Hard on the heels of the Treble Clef Productions' Jazz Legend 2000 concert at the Ruth Seaton James Centre for the Performing Arts last evening comes the Bermuda Jazz Festival -- another feast of swing, blues and groove at Dockyard featuring some of the top artists in their field.

The two glorious nights of jazz on Friday and Saturday promise another feast for the ears and joy for the soul, the pleasures of which will surely linger long after the stage lights are doused.

Local entertainers will open each night's star-studded performance, proving once more that Bermuda has the talent to perform with the best of them.

The Bermuda Jazz Festival will get under way at 7.15 p.m. each evening, with the last act scheduled for 11 p.m.

Tomorrow night's line-up will be led by the local group Mahogany, with visiting artists Marcus Johnson, Boney James and Diana Krall rounding out the programme. On Saturday night local vocalist Sondra Choudhury will lead the way, with visiting artists Norman Brown, Roberta Flack and Spyro Gyra following.

Despite their youth and only being in existence for a year, Mahogany is emerging as one of Bermuda's outstanding groups. This six-strong, highly talented ensemble has been much in demand since making its debut in December, 1999.

As their list of engagements has grown, they have gone from strength to strength, and are enjoying great success both here and abroad. Their bookings thus far have included a luncheon hosted by the American Society of Travel Agents at the Fairmont Southampton Princess hotel and a convention dinner jointly hosted by the Bermuda Department of Tourism and TWA in Milwaukee.

Their most recent local performances have received standing ovations -- but then with top local musician Wendell (Shine) Hayward as their musical director, this is perhaps no surprise.

For all their success, however, Mahogany's members look upon their inclusion in the Bermuda Jazz Festival at Dockyard as the highlight of their young careers thus far.

Mahogany is led by pianist Mandela Fubler. He is joined by Russell Butler (guitar), Ryan Swan (keyboard/bass), Warren Simmons (percussion), and Aaron Edness (keyboard). Machel Charles will be the guest violinist.

Visiting pianist Marcus Johnson has been described as "a difficult bird to cage'' by an industry which thrives on pigeon-holing, because his sartorial elegance and demeanour apparently do not suggest "musician''.

His music, however, is another story. Renowned for the smoothness of his playing, he has a unique ability to blend varying musical styles from contemporary jazz to hip-hop rhythms.

The self-taught keyboardist, who draws inspiration from such greats as Quincy Jones, George Duke, Gerald Albright and other "musical entrepreneurs,'' grew up listening to a wide variety of musical genres. His mother played classical piano, while his father provided his first memorable concert experience by taking him to hear Earth, Wind and Fire.

His jazz inflections surfaced at age 13, when he owned his first keyboard, and he found himself studying both traditional and contemporary masters, such as Joe Sample and Thelonius Monk.

But being a well-rounded musician was not enough for Johnson. A born entrepreneur, at age ten he had a neighbourhood lawn care "business,'' followed in his teens by an auto detailing company. Then, to facilitate his dream of becoming a recording artist, he established his own firm, Marimelj Entertainment Group Inc., and eventually released two independent CDs which topped the best-seller charts at Tower Records stores in the Washington, DC area.

Johnson holds Law and Masters in Business Administration degrees from Georgetown University. His latest release, Comin' Back Around, was written by him and produced on his own label which, he says, represents "all three Marcus Johnson's -- the musician, the attorney and the businessman''.

Saxophonist Boney James' style falls on the R&B and pop side of jazz, and as a solo artist he is a consistent best-seller, with six award-winning albums to his credit. Seduction, his second album on the Warner Bros. label, earned him both Record and Artist of the Year awards by The Gavin Report, and it was also in Billboard's Top Ten charts for a year. Sweet Thing, released in 1997, garnered a host of awards on its way to becoming gold.

A jazzy weekend in Dockyard James' latest album, Body Language, released last year, has also risen in the charts, and is a favourite in American and international jazz circles.

James was born in Lowell, Massachusetts and first studied clarinet in elementary school before switching to the saxophone.

He has been heavily influenced by such well-known performers as Earth, Wind and Fire, Stevie Wonder, Grover Washington, Jr. and Return to Forever.

Like many of today's gifted musicians, the saxophonist honed his craft playing in garage bands before becoming a sought-after stage and studio session player for such artists as Randy Crawford, Morris Day, the Isley Brothers, and Teena Marie.

With the progression of his career, James has developed his own style, and promises to become a legend in his own time.

Grammy-winning vocalist/pianist Diana Krall burst onto the music scene with her 1993 debut album ..., and has gone on to become one of the best-selling jazz artists of all time. A native of British Columbia in Canada, she has succeeded in bringing jazz into the mainstream, sharing the stage with such artists as Elton John and Rosemary Clooney. Her music has also been featured on numerous TV shows and motion picture sound tracks, including Sex in the City and Melrose Place.

She was the featured vocalist at the 1997 and 1999 Grammy awards, and this summer toured with Tony Bennett, playing to sell-out audiences at the Hollywood Bowl and Radio City Music Hall.

Also this year, Miss Krall's recording, When I Look in your Eyes, achieved Gold status, and she also won the Juno award for Best Vocal Jazz Album. Her long list of awards stretches back to 1996/7 when the New York Times put All For You on its Top Ten Adult Pop Albums list. Among her many accolades, she has been a Grammy nominee or winner four times, and has also been voted Jazz Artist of the Year several times.

