The iconic Playboy Jazz Festival, a decades-old tradition started in 1959 by magazine impresario Hugh M. Hefner, once again gathers masters of jazz, blues and world sounds for a musical weekend without equal at the historic Hollywood Bowl. This year's longtime MC and comic legend Bill Cosby returns to preside over a slate of jazz giants and other musical virtuosos. Saturday will feature the Stanley Clarke/George Duke Project, a collaborative effort between a brilliant bass player and a piano and production genius, respectively. Contemporary saxophonist and respected bandleader Branford Marsalis and his Quartet, melodic British crooner Jamie Cullum and Senegalese music legend Baaba Maal complete the first day's multifarious lineup. Things don't let up on Sunday: the fiery rhythms of Eddie Palmieri's Afro-Caribbean Jazz All-Stars, Ozomatli's fusion of hip-hop and Latin grooves and a star-studded tribute to the music of Grover Washington Jr. A special set with Elvis Costello and the Impostors and pianist Allen Toussaint, part of their River in Reverse tour, will feature reworked Toussaint classics and songs first performed by the group in November for a Hurricane Katrina benefit. Also featured will be a performance by pianist McCoy Tyner -- a member of John Coltrane's famous quartet and a masterful player in his own right -- his trio and the storied Lula Washington Dance Theatre.

Click here for the complete lineup of artists appearing at the 2006 Playboy Jazz Festival.