The sounds of jazz and soul bounced off the buildings of downtown Detroit Friday night as the Detroit Jazz Festival kicked off its 31st year with concerts by Mulgrew Miller, Take 6 and Tower of Power.

The festival's theme this year is “Flame Keepers: Carrying the Torch for Modern Jazz,” and tributes are on tap for six modern jazz legends: Art Blakey, Ray Brown, Miles Davis, Horace Silver, Betty Carter and Gil Evans.

Friday's opening night kick-off featured a trio performance from pianist Mulgrew Miller, with bassist Ivan Taylor and drummer Rodney Green. Mulgrew Miller is the 2010 Detroit Jazz Festival Artist in Residence, and will be appearing with a variety of groups throughout the weekend.

Grammy Award-winning gospel jazz vocal group Take 6 joined Mulgrew Miller for three Miles Davis tunes before Miller and his trio exited the stage and left the a cappella group to wow the crowd with favorites like "Spread Love" and "Mary Don't You Weep." By the time the soul-funk band Tower of Power took to the Chase Mainstage at 9:15, they had to compete with the sounds coming from the Jay-Z and Eminem concert down the street at Comerica Park, but the band was well up to the challenge. Led by vocalist Larry Braggs, and featuring the legendary Tower of Power horn section, the band had the crowd dancing and singing along.

Today's Jazz Festival highlights include Danilo Perez, Terence Blanchard, The Yellowjackets, Mulgrew Miller and Wingspan, The Hot Club of Detroit, a tribute to Pepper Adams featuring legendary Detroit pianist Barry Harris, the Fabulous Thunderbirds and a tribute to Donny Hathaway featuring Kirk Whalum and Lalah Hathaway. You can find the complete schedule on the Detroit Jazz Festival website.

Jessica Webster writes about food and books for AnnArbor.com and hosts a jazz show on WEMU-FM. She will be at the Detroit Jazz Festival all weekend. You can follow her jazz festival updates on the WEMU Facebook page. You can reach her at JessicaWebster@AnnArbor.com.