Curtain rises on The Jazz Loft at historic Vail-Leavitt Music Hall

The sounds of a bluesy bass, swinging trombone and syncopated drums echoed through the once vacant Vail-Leavitt Music Hall on Tuesday as The Jazz Loft officially signed a $150,000 contract to take over the downtown landmark.

Jazz Loft founder Tom Manuel gifted Riverhead Town Supervisor Tim Hubbard a special fountain pen to ink the agreement — a nod to when the first contract was signed at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in 1881.

“We’re so excited to see what is going to happen on this stage,” Mr. Manuel said. “What we’re going to be able to do musically in the world of performance, what we’re going to be able to do with education for our students — from youngsters up to college kids — what we’re going to be able to do celebrating the history of this building. The history of our community is really outstanding and we’re really excited to get going in 2026.”

Mr. Hubbard and Councilwoman Denise Merrifield — who championed the bid — were on hand to welcome The Jazz Loft to downtown Riverhead. On the heels of last week’s Town Square groundbreaking, the outgoing supervisor said Riverhead is in “such a good place.”

“I know you’re going to bring [people] from both [the North and South] forks,” Ms. Merrifield said. “It’s going to be a tremendous point of interest for everyone to come to our town, to help people come to our scenic walk by the water, come to the restaurants, come to the bars and help the revitalization of this town.”

Right before the contract signing, the Riverhead Rotary presented an oversized $25,000 check to Mr. Manuel to give The Jazz Loft “a little bit of help” in this next venture. As of now, there is roughly $250,000 secured for the renovations, which comes from a mix of county and state funding, and private donors — a majority of whom are Riverhead residents.

“The fear was we are in Stony Brook, and that’s not Riverhead, and it’s a totally different community. And I was like, ‘Are people gonna want us here? Are people gonna want to even restore this building?'” Mr. Manuel said. “The friendships and relationships I’ve made over the last two and a half years, I really feel part of the community now.”

The Vail-Leavitt Music Hall is the oldest theater in downstate New York and has hosted countless theatrical, musical and cultural presentations over the past century. The building is also listed on the national and state Registers of Historic Places. 

Riverhead Town repossessed the theater in 2023 and began contract negotiations with The Jazz Loft this past April.

For the last nine years, the Jazz Loft has served as a social “home base” in Stony Brook, presenting a variety of jazz music styles and hosting more than 200 events annually, including the Swing Into Spring Festival in March and the free Harbor Jazz Festival. Its museum holds 30 archival collections from well-known jazz performers, such as Ella Fitzgerald and Tony Bennett, as well as other rotating art and photography collections.

The nonprofit’s three-fold mission is to provide performance, education and preservation, and “advocate for the American-born art form called jazz.”

“Culture and the arts are so important in any society, in any community, and we’ve seen time and time again here on Long Island, what were once our little hometown Main Street movie theaters or theaters, have a rebirth and resurgence,” Mr. Manuel said. “The arts are such a healing force, and to be able to be stewards of the space and to be able to provide that, and contribute to what’s already a rich and vibrant art scene here in Riverhead is just really exciting.”

Once the due diligence period and more paperwork is signed after the holidays, The Jazz Loft will get to work on the space, Mr. Manuel said. In preparation to set the stage for the 144-year-old downtown theater to reopen in the summer, the renovations will happen in two phases.

The first step is to tackle any structural issues and focus on restoration of the floors, leaks in the walls and roof that need to be patched up, heating and plumbing and other fixes to the overall infrastructure.

In terms of the theater’s historic charm, Mr. Manuel said those restorations will be fairly minimal and the Vail-Leavitt name will remain.

“The fact that the majority of this space has gone untouched and is preserved from 1881, we have no plans to fool with that whatsoever,” Mr. Manuel said. “I can’t ever imagine not having that name be a part of moving forward, and so I think what we’re leaning towards is The Jazz Loft at the Vail — and the sign is staying.”