Charles Russo (1926-2012) was born in Pittsburgh, PA. At the close of World War II, Russo met Hall Overton in Germany when both were assigned to the 32nd Armored Regiment Band. They reconnected in the late 1940s when Russo studied at the Manhattan School of Music and Hall at Juilliard. He took jazz lessons from Overton in the loft, in exchange for painting Overton's ceiling. Russo had a long and distinguished career, playing with numerous orchestras including his position as Principal Clarinet in the New York City Opera.
Dave Sibley (1934-2008) was born in Pineville, LA and died in Columbus, OH. A jazz bassist, he lived in the loft in the summer of 1961 and participated in many sessions that summer.
Cuthbert O. Simpkins, Jr., MD (b. 1947) was born in Chicago, IL. While in medical school at Harvard, he wrote the first biography of jazz saxophonist and composer John Coltrane. He became a trauma surgeon, researcher, and activist.
Alvin Singleton talks about growing up in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, amongst many jazz musicians. Singleton discusses studying with Hall Overton at the Jazz Loft, as well as his other educational experiences with composers including Charles Wuorinen, Roger Sessions, and Gunther Schuller.
Patrick Smith is W. Eugene Smith's son, and one of the children depicted in Smith's most famous photograph, "The Walk to Paradise Garden". Phyllis Smith is Patrick Smith's wife and W. Eugene Smith's daughter-in-law.
Terrell Snead (b. 1941) is the daughter of the Smith family's beloved housekeeper, Jazmine Twyman, both of whom lived in the Smith home in Croton-on-Hudson with the family beginning around 1950.
Jeremy Steig (b. 1942) is the son of artist William Steig. A jazz flautist, Jeremy participated in a number of jam sessions in the loft between 1963 and 1964, whith Chick Corea and others.