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Samba Soul: Vivendo de Pao has turned its regular gig at the Elbo Room into a hotbed of samba sounds. Pick 'Em Jesse Chuy Varela runs down some of the high points of this year's Jazz Festival Vivendo de Pao: Living on Bread is how the name of this excellent Brazilian fusion band translates into English. Led by singer/songwriter Kevin Welch and highlighted by the superb saxophone and vocal stylings of Richard Howell, the San Francisco-based group fuses the vibrancy of the afro-bloco samba schools with jazz and funk influences. Since Charlie Hunter left the Tuesday-night spot at the Elbo Room, Vivendo has turned it into a samba-crazy affair. The group's two self-produced albums have been well received, and Vivendo de Pao continues to garner higher visibility, performing at the Fillmore Auditorium and most recently at Davies Symphony Hall. Friday at 5:30pm on the Main Stage. Also Thursday at 6pm at Stanford Shopping Center, Palo Alto; free. Papo Vasquez' Pirates and Troubadours: This gifted trombonist is a first-call player with a great artistic résumé from both the jazz and Latin musical fields. With a rich articulate tone, Papo is an exciting improviser and composer who tenured with the late Ray Barretto, Willie Colon, Dizzy Gillespie, Eddie Palmieri, Ruben Blades and others. His stay from 1981 to 1986 with Batacumbele in San Juan, Puerto Rico, alongside band mates like David Sanchez (sax), Giovanni Hidalgo (congas) and Nestor Torres (flute) laid an important foundation for him under the leadership of Angel "Cachete" Maldonado. Saturday at 4pm on the Main Stage. Also Saturday at 9:30pm at Fuel, downtown San Jose; $10-$12. Dee Dee Bridgewater: This sassy songstress is heir apparent to the jazz-diva crown worn by Sarah Vaughn, Ella Fitzgerald, Carmen McRae and a few others. With a great affection for the blues and the great American standards, Bridgewater offers a feast of song. She won a Grammy in 1997 for Dear Ella; her most recent release, Live at Yoshi's (Verve), shows a playful, teasing side that has made her live performances so talked about. Born in Memphis, Tenn., she garnered experience with the Thad Jones/Mel Lewis Big Band in New York City after attending the University of Illinois. She married trumpeter Cecil Bridgewater in the 1970s. In the 1980s, with a lackluster career stateside, she left for Paris, where she found herself an appreciative audience. Her albums for Gitanes signaled an elevated quality to her singing that brought her back to the United States in the 1990s. Sunday at 6:30pm on the Main Stage. José Neto Band: This fusion guitarist is known for an array of sounds and textures that draws from his Brazilian heritage as well as jazz and rock music. Long associated with the band of Flora & Airto, he supplemented their high-energy world with a piercing guitar voice full of the influence of Jimi Hendrix. On his latest album--The Lucky One, recorded live at Ronnie Scott's in London--he plays a nylon-string electric guitar for a sound more akin to Baden Powell or Bola Sete. His improvisational ideas swing and are always clearly articulated with the Neto Band driving with Gary Brown (bass), Celso Alberti (drums), Frank Martin (keys-piano) and Marquinhos Brazil (percussion). Sunday at 12:30pm on the Main Stage. John Santos & Machete: Led by West Coast percussionist-bandleader-scholar John Santos since 1986, the millennium edition of his Machete Ensemble now includes the vibrant energy of Murray Low (piano) and singer Orlando Torriente. With longtime associates Wayne Wallace (trombone), Melecio Magdaluyo (reeds), Alex Murzyn (tenor sax), John Calloway (flute) and a smoking rhythm section of David Belove (bass), Paul Van Wageninen (drums) and legendary Orestes Vilato on timbales, the group has achieved a level of artistic virtuosity fusing jazz and Afro-Caribbean rhythms that has brought them considerable critical acclaim. Their recent Concierto De Tambores II: Puerto Rico found them digging deep into the bomba y plena, the indigenous beats of Puerto Rico. Sunday at 4:30pm on the Fiesta Latina de Jazz Stage. (Santos will also present a free lecture-demonstration--Jazz Latino: America's Music--Saturday, 1-2:30pm.) Marcus Shelby Jazz Orchestra: For the last few years at spots and events around the Bay Area, bassist, composer and arranger Marcus Shelby has been showcasing his 13-piece jazz orchestra with the idea of drawing from the past to refresh the future. Reworking the compositions of Duke Ellington, Charles Mingus and Thelonious Monk with some of the region's vibrant young talents (like alto-sax wiz Howard Wiley), Shelby elevates the quality of performance and skill of our resident jazz scene. Raised in Sacramento, he's been playing string bass for more than 20 years and won a scholarship to attend Cal Arts in L.A., which led him to become a founding member of Black/Note. Saturday at noon on the Main Stage. [ San Jose | Metroactive Central | Archives ]