Sax, snacks, and soul: 19th Annual Valley Stream Jazz Festival is back

Dr. Herold Simon, an internist from Valley Stream, recalled stumbling into the vibrant and dynamic jazz world at 18. It was a small moment — a chance encounter with a street performer playing jazz on his saxophone at Manhattan’s 5th Avenue and 54th Street.

But for Simon, it was nonetheless revelatory. As the years went by, Simon fondly looks back at that moment, now a distant memory, as the flashpoint for his lifelong fascination with “America’s classical music.”

In 2003, this fascination led Simon to open his home to jazz artists and musicians for an annual backyard concert with his family.

Turning a family tradition into a community celebration

As the concerts grew  and became more popular, Simon began to harbor aspirations to turn his private family tradition into a buzzed-about community event, moving from a corner of his house to a public stage. Even the name he chose to christen his in-house concerts — the “Valley Stream Jazz Festival” — hints at Simon’s ambition, but it would not come easy.

The years of many false starts noted Simon seemed to put his vision on an indefinite hold. That all changed last year thanks to some logistical heavy lifting involving getting the right sponsors in his corner to help make Simon’s festival go public. Now, he is doing it again.

As the previous year, the Valley Stream Bandshell will host the 19th annual Jazz Festival on August 10 at 5 p.m. The concert will feature performances by Japanese pianist and composer Yayoi Ikawa, multilingual artist Suresh Ketwaru, and the Santana y Orquesta La Elegancia band, among others.

In promoting his festival to his residents, Simon has put community and inclusivity at the heart of his pitch.

“It’s the same concept of having a multi-ethnic, multicultural event every year to create community, community attachment, binding different groups of people together,” said Simon. “We have various groups living in this community, but I’ve observed that nobody knows each other. Everyone stays in his or her comfort zone.”

The show is for serious connoisseurs of jazz as much as it is for music lovers with a deliberate sprinkling of other musical genres and styles. The essential focus, Simon argues, is making sure various cultures are reflected in the showcase. The same goes for the food.

“We’ll be having different food trucks that cater to people’s religious dietary restrictions to make sure there is something for everyone,” said Simon.

New sponsors, greater publicity

There are “also a lot more” sponsors than before which Simon has hailed as a vote of confidence from the community with further hopes that with more publicity, attendance, and sponsorship, it could expand into a full-day event.

Michaelle Solages, an attendee of Simon’s concerts long before its public debut, is a main sponsor whose office has been sending out emails to alert constituents of the concert.

“Simon’s Valley Stream Jazz Festival has been a treasured community event for many years now. Each summer, we see a wide variety of musicians showcasing their talents for us to enjoy, highlighting the unifying power of music as neighbors come together at the bandshell to listen to these outstanding performers,” said Solages in a statement.

“I am proud to support this event once again and encourage everyone to come down on August 10th to take in the music and support our local artists and businesses at this free community concert.”

Jill Bromberg, marketing manager at Green Acres Mall, said the Sunrise Highway shopping center is proud to be one of the festival’s newest sponsors, referring to it as a “most valuable and entertaining cultural experience.”

“We commend Dr. Simon and his family for working tirelessly to make this event a success year after year as well as Assemblywoman Michaelle Solages and Legislator Carrie Solages who have both functioned as great Community Ambassadors in growing this event,” he said in a statement.

There is an enormous amount of work put into planning an event like this to an extent few fully appreciate, noted Simon with a constant aim to improve upon the previous year.

“By December of the previous year, we start meeting, looking at what we did and what we’ll do next time to make the event better, and formulate a plan and timetable to decrease the stress of securing sound engineer, lighting, and performers,” said Simon. “It’s a lot of stress.”

But it is all in the service of making it a “must-attend” event people plan their day around and “look forward to attending every year.”

“People want to feel that they belong and that this event belongs to them. It is for them. It gives them a kind of ownership,” said Simon. “When you have ownership of something and in something, you become devoted to it, you respect it, and you protect it, and that’s what I’d like to see from every cultural and ethnic group that participates in the festival.”

Have an opinion on this article? Send an email to jlasso@liherald.com.