Jazz greats and cabaret stars from around the globe will now have a home in Las Vegas when Cabaret Jazz at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts opens in March 2012. Inside the Boman Pavilion, the new venue will feature a regular schedule of the top performers in an intimate club setting designed for live music.

Jazz artists already scheduled to perform include the San Francisco Jazz Collective and Branford Marsalis, cabaret stars include Barbara Cook, Andrea Marcovicci and Las Vegas' own Clint Holmes, who will begin a monthly residency.

"The Smith Center's Cabaret Jazz was designed for music and will allow us to bring the greatest jazz and cabaret performers in the world to Las Vegas," said Myron Martin, president and CEO of The Smith Center. "Think of it as Dizzy's meets Feinstein's."

With a warm and engaging design, the focus is on the artists and their music inside the two-level, 258-seat venue. Overlooking Symphony Park, it provides a music experience unlike any other.

Holmes will be featured the first weekend of every month. The Las Vegas headliner recently played the esteemed Feinstein's in New York City, where his performance garnered high acclaim. The New York Times raved "his high-energy singing is a friendly frontal assault whose sheer enthusiasm softens your resistance."  Holmes is slated to appear at the legendary Carlyle Café in Manhattan later this year in a tribute to jazz great Bobby Short.  In addition to his performance commitments at The Smith Center, Holmes will also play a key role in The Smith Center's community and education outreach programs.

"The idea of creating new shows every month in an intimate club setting couldn't be a better fit for what I want to do as an artist," said Holmes. "This allows me to perform in New York and elsewhere, while keeping a consistent schedule in my hometown."

For ticket sale dates and details, visit www.TheSmithCenter.com.

Photo: Clint Holmes