Inaugural Labor Day Weekend Jazz Festival Comes To Long Island

WANTAGH, NY — When you think jazz, do you think Wantagh? That's what veteran jazz saxophonist and vocalist Robert Tormé is hoping.

He's the founder of this weekend's inaugural "A Jazz Festival for the Ages."

The three-day event (Sept 2-4) features the best jazz musicians on indoor and outdoor stages at St. Markella Performance Hall and Festival Grounds on Jones Avenue, the site of a Greek Orthodox church.

"My entire purpose behind this is to introduce people, who have either not been exposed to jazz or walked away from jazz for whatever the reason, and show them that there are so many different facets to this art," Tormé told Patch.

Wantagh got on Tormé's radar when he was invited to perform with his band at the church earlier this year.

As they played, Tormé's pianist thought the hall would make a great location for a Jazz Festival. In June, Tormé began to turn the thought into reality. Formulating a plan with his co-founder Matt Brennan, artists were contacted about the holiday gig.

Tormé said hiring the talent was totally his responsibility.

"It took longer to line up side musicians," Tormé said that finding the headliners wasn't an issue. "Amazingly, all the cats that I contacted were all available on the particular day we were looking for."

Four acts hit the stage on the first day. Five more groups will perform on Sunday and seven different sets are scheduled for Monday.

A native of the jazz hotbed, New Orleans, it's no coincidence that Tormé is related to Mel Tormé, the renowned jazz musician and songwriter.

Although there's the familiar surname, "it is extraordinarily distant," he said of hearing stories over the years of ties to the "Velvet Fog."

While Tormé, performing for more than 40 years, doesn't have any direct connection to "The Christmas Song" writer, Tormé knows he's linked in the best way possible.

"I think the talent is naturally handed down," he said.

Tormé opens the festival on Saturday at 11 a.m. with Jazzmatazz, a mix of traditional New Orleans Jazz, incorporating soulful melodies and infectious rhythms. He closes the musical program on Labor Day with 3X Jazz, which features jazz standards and Brazilian bossanovas.

The veteran musician wants to bring together the popular sounds of New Orleans and the high-energy form heard in New York City jazz clubs, "kind of like Bourbon Street meeting 57th Street," he said.

Tickets range from $50 for a single-day pass to $200 for the comprehensive 3-day pass.

"Ticket sales are moving," Tormé said. "I think it's going to be extraordinarily well attended."

Should it be as popular as he believes, Tormé wants to turn this into an annual long weekend festival at the same location. But he wants to resurrect Jazz in other Long Island locales.

"There are so many communities that I think get neglected living in the shadow of Manhattan," he said. "Great jazz rarely travels out to the island."