In a faded photograph on his desk at Stony Brook University, Thomas Manuel smiles alongside jazz legends Lee Konitz and Percy Brice after a 2007 performance at the Vail-Leavitt Music Hall in Riverhead.

Nearly 20 years later, Manuel is set to return to the stage at the storied 1881 music venue: this time as its maestro.

Riverhead Town recently voted to sell the historic hall to Manuel’s nonprofit, The Jazz Loft, in a rare split vote. Under the agreement, The Jazz Loft will buy the theater from the town for $150,000, complete crucial infrastructure projects this winter and reopen next summer.

Manuel said he’s looking forward to bringing jazz performances and education to Riverhead, contributing to a growing downtown arts district led by the Suffolk Theater and East End Arts Council. He al

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