There are 215 good reasons to check out Greater Boston's live jazz scene when Jazz Week '08 kicks off nine days of music-making this weekend. Coordinated and promoted by JazzBoston, and officially proclaimed once again by Mayor Thomas M. Menino, Jazz Week in Boston celebrates the city's rich jazz heritage and pioneering musical spirit by offering something for absolutely everyone, from free jazz and swing to Latin jazz, bop, and smooth jazz. Jam sessions, seminars, family-friendly shows, jazz brunches, photography and art exhibits, one-of-a-kind performances - you'll find them all at more than 80 locations all across the city.

The list of musicians scheduled to appear April 26 to May 4, both Boston-based and visiting from out-of-town, is world class and lengthy. Among them: Dave Liebman, Miguel Zenon, Bernard "Pretty" Purdie, Myanna, Terri Lyne Carrington, Eguie Castrillo, Marilyn Crispell, Jason Palmer, Najee, Dave Bryant, Frank Wilkins, Deborah Henson-Conant, Garrison Fewell, Yoko Miwa, Arni Cheatham, Greg Hopkins, Ray Santisi, Rachel Price, Kurtis Rivers, Al Vega, Grace Kelly, Semenya McCord, Pierre Hurel, and James Merenda. Jazz Week preview events on April 25 will feature Kenny Garrett, Dominique Eade, Jim Hobbs and the Fully Celebrated Orchestra, Ken Hollman, Andre Ward, and Laszlo Gardony.

For information about Jazz Week and the complete Jazz Week events calendar, with new events added daily, visit www.jazzboston.org/jazzweek.

Jazz aficionados, poetry lovers, casual music fans, and those who enjoy the thrill of experiencing something different, take note: JazzBoston's upcoming benefit show at Berklee Performance Center is your ticket to a very cool night. Former U.S. poet laureate Robert Pinsky (photo left, top), in only his second jazz performance ever, shares the stage with internationally-renowned percussionist Rakalam Bob Moses (photo left, bottom) and young reedman Andrew Urbina on Saturday, May 3, at 8 p.m. for JazzBoston's second annual Jazz Week benefit concert, "A Kaleidoscopic View of Jazz in Boston."

Also appearing in the multi-act show: George Garzone and Friends; the Coltrane EOP Quartet with Leonard Brown, Tim Ingles, Alvin Terry, and Emmett Price; the Marianne Solivan Quartet with Eric Hofbauer, Dmitry Ishenko, and Mike Connors; and the Berklee City Music All-Stars Quintet. MC for the festivities will be Eric Jackson, host of WGBH Radio's "Jazz with Eric in the Evening."

Proceeds from the stylistically wide-ranging event will go to three outstanding jazz outreach programs in the Boston Public Schools - the John Coltrane Memorial Concert Educational Outreach Program, the New England Conservatory Community Performances and Partnerships Program, and the Berklee College of Music City Music Program, which will be represented onstage. Please come and bring your friends. The lineup is unique, the price is right, and the music truly "the sound of surprise." General admission tickets are $15; students, seniors, and JazzBoston members, $10; under 16, $5.

Jazz Week has grown in 2008, further extending its reach into communities citywide and beyond. Participating for the first time are the Plough & Stars, Vernissage Restaurant, Sally O'Brien's Bar & Grill, Roxbury Community College, Starbucks, Boston University, Boston College, Phoenix Landing, ARTSomerville, Biff's Lounge, the Cambridge Family YMCA, the Sherborn Inn, Outpost 186, the Middle East, Redline Restaurant, and the Mission Bar & Grill.

The Main Library in Copley Square will be one of the hippest spots in town for the second year in a row as JazzBoston presents "Jazz Week @ the Boston Public Library," a series of free weekday and evening seminars covering a range of topics for audiences of all ages and interests.

This year's topics include:

- From the Savoy to Storyville: Boston in the '40s and '50s with local jazz historian Dick Vacca (Monday, 4/28, 6 p.m., Mezzanine Conference Room).

- The Worlds of Duke Ellington held on Duke Ellington's birthday, with Aardvark Jazz Orchestra director Mark Harvey (Tuesday, 4/29, 6 p.m., Mezzanine Conference Room).

- From Jazz to Hip-Hop and Beyond: Why Jazz Matters in the 21st Century with musician and educator Emmett G. Price III (photo left, above) (Wednesday, 4/30, noon, Rabb Lecture Hall).

- Reflections on Boston's Jazz History with local legends Mae Arnett, Hy Lockhart, and Al Vega; coordinated by Leonard Brown (Thursday, 5/1, 6 p.m., Mezzanine Conference Room).

- The Future of Recording for Jazz and Improvised Music with Russ Gershon of Accurate Records, Eric Hofbauer of Creative Nation, and Andrew Shrock of the all-digital ReRelease label (Friday, 5/2, noon, Mezzanine Conference Room).

You can hear some of Boston's most talented young musicians, including the Outlaw Collective (in photo), during "Jazz Week @ Borders," a series of free weekday jazz concerts at the bookstore's Copley Square location, 511 Boylston St., from April 28 to May 2. The series is presented by JazzBoston in partnership with Borders and Berklee College of Music's Professional Performance Division and takes place Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday at 6 p.m., Tuesday at 1 p.m.

A special "Jazz Week @ Borders" event will be held on Saturday, May 3, at 2 p.m. in the Copley Square bookstore when renowned jazz writer Bob Blumenthal appears for a book-signing to mark the publication of "Jazz: An Introduction to the History and Legends Behind America's Music."

JazzBoston members will have many opportunities to take advantage of their membership cards during Jazz Week, starting with discounted tickets ($10) to JazzBoston's second annual Jazz Week benefit concert, "A Kaleidoscopic View of Jazz in Boston," at Berklee Performance Center on May 3. Call the box office at 617/931-2000 or go to www.ticketmaster.com.

JazzBoston members also receive discounts at the Regattabar, Scullers, the Real Deal Jazz Club and Cafe, The Beehive, Ryles, The Redline Restaurant, the Vernissage Restaurant's "Jazz Thursdays at Vernissage," and the Isabella Stewart Garner Museum's Thursday evening jazz series, "Jazz at the Gardner." For discounts at all these venues, just show your JazzBoston card at the door, or when calling for reservations, give your name and member number.

Please note that JazzBoston members should check the expiration date on their membership cards and sign up to renew. For our earliest members, the expiration date was April 21, 2008, but to avoid any inconvenience during Jazz Week, we've extended that date to May 5. Click here to renew now.

JazzBoston, founded in early 2006, provides coordination and overall promotion for Jazz Week events, which are produced independently by participating musicians, presenters, clubs, educational institutions, and other organizations. The goal of this collaborative effort is to build audiences for jazz by spreading the word about Boston's vibrant jazz scene and shining a spotlight on the city's many talented resident musicians.

For more information, go to www.jazzboston.org.

Please tell us what you think of this e-newsletter and what kinds of information you'd like to see included in future issues. Email us at newsletter@jazzboston.org. If you'd like to know more about JazzBoston and consider becoming a member, go to www.jazzboston.org. And pass this e-newsletter along to all the jazz fans and music lovers you know!