Call in the jazz doctor

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Dance and Drums, as well as sets by other performers.

“I wanted to make the concert a multiethnic, multicultural event,” Simon said, “so we brought a Japanese jazz band, for example, and a Muslim singer. Have something to offer for everybody,” added Simon, who believes that jazz cuts across national and ethnic boundaries as a lingua franca of the music world. “Jazz binds people together,” he said. “We just have to sit down and listen and understand via our sounds.”

Simon, a Haitian-born immigrant, emphasized that there are few Haitianled cultural events in Valley Stream, and said that a multicultural event like this one may help cement Haitai’s cultural footprint on the local map. And though the popularity of jazz has diminished in recent decades, Simon encourages listeners new and old to take it in with fresh ears. For him, the emotional thrill of jazz lies in its unpredictability.

“Unlike in popular music, where you can follow the flow and have some expectation of what comes next, in jazz, nobody knows what’s going to come out next,” Simon said. “Even though you might hear a song being played several times, every time you hear it, they will give you different notes, different sounds coming in.”

RAFFLE DRAWING AT 12:30PM SILVER