The Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair (originally known as the Westbury Music Fair ) is an entertainment venue located in the hamlet of Jericho , outside of Westbury, New York . Constructed as a theatre in the round style with seating for 2,870 that was originally developed as a means to present top performers and productions of popular theatrical musicals at a series of venues located in suburban locations on the East Coast of the United States .
31-410: Radio broadcaster Frank Ford and nightclub owner Lee Guber were returning home with their wives after attending a 1954 musical performance presented in a tent. After the two kept commenting on how they could improve on the show they had just seen, Ford's wife told them "Well, why don't you". They went ahead with the idea, leading the creation of Music Fair Enterprises, Inc. Together with Shelly Gross ,
62-855: A Canadian Sextet featuring Phil Dwyer , Seamus Blake , Ingrid Jensen , Jon Ballantyne and Tom Wakeling. In 2014 Jones put together a new Portland based sextet with Greg Goebel, Charlie Porter, John Nastos, Nicole Glover and Jon Lakey and is currently planning to record a new album in 2015 After teaching at Portland State University in 2010, Jones went on to establish the Alan Jones Academy of Music. The school describes itself as "an education system focused on personal and collective improvisation" that "works with students of all ages". Students have been involved in projects ranging from collaborating with Michael Curry on multimedia stage presentations, playing at international jazz festivals and has received prestigious scholarships. Jones also works as
93-414: A composer, Jones' work was described by music critic Jim Strupp as "intelligent explorations on familiar jazz forms" whose "arrangements are interesting and accessible". This group went on to record three albums and the sextet which emphasized Jones compositions, represented a chance for Jones to more fully explore his creative output as a composer. "It's Jones' compositions that are primarily responsible for
124-537: A member of his quartet with saxophonist John Gross and Trumpeter Gary Barone . Upon returning to Portland in 1996, Jones stepped further into the roll of band leader and composer with the formation of The Alan Jones Sextet. Jones leveraged John Gross and Randy Porter from earlier work in David Friesen 's group as well as other Portland musicians. Their recording first established Jones working with Gino Vannelli , who produced their first recording, Unsafe . As
155-453: A more intimate proximity to performers, while keeping down production costs as sets could be minimally designed. In its first year, which featured such performances as a production of The King and I , the theater grossed $ 230,000. By 1976, revenue had grown more than 50-fold, to $ 13 million. Ticket prices that had started at $ 2.50 to $ 4.50 when the theater opened, had climbed to an average price of $ 8.75 by 1976. SFX Entertainment acquired
186-668: A television news anchor who had become disenchanted with his profession, the three raised $ 100,000 to lease the Devon, Pennsylvania site of what they named the Valley Forge Music Fair , which brought in profits exceeding $ 50,000 in its inaugural season in 1955. An abandoned lime pit in Jericho, New York , a Long Island suburb of New York City , became the site of their second facility, the Westbury Music Fair. The original facility
217-506: Is an American jazz drummer, composer and educator. Born in Longview, Washington , he moved to Portland, Oregon at an early age and took up the drums and guitar as a young child. Jones' first experience in his early career was with Count Dutch, an organist from Amsterdam who hired Jones to work with him as a drummer. His first album was Unsafe which was published in 1998. Jones moved to Portland Oregon at an early age. He began playing
248-558: The Philadelphia Daily News , he wondered "what my name would be if the sponsor was the Piggly Wiggly stores." Together with partners Lee Guber and Shelly Gross , he opened the Valley Forge Music Fair in Devon, Pennsylvania in 1955, featuring such shows as its inaugural production of The King and I . Originally housed in a tent, a building was constructed on the site as a theater. Opened on an investment of $ 100,000,
279-491: The Philadelphia Gay News that was the city's first show on commercial radio with a gay focus. The station closed in 1988. He retired in 2000, after WWDB-FM switched to an all-music format. Guests on Ford's programs during his career included Lenny Bruce , Abbie Hoffman , Sugar Ray Robinson and Eleanor Roosevelt . He owned Auto Sport Importers, a business that made reproductions of a classic 1938 Jaguar called
310-653: The Czech Republic . During his time in Europe, Jones also continued to tour with The David Friesen Trio throughout the U.S. and extensively up and down the West Coast as well as additional dates in Canada with Kenny Wheeler . During this time Jones made a number of recordings with this group including David Friesen's well received 1989 release Other Times, Other Places . In the early 1990s Jones continued to perform with Friesen as
