Life
As a youngster in this small mid-western town, he found that his few piano lessons didn't satisfy his longing for that elusive "something" he was seeking in music. He was fortunate in having a high school music teacher who recognized his gift, and urged him to study at The Chicago Musical College. It was there that he studied theory and compostition from 1940 to 1942. The latter year marked his entry into the armed services, and from 1942 until 1945 he served in overseas combat duty with the U.S. 3rd Armored Division. It was during that time that he learned to play jazz.
Upon his discharge from the army, he pursued his musical studies at The Juilliard School of Music, studying composition with Vincent Persichetti. He graduated in 1951 with an M.S. degree, and then became a member of the faculty there.
In later years, he also taught at the Yale School of Music and the New School of Social Research. He received awards from both The Koussevitzky Foundation and the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.
His New York City loft at 821 Sixth Avenue (aka the Jazz Loft Project), alongside legendary photographer W. Eugene Smith, musicians Dick Cary and Jimmy Stevenson and others, and painter David X. Young in 1954, provided the perfect setting for the musicians to practice. The October 2000 release of Jazz Loft comprises many hours of these priceless sessions recorded by Smith. A large ongoing project involving Smith's photos and tapes can be seen at the Jazz Loft Project site.
While he was writing his classical compositions, he was also deeply immersed in jazz. He recorded with such notables as Stan Getz, Duke Jordan, Jimmy Raney and Teddy Charles. Thelonious Monk selected him to score his piano works for full orchestra. A performance of these compositions in New York City was recorded live on February 28, 1959 and released on the album The Thelonious Monk Orchestra at Town Hall. In 1963, Monk recorded a second live album with orchestra arrangements by Overton at the New York Philharmonic Hall entitled Big Band and Quartet in Concert.
Read more about this topic: Hall Overton
Famous quotes containing the word life:
“even the dreadful martyrdom must run its course
Anyhow in a corner, some untidy spot
Where the dogs go on with their doggy life and the torturer’s horse
Scratches its innocent behind on a tree.”
—W.H. (Wystan Hugh)
“Silent waters rocking on the morning of our birth,
like an empty cradle waiting to be filled.
And from the heart of God the Spirit moved upon the earth,
like a mother breathing life into her child.”
—Gordon Light (20th century)
“The most powerful lessons about ethics and morality do not come from school discussions or classes in character building. They come from family life where people treat one another with respect, consideration, and love.”
—Neil Kurshan (20th century)