculty there. In 1954 Overton moved into a New York City loft at 821 Sixth Avenue, known as the Jazz Loft, where he lived alongside legendary photographer W. Eugene Smith, musician Dick Cary, and painter David X. Young and other established and rising musicians and artists. This provided the perfect setting for the musicians to jam and learn together. Smith recorded many of these sessions, which were released in October 2000 as part of the Jazz Loft Project, a large ongoing project involving Smith's photos and tapes from that period.