Sondra Choudhury 's sultry contralto is well known to local audiences, both through her many live performances and also her album.

Her musical career began to take off at age 18 when she won a place in the late Don Gibson's Holiday Island Review, which toured the local hotels six nights a week. Stints at the Henry VIII restaurant and the Neptune Lounge of the Southampton Princess Hotel with partner David followed.

While living in the US, Ms Choudhury was a member of the Burlington County Community College Madrigal Choir, and on her return to Bermuda she teamed up with The New Element trio working the local clubs and the Margaret Rose restaurant.

She sang a farewell tribute at the late PLP leader Frederick Wade's funeral, and also at the ordination of Deacons Carl Williams and Nicholas Dill at the Anglican Cathedral.

In 1997 Miss Choudhury's one woman show at City Hall enthralled her audience, and a year later she was a star performer in the Broadway in Bermuda show, also at City Hall, which combined local and overseas talent.

Most recently, she opened for Danilo Perez at Charlie Bascome's annual jazz show, and sizzled in her acting debut as Katisha in the Hot Mikado at City Hall during Heritage Month.

In addition to singing regularly at Christ Church, Devonshire, she continues to perform at various concerts Islandwide, and will soon be heard on Vic Glazer's upcoming CD.

Guitarist, vocalist and recording artist Norman Brown is a talented performer who is equally at home exploring jazz, pop, funk, Afro-Caribbean, R&B and Latin music. His stylings have won him many friends and countless awards, and he is regularly included in jazz charts.

His second album, After the Storm, was named Jazz Album of the Year by The Gavin Report and Soul Train, and remained in the charts for two years. His third album, Better Days Ahead, won him the 1997 American Jazz Award for contemporary music.

Mr. Brown is as much known for his powerful live performances as he is for his chart-topping releases, and his impact on audiences and critics alike reflects a passion for the guitar which stretches back to age eight.

Influenced by the music of Jimi Hendrix and Wes Montgomery, among other guitar greats, Mr. Brown began his formal studies at the Musician's Institute in Hollywood in the 1980s, following which he became an staff instructor there.

At the same time, he recorded three highly successful, critically acclaimed solo albums. Today he is signed with Warner Bros. Records Jazz, and released his latest album, Celebration, in August.

Internationally acclaimed vocalist and recording artist Roberta Flack is described as "a peerless musical storyteller, skilled musician and accomplished performer'' whose true genius lies in her ability to get right inside a song and reach her listeners.

Born in North Carolina, the daughter of a church organist began playing piano at age five when her father brought home a junkyard piano and painted it lime green. An accomplished pianist, at age 19 she received a music scholarship and completed her degree at Howard University. After briefly teaching English and Music in North Carolina, jazz musician Les McCann discovered her singing in a nightclub and soon signed her to Atlantic Records, where she has remained ever since.

Miss Flack's debut album, First Take, released in 1969 and including the classic The First Time Ever I Saw your Face, achieved Gold status, as did the two which followed. Since then she has released a further five albums, which included the immortal classics Killing Me Softly and Feel Like Makin' Love.

She has also recorded albums with jazz and R&B greats Quincy Jones, Ashford & Simpson, Brenda Russell, and Maxi Priest.

Throughout her career she has influenced a raft of contemporary artists including hit-makers as Anita Baker, Luther Vandross, and Oleta Adams.

Critics and fans alike agree that Miss Flack is "one of a kind''.

Spyro Gyra became one of the most famous ensembles in the instrumental world through their brilliant blending of soul, jazz, pop and world beat. In over two decades of existence, they have released 22 albums, the first being independently funded and recorded in 1976.

Subsequently signed to the Infinity label, their first album, Morning Dance, released in 1979 went platinum, and established the band as one of the most popular groups of artists in contemporary jazz.

Since then the group has consistently produced best-selling albums and sold-out tours.

Spyro Gyra's odd name goes back to the early '70s in Buffalo, New York when saxophonist Jay Beckstein anchored a rotating group of musicians who scratched out a living on the local club scene. When a club owner wanted to advertise the increasingly-popular ensemble, Beckstein jokingly suggested the name "spirogira'' -- a term he remembered from a college biology course. A misspelling of this scientific term became the banner under which the highly successful quintet continues to flourish.

In addition to Beckstein, Spyro Gyra's other musicians are Tom Schuman (keyboards), Julio Fernandez (guitars), Scott Ambush (bass) and Joel Rosenblatt (drums).

Marcus Johnson: Renowned for the smoothness of his playing, he has a unique ability to blend varying musical styles from contemporary jazz to hip-hop rhythms.

ENTERTAINMENT ENTERTAINERS ENT Musical legend: Renowned vocalist, musician and recording artist Roberta Flack is certain to have her listeners begging for more when she appears at the Bermuda Jazz Festival on Saturday night.

Jazz Sensation: Grammy-winning vocalist/pianist Diana Krall is set to wow local audiences at tomorrow night's Bermuda Jazz Festival at Dockyard.

Canadian-born Krall's outstanding talent has won her a host of awards, and made her almost a permanent fixture in the charts.