A Night for Soul, a benefit for the Jazz Foundation
In this column, I like to shine a light on hidden gems, provide commentary on theatre, and bring awareness to some truly great events on the horizon.
One, coming up next month,will take place to benefit the Jazz Foundation of America, an organization that offers a wide variety of programs and assistance for jazz and blues musicians in need.
To help support the many initiatives established by the Jazz Foundation of America, the non-profit will once again host their very cool Annual Jazz Loft Party, “A Night for the Soul” on Saturday, October 14 at 7PM.
Celebrities slated to appear include Gladys Knight, Nona Hendryx, Danny Glover, Rosie Perez, Aaron Neville and many others. Taking place at old silent movie studios on West 26th Street, featuring full views of the glorious Hudson River, the evening will be awash in soul, jazz, R&B, and blues performances.
The Jazz Foundation’s Annual Jazz Loft Party promises to be a truly unique experience in New York.
Valerie Smaldone is a 5-time Billboard Magazine Award winner and is well known for her unprecedented success holding the #1 on-air position in the New York radio market on 106.7 Life-FM, an iHeart station. She has hosted, produced, and created several award-winning nationally syndicated programs featuring in-depth interviews with stars like Paul McCartney, Celine Dion, Rod Stewart, Elton John and Mariah Carey among others. Her radio talk show "Bagels and Broadway" highlighted theatre and food personalities. She is an accomplished interviewer and voice artist heard on commercials, narrations, promos and audiobooks, as well as a sought after live announcer.
Most recently, Valerie produced and directed a film, The Thursday Night Club, featuring pop diva Gloria Gaynor in her movie acting debut. She is one of the creators and producers of a docu-series, Divine Renovation, starring Erik Estrada, on streaming networks soon.
