The lineup of the Montreux Festival on Tour show raises a question or two: What explains the presence of Roberta Flack, a soul and R&B balladeer, on a concert trek billed as a spinoff of the long-running Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland?

And aren't the other headliners -- singer Al Jarreau, saxophonist David Sanborn and keyboardists Joe Sample and George Duke -- better known for their success in crossing the border that separates bebop from pop than for upholding the jazz tradition?

The answer lies in the evolution of the 34-year-old European fest, which initially featured jazz legends such as Ella Fitzgerald, Kenny Burrell and Stan Getz. The event expanded to include the likes of Chuck Berry, Bo Diddley, Clarence "Gatemouth" Brown and B.B. King in the '70s, James Brown and Eric Clapton in the '80s, and Bob Dylan, Van Morrison, Tracy Chapman and Johnny Cash in the '90s. The Rolling Stones and Sting also notched Montreux appearances over the years.

Eclecticism is the theme of the tour, a reflection of the festival's modern-day spirit, according to Duke, a veteran producer (Anita Baker, Gladys Knight, Miles Davis) and the show's music director.

"What makes this tour so special and what makes it work is the fact that we all play together," Duke said recently by telephone. "My whole idea was to have this be a variety show, where the audience would not have the slightest idea of what would happen next. And I wanted to put interesting combinations together, not just make it an all-hit review. I wanted to include some special material that has not been performed by anybody.

"We have a few things that were especially arranged for this tour, a few combinations of people that get together and do songs, and a couple of standards we do in a very special way. Al is doing things from his new album (Tomorrow Today), and I'm doing some things from mine (the forthcoming Cool)."

Duke, like several of his colleagues on the tour, cut his teeth on mainstream jazz -- in his case, with trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie, vibraphonist Bobby Hutcherson and saxophonist Cannonball Adderley -- before switching over to music more heavily influenced by funk, R&B and pop.

The show, likewise, encompasses a wide variety of the music that has come to be labeled as jazz.

"We cover the diversity of jazz so well that I think it makes it interesting for people," Duke says. "Joe Sample comes out and he plays some stride piano and talks about the origins of jazz. David comes in with something more of a straight-ahead nature, and then we go into everything from Latin jazz to funk jazz. And Al does his pop jazz. We give the audience 360 degrees of musical satisfaction."

The collective appeal of the individual artists, of course, is likely to be more of an attraction for listeners than the name attached to the tour.

Flack scored pop-radio success beginning nearly three decades ago, with the hits The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face, Killing Me Softly With His Song and Where is the Love. Jarreau impressed jazzbos with his version of Spain in the '70s and scored Top 10 pop success with We're in This Love Together and Breakin' Away in the early '80s.

Sanborn, a veteran session player and member of the original Saturday Night Live band, helped define the contemporary jazz genre in the '80s and '90s. Sample gained fame as founder and chief songwriter for jazz-funk pioneers the Crusaders. Duke collaborated on a series of very successful smooth-jazz albums with bassist Stanley Clarke and has developed numerous film and television scores.

The five artists, in addition to sharing common ground as past Montreux Jazz Festival performers, share a commitment to live performance, Duke says.

"It's all about our love for music. It's all live music. This is not anything that's staged like a rock show. It is definitely a performing arts show."

At a glance

Montreux Festival on Tour with Al Jarreau, Roberta Flack, David Sanborn, Joe Sample and George Duke, 7:30 p.m. Monday at Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center. Tickets are $45-$65.

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