On Saturday and Sunday evenings, BoAs, 20030 Stevens Creek Blvd., presents live jazz concerts in its intimate bar, known as Club Elite. Patrons can eat in the bar during performances or drop in after dinner in the main dining room. But it's becoming increasingly common for visitors to Club Elite to be there just for the music.

On a recent Saturday night, nearly every seat in the house was filled with diners or music fans there to catch an evening of Brazilian jazz by the Jennifer Lee Quartet. Some patrons lounged at tables or the bar, sipping cocktails or sodas, while others tucked into plates of the BoAs' Korean fare. Polite conversation and clinking glasses at the bar provided the usual background noise of an upscale music club, but nothing that overrode the performance.

The restaurant began offering live jazz music in May 2004, back when it was still Hamasushi, a sushi restaurant that was a Cupertino fixture. The owner of Hamasushi retired last year, and under new management the restaurant reopened as the Korean restaurant BoAs in December 2004.

The restaurant had initially offered karaoke on weekend nights, but it turned out that weeknights did better business for karaoke. Live jazz on weekends began as a kind of experiment, with shows only on Saturday nights.

"They decided Saturdays were slow anyway, and they wanted to give jazz a try," says Matt Beasley, who books BoAs' jazz shows. "Jazz has a lot of intangibles that come with it. It's easier to serve dinners, obviously, with a jazz crowd. There were some advantages, and they gave it a shot."

The Saturday performances drew enough of an audience that Sunday evening shows were added this May.

Beasley began booking for BoAs in July 2004. He recalls when he first received a call from the restaurant to book its jazz shows, he was unsure of how the combination of a karaoke bar and live jazz venue would work.

"When I went down there and I saw the room and the lighting and the stage and the acoustics of the room, I thought, 'This could really work here,' and so it went from there," he says.

Club Elite caters to karaoke patrons Monday through Friday, and although most of the stage's occupants are singing just for the fun of it, the performance space seems professional. The stage is positioned in a corner, but is spacious enough to accommodate a quartet. The lighting puts the spotlight on the performers. Beasley also notes that musicians have been pleased with the room's acoustics.

The club seats about 45 people. But when the audience gets larger, a second room can be opened at the back of the bar area.

"When we do the jazz, it's about jazz. It's not like you go in there and think, 'Hey, this is a karaoke place.' Even though it seems like a bit of an odd combination, it's actually beneficial because it allows us to grow in some sort of way where we're not right on the spot having to bring in tons of people," Beasley says of Club Elite's schedule of karaoke and jazz.

He points out that such diversity in booking can actually give the club more stability because it's not relying on one type of musical event to draw an audience seven nights a week.

For the weekend jazz shows, Beasley tries to book a variety of acts--striking a balance among jazz genres and listening to feedback from audiences.

"It's a very sort of intuitive thing," he says. "It's not like I have a list every time I book someone. It's just in my gut, trying to keep balance between instrumental, vocal, straight-ahead jazz, jazz standards, maybe some original stuff, and just trying to keep balance while at the same time, trying to determine how well they're going to draw."

Club Elite features many top Bay Area acts, such as the jazz and blues duo Primary Colors, drummer Wally Schnalle and his group, and organist Steve Czarnecki. Well-known regional jazz performers, such as saxophonist Dave Ellis, guitarist Joyce Cooling and guitarist Bruce Forman have also performed at Club Elite.

Musicians who are not yet known have also been making occasional appearances at the club. About once or twice every month on Sunday evenings, shows will feature student musicians. Performers who teach will invite their top students to play with them during their second set. The young students receive the valuable experience of performing with a professional band in front of an audience, while listeners take away performances by new jazz talents. The shows also bring new audiences, including the students and their families.

"The kids are so good, and they're so composed. It's just amazing to me--the talent, and it was just a very nice vibe," Beasley says of one recent performance. "The kids were thrilled to be playing in front of an audience, and it was really something that made me feel good."

When saxophonist Kristin Strom and her band performs on Aug. 28, some of Strom's most promising students will take the stage in the Emerging Saxophonist Showcase, during the latter half of the evening.

The youth showcases seem to be one more way Club Elite has its eye on the future. The club is focusing on creating a name for itself as a jazz venue, and that includes building a regular audience.

"You get these local bands, and people come in because they know they're good," Beasley says. "But it's reaching the point where people just come in because they know there's good music."

Upcoming shows at Club Elite include Steve Czarnecki's Soul/Jazz with Nate Pruitt on Aug. 27, 8:30 p.m., $10 cover/$5 with dinner. The Kristen Strom Quartet and Emerging Saxophonist Showcase on Aug. 28, 6 p.m., $8 cover/$5 with dinner.

For more information, call 408.446.4262 or visit www.boasrestau rant.com.