341-587: The Pennsylvania Courts of Common Pleas when she was considering a run for Philadelphia District Attorney. Ford tried to dissuade her, telling Abraham that she would be losing her judicial tenure and would be taking a reduction in pay. Despite his objections, Abraham ran for office and was elected in 1991. Ford was extremely supportive of his wife's post, and regularly attended her press conferences and had her on his radio show until he became ill in October 2008. Ford
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#1733086041713372-746: The Berklee College of Music where he studied with the jazz drummer Alan Dawson. During this time he spent two summers at the Banff Center for the Fine Arts in Canada and also made appearances in his home town of Portland . Jones moved to New York City in 1984 and as a tenant of the same Brooklyn apartment building as Jim Pepper and bassist Ben Wolfe, where he organized many jam sessions. In 1985 while still in New York City , Jones met Canadian Saxophonist Phil Dwyer and they both performed as members of
403-613: The David Friesen trio, a tenure which lasted into the next decade. In 1988, Jones moved to Europe splitting his home between Vienna and Paris. This led to Jones sharing leadership and compositional duties with bandmates in The Fensters and performing at Europe's leading jazz festivals. This also coincided with tours of England , France , Germany , Belgium , the Netherlands , Austria , Hungary , Spain , Portugal , Italy and
434-563: The Squire SS100, a model that sold several hundred cars but was never a viable business. The Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia inducted Ford into their Hall of Fame in 2004. Ford first met his future wife, Lynne Abraham , 24 years his junior, when she helped watch his ill father while his mother ran errands. Ford helped her get a job when she was a teen at the Valley Forge Music Fair he opened in 1955. Years later, when Abraham
465-1378: The Stone Poneys , Sam the Sham & the Pharaohs , Eric Burdon & the Animals , Roger Whittaker , Johnny Mathis , Tony Bennett , Jack Benny , Milton Berle , George Carlin , Ray Charles , Bill Cosby , Johnny Carson , Sammy Davis Jr. , Sergio Franchi , Alan Jones , Connie Francis , The Carpenters , Bobby Sherman , Steve Vai , Sam Kinison , Britney Spears , 'N Sync , Judy Garland , Bob Hope , Jonas Brothers , Liza Minnelli , Don Rickles , George Maharis , Vivian Blaine , Frankie Valli , Smokey Robinson , Kenny Rogers , John Serry Sr. , Frank Sinatra , Jim Norton , Bruce Springsteen , Mike Tyson , Lena Horne , Stevie Wonder , Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band , Bob Weir , RatDog , Chris Isaak , Jerry Seinfeld , Bob Saget , James Hunter , Styx , Vince Gill , Helen Reddy , Joan Rivers , Olivia Newton-John , Vanessa Williams , Dionne Warwick , Gladys Knight , Mitzi Gaynor , Barbara Eden , Dom DeLuise , Paul Anka , Engelbert Humperdinck , Howie Mandel , Weird Al Yankovic , The Wiggles & Video Games Live among others. The live tracks on Nina Simone's 1968 album 'Nuff Said! were recorded at
496-733: The Theatre at Westbury. New York Community Bank purchased naming rights in May 2010, with the theater being known as the NYCB Theatre in Westbury starting July 2010 - March 2024. As of March 2024, the Theatre has resumed a part of its original name and is now Flagstar at Westbury Music Fair. Among the stars and groups who performed at the suburban theater were The Doors , The Who , Alanis Morissette , The Supremes , The Pointer Sisters , Janis Joplin , Nina Simone , Chicago , Peter Cetera , Linda Ronstadt &
527-582: The business brought in a profit of about $ 50,000 their first summer, leading to the establishment of the Westbury Music Fair in Westbury, New York and other locations in Cherry Hill, New Jersey , and near both Baltimore and Washington, D.C., employing 2,000 performers and musicians at their peak. He hosted a late-night talk show on WPEN , becoming one of the first shows to use equipment that would allow
558-533: The drums and guitar as a young child and had some instruction from local Jazz Pianist and Educator Arletta O'hearn Jones spent his high school years soaking in the vibrant local music scene. "I saw Dexter Gordon when I was in high school," recalls Jones, who sneaked in an upstairs window to soak up the music before he was caught and ejected". Jones was inspired by Jazz musicians Saxophonist Sonny King, John Stowell and Mel Brown as well as Jim Pepper and David Friesen who would help establish his early career. One of
589-417: The excitement" wrote Lynn Darroch of The Oregonian which is echoed in yet another review from this period "The Sextet's sound is primarily the result of Jones' vision and courage." In 2001 Jones was commissioned by production designer and puppet artist Michael Curry to write the music for a large stage production called Spirits . The result was a jazz and world music infused score for dance and theater
