Performances will include some of the biggest names in local and national contemporary jazz including: Jerry Gonzalez and the Fort Apache Band, Esperanza Spalding, Michael Shrieve, the Jovino Santos Neto Quinteto, JazzReach, the Roosevelt and Garfield High School jazz bands, jazz film historian Mark Cantor and others.

With the opening of EMP|SFM's new exhibition, American Sabor: Latinos in U.S. Popular Music, Jazz in January 2008 focuses on Latin jazz. In Spanish, sabor means taste or flavor and is commonly used to refer to good music. Jazz is flavored with sounds drawn from many parts of the Americas, and Latinos have helped bring these sounds to U.S. audiences, contributing new musical flavors to jazz.

The artists represented at Jazz in January 2008 are at the forefront of the jazz evolution, whether they're just beginning their careers, seasoned performers educating the next generation of music lovers, or are music legends who have experienced a myriad of musical transformations over the decades.

Jazz in January is made possible by the generous support of the Raynier Institute and Foundation's No Wasted Notes.

Since EMP opened in 2000 and SFM in 2004, EMP|SFM has welcomed more than 3.7 million visitors through its doors. -- www.empsfm.org