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The sounds of jazz return to downtown San Jose August 13-15 with the 21st annual San Jose Jazz Festival. From Friday afternoon to Sunday evening, more than 100,000 music lovers will converge on the heart of Silicon Valley to enjoy three days of jazz, blues, salsa, Latin, R&B, and many other forms of contemporary music.

This year's San Jose Jazz Festival showcases the breadth of jazz and its varied influences across the musical spectrum. Like the tradition of innovation born in Silicon Valley, jazz composition and performance continue to evolve and change. 

During the three days of this year's festival, the folks at San Jose Jazz promise that the cravings of even the most diverse music lover will be satisfied.

And, with more than 1,000 artists slated to appear on 10 stages indoors and out around downtown San Jose, diversity will certainly be central to this year's musical fare.

Headlining artists for the 2010 San Jose Jazz Festival include George Clinton and Parliament/Funkadelic, saxophonist John Handy, keyboardist Jason Miles' "Tribute to Grover Washington," bassist Marcus Miller's "Tutu Revisited," Irma Thomas, the Soul Queen of New Orleans, jazz singer Nnenna Freelon, horn man Maceo Parker, and many more.

Legendary "urban soul" ensemble Tower of Power will close the festival on Sunday.

There's also plenty of local talent, from drummer Wally Schnalle's Idiot Fish to the VW Brothers (Paul and Mark van Wageningen), saxophonist Harvey Wainapel's Alegritude, and guitarist Ray Obiedo's Mambo Caribe.

Here's the full schedule for this year's jazz festival:

Jump down the page to: Saturday, Aug. 14  |  Sunday, Aug. 15

For tickets or more information, please call 408.288.7557 or visit the San Jose Jazz Festival website at www.sanjosejazz.org.