Six top jazz performers, including Rebecca Kilgore and the Butch Thompson Trio, will appear at the Highline Classic Jazz Festival on Saturday, Feb. 19.

Two shows, a matinee at 2 p.m. and an evening performance at 7 p.m., will feature a mix of early 20th-century jazz styles, from Dixieland and Gypsy to ragtime and swing. The Canote Brothers will emcee both shows at the Highline Performing Arts Center, 401 S. 152nd St. in Burien.

The afternoon program will include vocalist Rebecca Kilgore with pianist Dave Frishberg performing favorites from the Great American Songbook, the Gypsy-style quintet Pearl Django and traditional jazz pianist Ray Skjelbred.

The evening show will present the Butch Thompson Trio, best known for ragtime and a long run on "A Prairie Home Companion" radio show, the Chicago and New Orleans Dixieland septet Holotradband and jump and jive artists Casey MacGill & Blue 4 Trio.

Tickets are $20 per show for adults or $35 for both shows. Admission is free to those 18 and under. For $100, individual sponsors receive two all-day passes, preferred seating and other extras.

Tickets are available at Burien Press, 423 152nd St. S.W. and Allusia, 921 S.W. 152nd St., by calling Burien Arts at 206-244-7808 or at the door. Tickets and more information about the festival and the performers also are available at www.highlineclassicjazz.com.

Burien Arts, a nonprofit group dedicated to providing access to visual and performing arts in the Burien/Highline area organized the third annual festival. Several of this year's acts also performed at the earlier festivals, according to Lance Haslund, festival director who also is a member of Holotradband.

"Even with the economy still in bad shape, we decided to give this another try," he said. "We have great support from the musicians and think this is a wonderful way for people to hear excellent performers for a very reasonable price."

According to Haslund, the festival is a veritable history lesson in jazz as well as a highly entertaining event suitable for all ages. From its birth in New Orleans at the turn of the 20th century through the wildly popular Big Band era, America's unique art form has constantly reinvented itself, lending its exuberant rhythms and tonality to other musical styles as well as borrowing from them.

"There are a lot of fine jazz festivals in the area, but this is the only one that celebrates the first half-century of jazz in ALL its forms, from the beginning through swing," Haslund said.

The festival lineup includes several longtime performers at Seattle's clubs and jazz events, such as Pearl Django and Ray Skjelbred, as well as some from out of town. Rebecca Kilgore lives in Portland and Butch Thompson is based in Minneapolis.