Live jazz music may become a regular event in Miami once again if famed Cuban jazz trumpeter Arturo Sandoval finalizes an agreement to lend his name and curatorial expertise to a new club inside the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

Sandoval, who ran a jazz club in Miami Beach's Deauville Hotel for two years before closing it in March, could not be reached for comment Wednesday. Arsht Center administrators said the proposed deal would have Sandoval serve as the club's namesake and artistic director, earning $3,000 a month.

The proposed club would be located in the Arsht Center's B. and Donald Carlin Banquet Hall, which can seat about 200 and will be retrofitted into a restaurant and cabaret, said Ricky Arriola, chairman of the Performing Arts Center Trust, which manages the county-owned arts center. A smaller cafe is planned for the Sears Art Deco tower.

Jazz performances would likely take place in the late evening, after performances in the center's two main halls: the Sanford and Dolores Ziff Ballet Opera House and the John S. and James L. Knight Concert Hall.

A jazz club, Arriola said, fits the Arsht Center's strategy of increasing programs and performances at the facility and reaching younger audiences.

''We want to have something on site for people to do before and after a show,'' he said. ``We knew we needed a restaurant. We also want to do something cool and fun. So that's jazz.''

If Sandoval and Arsht Center leaders reach an agreement, the jazz club could open ''sometime in the fall,'' Arriola said.

It is unclear whether Sandoval would also perform at the club or how often, though he is scheduled to perform in the 2,200-seat Knight Concert Hall in January as part of the center's ''Jazz Roots'' concert series.

Sandoval often performed at his own club in the Deauville Hotel, where he earned praise for presenting stellar jazz musicians but struggled to draw the consistent attendance needed for commercial success.

At the Arsht Center, Arriola hopes Sandoval can help elevate Miami's appreciation for jazz while giving audiences an entertainment alternative.

''It will allow us to develop a tradition or reputation for jazz in Miami,'' he said, ``and it'll be a cool place for people to come . . . after dinner or after a show. They'll have a place to go that is not Miami Beach.''

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