Heads Up: Music and Dance Preview : JAZZ

Jazz, in clubs and concert halls, takes no holiday breather as 1998 gets underway. The season jumps into gear tonight when trumpeter Nicholas Payton moves into Founders Hall at the Orange County Performing Arts Center for a two-night engagement.

The 24-year-old Payton combines his New Orleans heritage with astounding technical skills to create a sound that’s anchored in tradition but looks to the future.

Another emerging star, singer-pianist Diana Krall, brings her trio to Founders Hall on Feb. 20-21. Her 1996 release, “All for You: A Dedication to the Nat King Cole Trio,” topped the jazz charts, and her latest, “Love Scenes,” seems headed for the same heights.

Also destined for Founders Hall, Feb. 26-28, is stellar vocalist Weslia Whitfield, who follows Broadway singer Barbara Cook, Jan. 8-10, in OCPAC’s Cabaret series. On April 3-4, distinguished pianist Kenny Barron joins bassist Charlie Haden to close the center’s Jazz Club series.

The Great American Music Company, with vocalists Stephanie Haynes and Dewey Erney, presents a tribute to Irving Berlin on Jan. 18 at the Robert B. Moore Theatre on the Orange Coast College campus in Costa Mesa.

At the Cerritos Center for the Performing Arts, a “Big Band Salute to the Music That Won World War II,” with the Harry James Orchestra, takes place Jan. 9; vocalist Diane Schuur and trumpeter Maynard Ferguson split the bill April 3-4; Cuban trumpeter Arturo Sandoval and guitarist-composer Dori Caymmi appear May 9, and jazz banjo man Bela Fleck and guitarist Stanley Jordan perform on May 22-23.

As for the clubs, Steamers Cafe in Fullerton also gets right into the music today with the Kim Richmond-Clay Jenkins Ensemble, featuring West Coast sax legend Bill Perkins.

Other highlights at Steamers: French piano sensation Christian Jacob plays Jan. 22; saxophonist and JVC recording artist Ernie Watts makes a return visit with pianist Jon Mayer on Jan. 23; vocalist and Concord recording artist Ali Ryerson is in Jan. 28, and Cuban percussionist Francisco Aguabella, seen at the Greek Theatre earlier this year with Mongo Santamaria, appears Valentine’s Day.

Smooth-jazz fans will want to check out “Guitars, Saxes and More,” with saxophonist Richard Elliot, guitarists Craig Chaquico and Peter White and trumpeter Rick Braun at the Coach House on Saturday. Flutist Tim Weisberg, one of the leaders of the jazz fusion-New Age movement of the ‘70s, makes a rare appearance at the San Juan Capistrano nightclub on Jan. 9.