ROCHESTER, N.Y. (AP) - Smokey Robinson, Michael McDonald and Dave Brubeck will join 800 other musicians and singers performing at this year's Rochester International Jazz Festival.

The eighth-annual, nine-day festival kicks off June 12 with a concert by Robinson, whose hits with the Miracles include "Tears of a Clown," ''You Really Got a Hold on Me" and "I Second That Emotion," organizers said Tuesday. The festival, which drew 125,000 people last year, will comprise more than 250 shows ranging from formal concerts to free street gigs and featuring familiar virtuosos and rising stars from 17 countries.

Among the headliners are Taj Mahal with the Susan Tedeschi Band, Jake Shimabukuro with Carolyn Wonderland and S.M.V.-The Thunder Show starring Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and Victor Wooten. The Dave Brubeck Quartet, making its third appearance here, takes the stage on June 17, followed the next night by McDonald, who earned a Grammy in 1980 for the Doobie Brothers hit "What a Fool Believes."

Producer John Nugent, a jazz saxophonist who toured with the Woody Herman Orchestra in the late 1980s, said Rochester has climbed in prominence in jazz-festival circles, rated by some reviewers alongside those in New Orleans, Monterey, Calif., Newport, R.I., and San Francisco.

"I'm honored by those comparisons," Nugent said. "We're all about the music. We're all about a good time, checking out something new, meeting friends. It's just a festive atmosphere."

By BEN DOBBIN Associated Press Writer

-Click to View Gallery

© 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.