A “who’s who” of performers in contemporary jazz will swing through Portsmouth this week: vocalist Kurt Elling, pianist Kenny Barron, violinist Regina Carter and guitarist Russell Malone, all ably backed by bassist Kiyoshi Kitagawa and drummer Johnathan Blake, both members of Barron’s working trio, will take the stage as the Monterey Jazz Festival All-Stars at The Music Hall on Wednesday, Feb. 10.

“This is really going to be an enjoyable, fun tour,” Regina Carter said in a recent interview from her hometown of Detroit, where she was preparing for a performance with the Detroit Symphony. “We all played together on the Monterey Jazz Festival last September and the experience was so positive and upbeat. And the crowd response was fantastic, so the folks at the festival called us and asked us to do this year’s tour.”

All six members of the group are leaders in their own right but have come together to perform in a collective setting that will be sure to generate plenty of enthusiastic moments on the stage. One may think that this kind of group would lead to the occasional clash of egos, but Carter says that isn’t the case.

“We take a more cooperative approach where we’ll all decide on what tunes we’re going to perform on each show. We’re working with a mix of jazz standards as well as originals that we want to feature ourselves, or one of the other members of the ensemble on. The program changes from show to show to keep ourselves and the performance fresh.”

Each member of the group brings a wealth of experience and talent, as well as fans. Of Elling, the New York Times has said he is “…the standout male jazz vocalist of our time…,” while the late poet Robert Creeley wrote, “Kurt Elling takes us into a world of sacred particulars. His words are informed by a powerful poetic spirit.” Elling is not afraid to take risks in interpreting the melody of a tune or in letting loose on a scat chorus, creating improvised solos that are thoughtful and richly melodic.

Elling has recorded prolifically, receiving Grammy nominations for each of his seven recordings including his outstanding 2003 Blue Note release “Man in the Air.” In addition to leading his own long-standing quartet, Elling has appeared with a wide range of artists including Benny Golson, Dave Brubeck, Charlie Hunter, Joe Lovano and Marian McPartland. In 2002, Elling organized an all-star vocal group called “Four Brothers” which also featured vocalists Mark Murphy, Kevin Mahoganey and the legendary Jon Hendricks.

Regina Carter has enjoyed a prolific career that has spanned multiple genres from jazz to classical to R&B and beyond. Time Magazine says she “creates music that is wonderfully listenable, probingly intelligent and, at times, breathtakingly daring…taking the listener into the future of jazz.” Early in her career, Carter received widespread acclaim for her performances on Wynton Marsalis’s Pulitzer Prize winning work “Blood on the Fields” and Cassandra Wilson’s Miles Davis tribute “Travellin’ Miles.”

Carter also has appeared on numerous recordings as a side person ranging from Marsalis to Aretha Franklin to contemporary artists such as Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill. Carter also had the distinction to be the first African-American artist to play Paganini’s famed Guarneri “Cannon” violin in Genoa, Italy, where the instrument is kept under lock and key. She subsequently went back to Genoa to use the instrument for her recording “Paganini: After a Dream.” She’s also made several other recordings as a leader including “Freefall,” a collaboration with Kenny Barron which was nominated for a Grammy in 2001. Her most recent album is “Reverse Thread” which was released earlier this month. It focuses on her arrangements of folk music from Africa and features Carter’s violin sharing the front line with a Kora player. Carter describes the blend of the two instruments as being “soft, warm with a nice acoustic sound.”

To say that Kenny Barron is a pianists pianist is really an understatement. Of his approach, Regina Carter says, “think of an expensive car that has the smoothest ride imaginable. That’s what playing with Kenny is like. He always has your back in any situation and is an incredible person and musician.”

A native of Philadelphia, Barron’s extensive career as a leader and a sideman has placed him with a wide range of musicians including Stefon Harris, Charlie Rouse, Charlie Haden and Stan Getz, whom Barron regularly performed with until the saxophonist’s death in 1991. In the early 1980s, Barron joined with saxophonist Rouse, bassist Buster Williams and drummer Ben Riley to form Sphere, a group that celebrated the music of Thelonious Monk with their own unique take on Monk’s tunes, augmented by their own originals. In recent years, Barron has divided his time between gigs and teaching, and his sense of adventure led him to study and fully embrace Brazilian music, culminating on his 2003 CD “Canta Brasil.” Barron’s recent recordings have been for the Sunnyside label including the latest “The Traveler” and two stellar trio recordings, 202’s “Live at Bradley’s” and the 2005 follow-up “The Perfect Set: Live at Bradley’s Part Two” with bassist Ray Drummond and drummer Ben Riley.

In an era where many jazz guitarists sound alike, Russell Malone stands out for his commitment to a more lyrical, straight-ahead approach to jazz.  Regina Carter describes it as “sensitive,” in that he really listens to what goes on around him. Initially influenced by a diverse array of guitarists including B.B. King, Chet Atkins and Johnny Cash, Malone focused his attention after hearing George Benson perform on a television show. A part of the generation of jazz musicians who emerged in the late 1980s and early 1990s, Malone was a long-time member of pianist/vocalist Diana Krall’s quartet. He’s also appeared with a wide range of artists including Kenny Barron, Brother Jack McDuff, Freddie Cole and Mulgrew Miller. Malone was also one of the featured performers in the Robert Altman movie “Kansas City.” A Maxx Jazz recording artist, Malone has fronted his own quartet for several years. His quartet recently appeared in the area, opening the 2009-2010 Traditional Jazz Series at UNH back in September.

Like its East Coast counterpart in Newport, R.I., the Monterey Jazz Festival is one of the longest running continuous jazz events in the country. The MJF on Tour program began a few years ago as a mechanism to promote the festival and the Monterey community. These tours can be likened to the old Jazz at the Philharmonic tours that took place back in the late 1940s and early 1950s when the late Norman Granz would gather some of the best jazz talent of the time to play in concert halls across the country and around the world.

The Monterey Jazz Fest tour  begins in February, takes a break in March, then concludes mid-April through May. Carter looks forward to the event not only for the musical aspect, but also for the social camaraderie.

“It’ll be a blast to be out together, touring around and getting to play for new audiences and to meet new people,” Carter says.