620-544: The facility in 1998, and it is now owned and operated by Live Nation . In 2005, North Fork Bank acquired three-year naming rights to the venue; becoming the North Fork Theatre in Westbury. In 2008, the bank was taken over by Capital One . On March 24, 2008, the theater was renamed the Capital One Bank Theatre at Westbury. After one year, Capital One dropped naming rights and the venue briefly became known as
651-468: The first such experiences was provided by an organist from Amsterdam named Count Dutch, who hired Jones to work with him on the road after hearing him play at one of Dutch's jam sessions. These tours also presented an opportunity to play extensively with Saxophonist Jim Pepper , a relationship that Jones would build on in the future. This musical period lasted until Dutch's premature death three years later. After moving to Boston in 1980 Jones graduated from
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#1733086041713682-406: The host to interact directly with callers on the air, unlike previous shows that had the host repeat the caller's comments. In the early 1970s, he did multiple interviews with "Unicorn Killer" Ira Einhorn , who had murdered girlfriend Holly Maddux, later recalling that Einhorn "stank even then". He bought station WDVT in 1985, where his programming included a show hosted by publisher Mark Segal of
713-405: The name "Eddie Hoyle" while hosting Hollywood According to Hoyle , a gossip program. While selling radio time in 1946, a customer called Frankford Unity Grocery Store wanted to sponsor a music show; He decided that he would host the show himself to pick up a few extra dollars, and adopted the name "Frank Ford" for the show, a name that stuck with him for the rest of his life. In a 1995 interview with
744-470: The picture, Gross and Guber constructed a theater on the site in 1966 that could fit 3,000 attendees. The new, permanent facility was a concrete building with carpeted floors and 3,000 metal director's chairs. Later, fully upholstered seats were installed. The facility was also climate controlled with heating and air conditioning. The building continued the theater in the round format used in the original tent, which offered clear and close views from all seats and
775-563: The sound track of which was released independently on Jones' own label record. In 2005 Jones move back to Europe this time living in Germany where he worked with Olaf Polziehn and Peter Bolte Quartet, among others. In 2008, Jones returned to reside in Portland, Oregon . In May of that year, Jones opened a jazz club called The Cave. In the Summer of 2013 Jones toured Canada with his Alan Jones,
806-462: The theater three days after the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. As a theater in the round, it is considered a suitable arena for professional wrestling , as Total Nonstop Action Wrestling has performed shows at the theater. 40°46′24″N 73°33′30″W / 40.77333°N 73.55833°W / 40.77333; -73.55833 Frank Ford (broadcaster) Frank Ford
837-685: Was an uninsulated blue-and-beige striped tent erected in 1956 that could accommodate 1,850, one of many similar tent-based theaters that existed nationwide in the mid-1950s. The tent was erected for $ 120,000 at a central Nassau County location conveniently located near the Northern State Parkway and the Wantagh State Parkway , though it was also on an approach path for planes landing at what later became John F. Kennedy International Airport , with noise from jet engines of planes overhead occasionally drowning out performers. With Ford out of
868-475: Was in college, she would babysit for his stepdaughter. Abraham had been thinking of medical school and becoming a physician, when Ford told her "You ought to be a lawyer. You're forthright. You've got a big mouth. You talk well. You're smart." He married Abraham in June 1977, when he was 60 years old and hosting local radio talk shows, and she was a 36-year-old municipal court judge. She was an elected judge serving on
899-532: Was interested in architecture, art, dance, opera and food, and he and Abraham traveled extensively around the world. A longtime resident of Center City, Philadelphia , Ford died, at age 92, on March 3, 2009, at Vitas Hospice of St. Agnes Hospital in Philadelphia due to complications from a stroke . He was survived by both his first and second wives, a daughter, two grandchildren and a great-grandson. Alan Jones (drummer) Alan Jones (born August 5, 1962)
930-546: Was married to Lynne Abraham , a former judge and District Attorney of Philadelphia , Pennsylvania. Born as Edward Felbin , he grew up in the Logan section of North Philadelphia , where he graduated from Simon Gratz High School in 1934. He attended the University of Pennsylvania , where he graduated in 1939. While in college, he got a job at radio station WHAT as an announcer, earning $ 15 weekly plus transportation. He used
961-503: Was the stage name of Edward Felbin (September 30, 1916 – March 3, 2009), a talk radio host in Philadelphia . Along with partners Lee Guber and Shelly Gross , Ford founded the Valley Forge Music Fair in 1955 and the Westbury Music Fair the following year. He served on the board of trustees for Science Service, now known as Society for Science & the Public , from 1957 to 1962. He