Outdoor jazz festivals are popular all over the world. Wherever you may be, if the weather is suitable, it won’t take a lot of searching to come across one. Among the best known, of course, are those in Newport, the United States; Pori, Finland; and Nice, France.

Moscow’s summertime jazz festivals take place in the famous Hermitage Garden near the city center. The garden has a long-established tradition of such events. It was there that the legendary orchestras of Leonid Utesov and Alexander Tsfasman performed in the middle of the 20th century.

For three nights, Aug. 17-19, beginning each day at 7 p.m., the Hermitage Garden will be hosting its fourth Moscow International Festival, Jazz in the Hermitage Garden. The festival was founded by the garden’s administration, together with Yury Saulsky’s Moscow Jazz Production Company and the Moscow Cultural Committee.

American saxophonist Ron Blake will perform Aug. 17 with the ensemble of Moscow pianist Lev Kushnir. Latin jazz, which is popular across the world, will be represented by a Brazilian-Norwegian quintet led by virtuoso percussionist Celio de Carvalho. They will perform Aug. 18-19. Russian bass guitarist Alex Rostotsky has invited American pianist and composer Mark Massey to play and they will perform together Aug. 17. Luminary Czech jazz guitarist Rudolf Dasek will perform with his renowned Russian counterpart Alexei Kuznetsov Aug. 19. Scandinavia’s top jazz vocalist Magni Wentzel, who has been a frequent visitor to Moscow’s jazz festivals, will be back.

The Russian jazz program will involve several generations of musicians, from such old-timers as Rostotsky, who will present a new program, to young talent like trumpeter Vitaly Golovnyov, who will perform with the famous Igor Butman’s Big Band, and the Marimba Plus band which is particularly famous among regular customers of Chinese Pilot Dhzao Da and Sixteen Tons.