Jazz historian, music educator, and trumpet player Thomas Manuel is a man with a mission, or more accurately, a man with many missions. In this day when raising funds for sophisticated art is more challenging than ever, when jazz is often misunderstood, and when those who present music often hire tribute acts as an easy way to name-recognition, instead of investing in great musicians and helping them build an audience, Thomas not only plays the music, he’s created multiple outlets to hire others to do the same and works tirelessly to create programs that educate and entice others to love jazz and appreciate its place in American culture.

Thomas opened The Jazz Loft in Stony Brook, NY, in 2016 as a museum and performance space, bringing together Thomas’ passion for jazz performance, jazz preservation and jazz education in celebration of the past, present, and future