While some of the best jazz musicians in the world call San Diego County home, there have been relatively few places for them, and the young up-and-comers who would join them, to play regularly in the region. Dizzy's in downtown San Diego's East Village has been going for a while, but its schedule is inconsistent. Local flutist Holly Hofmann tried booking top-drawer jazz talent into a half-dozen or more venues around town, but rarely found enough of an audience to make it financially viable. And for years, Jeannie and Jimmy Cheatham hosted a weekly jam session, first at the airport Sheraton and then at the Bahia on Mission Bay, but gave that up almost two decades ago.

The old Elario's, atop Hotel La Jolla (formerly the Summerhouse Inn), may have been the area's greatest success story as a jazz club, regularly bringing in world-class musicians such as Joe Pass, Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson and Harry "Sweets" Edison for weeklong gigs, alternating them with locals such as Peter Sprague and Charles McPherson. But it's been a decade and a half since Elario's was an ongoing concern.

That has left local jazz fans with the Indian casinos and wineries, where the jazz is on the smoother side, and Humphrey's summer season for hearing national touring acts, but almost nothing for local giants such as Jeannie Cheatham, McPherson, Mundell Lowe or Hofmann and her pianist husband, Mike Wofford.

All that changed when Anthology opened in early June in the Little Italy area just north of downtown San Diego, in the hills above the airport.

With its ultra-modern design, top-of-the-line dinner menu (designed by star chef Bradley Ogden) and A-list booking policy, Howard Berkson's new club has very quickly made a very big splash in the area.

Cheatham, who stopped by the club recently to catch Jane Monheit, said, "It's an interesting experiment and I think it should go a long way as long as they keep the talent in there."

To date, that talent has included Chick Corea, Arturo Sandoval, Ramsey Lewis, Bill Charlap and Monheit. Shows this month include Larry Coryell, Kenny Rankin, Mose Allison and Cuban sensation Chuchito Valdes (grandson of the legendary Bebo, and son of Irakere founder Chucho).

Michael Pritchard, the director of music operations at Anthology, said the intention was to start off with a bang.

"What we're starting out with is a strong emphasis on mainstream jazz. We want to bring in as many of the legends of that genre as possible. We think that the music is an American icon. It's truly American music and we want it to survive and flourish in this area."

Mark DeBoskey, the general manager at jazz radio station KSDS-FM 88.3, said the arrival of Anthology is welcome news.

"I think it brings a tremendous sophistication and ambience to what we think is the finest art form of music," he said recently from his office at San Diego City College, which owns and operates the public radio station.

"It helps add to San Diego's reputation as a world-class city. We've got great restaurants and great theater, but we've not had a great supper club. This is a world-class place.

"We're excited about them being here."

For his part, Pritchard -- who comes to Anthology from Humphrey's, where he booked the Backstage Lounge -- said that having an all-jazz radio station in town is crucial to Anthology's business plan. "There has to be a vehicle by which people are able to go to to hear the musicians. KSDS is essential to our success. The majority of artists we plan to bring in, KSDS will have them on their playlist."

Cheatham said that as good as Elario's was as a host for top-flight jazz, it can't even be compared to what she saw at Anthology.

"It's a big place," she said, pointing out that Elario's was fairly small. "There's no way to describe it to anything around here.

"There's nothing I've seen in San Diego that's like it: It's more modernist -- it's not just a big room with a stage."

Moving forward, Pritchard said that as Anthology becomes known to area jazz fans, he'll start adding more local musicians as well as what he called emerging musicians to the mix.

"The first two months we needed to establish our reputation. The first two months, 90 percent of the shows are going to be national acts. As we go along, about 70 percent will be headlining, national acts."

One outlet for local musicians is the Anthology House Band, which isn't, as its name implies, one set group of musicians, but rather a changing collection of some of the best players in town, Pritchard said.

Already, Pritchard has begun booking blues, with Michael Burks and Ronnie Baker Brooks (son of blues legend Lonnie Brooks and a star in his own right) on tap later this month. Del Mar's Sprague, too, will have played a show by the time this runs, and Ira B. Liss' local big band is set for the 20th.

Cheatham said she hopes the club continues to book the mainstream acts, because she feels the hip, modern atmosphere of the club will attract younger listeners no matter who's playing -- creating what she called a perfect opportunity for Anthology to help cultivate a new generation of jazz fans.

"It's a nice place for old wine in new bottles."