JazzBoston wants to thank our members and friends for all your support, so on Monday, January 31, from 6 to 8 p.m. we're throwing our Third Annual Members and Friends Appreciation Party - and celebrating our fifth birthday as an organization that same night. We'll also raise a glass to our very special Guest of Honor: Steve Schwartz, jazz radio host on WGBH-FM who for decades has championed the music with passion and style in Greater Boston and beyond.

Ryles Jazz Club, the popular Cambridge venue owned and operated by the Mitchell/Wheeler family and long-time destination for music and food lovers of all generations, will host the event. On tap will be tasty offerings from the talented Ryles culinary team, the best in live jazz, and exciting door prizes. The top prize comes from American Airlines, the Official Airline of JazzBoston and our newest partner - two round-trip tickets for use on flights within or to Canada, the U.S. 48, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Caribbean. (Tickets are valid for 12 months.)

Not sure if you're a JazzBoston member? Do you have a black and white JazzBoston membership card with our logo on the front and a member number, expiration date, and signature line on the back? If not, we hope you'll consider joining. For just $20, you can sign up at the Friend level and take advantage of all JazzBoston's member benefits while helping to support the Greater Boston jazz community. Click here to join now.

Besides being JazzBoston's fifth anniversary, this year is also the fifth anniversary of the revived, 21st century Jazz Week, which continues the tradition of providing a showcase for the music and musicians that make Boston one of the country's great jazz cities.

Fans should circle April 29 to May 8, when the the 10-day celebration, themed "This Is Jazz," will take place in scores of locations throughout the Greater Boston area. Last year featured more than 250 events, many of them free or low cost, at 90+ venues. We expect those numbers to grow in 2011, so musicians, presenters, and venue owners should start planning now to participate. You can find more information here about participating in Jazz Week '11. Click here if you'd like to become a Jazz Week '11 volunteer.

JazzBoston thanks Scullers Jazz Club and Berklee College of Music for signing on early as Sponsors for Jazz Week '11. Both have been strong supporters of Jazz Week from the very beginning, with Scullers a Lead Sponsor every year since 2007, and Berklee a Venue Partner in 2007 and 2008 and a Major Sponsor for the first time in 2010.

We are proud to announce that American Airlines is partnering with JazzBoston as the Official Airline of Jazz Week '11 and will provide a 7% discount to travelers anywhere in the world planning a trip to Boston for Jazz Week. This special discount is valid off any applicable published fares listed for American Airlines, American Eagle, and American Connection. Watch the JazzBoston website and our Facebook page for details about the valid travel dates and promotion code, or write to jazzweek@jazzboston.org for more information.

JazzBoston's partnership with American Airlines covers our entire fifth anniversary year. As the Official Airline of JazzBoston for 2011, American Airlines will offer benefits to JazzBoston members throughout the year, starting with the top prize at our Members and Friends Appreciation Party at Ryles on Jan. 31- two round-trip tickets for use on flights within or to Canada, the U.S. 48, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the Caribbean.

We hope you will use American Airlines when you can because of the benefits provided to you and to JazzBoston.

The Regattabar is offering JazzBoston members a pair of tickets to hear reedman Charles Lloyd (photo left) and his "New Quartet" with Jason Moran, Reuben Rogers, and Eric Harland for two shows, Jan. 21 and 22, both at 10 p.m. The Regattabar is also offering one pair of tickets to Francisco Melo's Havana Quartet on Jan 28 at 7:30 p.m.; two pairs of tickets to Atlas Soul on Jan. 29 at 7:30 p.m.; and one pair of tickets each to the double bill of the Rusty Scott Organ Group and Joe McMahon Trio on Feb. 9 at 7:30 p.m.; the Lee Konitz and Dan Tepfer Duo on Feb. 10 at 7:30 p.m.; and the Bill Charlap Trio on Feb. 12 at 10 p.m.

Scullers is offering three pairs of free tickets to each of these shows. all at 8 p.m: Gerald Clayton on Jan. 20; Tia Fuller on Feb. 3; and Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project on Feb. 9.

If you're a JazzBoston member, write to newsletter@jazzboston.org now to enter the drawing to win free tickets to any of the events listed above, and please note which shows and dates you're interested in. You must be a JazzBoston member to be eligible to win.

JazzBoston members also receive discounts at Scullers, the Regattabar, Ryles, The Regent Theatre, the Amazing Things Art Center, Chianti Tuscan Restaurant & Jazz Lounge, Darryl's Corner Bar & Kitchen, The Redline, the Jazz Club at the Multicultural Arts Center, World Music/CRASHarts, Bella Luna Restaurant & Milky Way Lounge, the Vernissage Restaurant's "Jazz Thursdays at Vernissage," the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum's Thursday evening jazz series, "Jazz at the Gardner," and Boston Pops jazz concerts at Symphony Hall. 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.

The Arts and Business Council of Greater Boston offers JazzBoston members a 20% discount on a wide range of seminars, workshops, and webinars geared to artists and arts organizations. Coming up on Feb. 11 is "Self Defense for Writers and Filmmakers," an essential how-to for artists and the attorneys who represent them. For information about registering, write to Sheri Mason, Director of Legal Services. and give her your membership number.

Click here to become a JazzBoston member now. Annual memberships begin as low as $20.

Film, live performances, and workshops are among the free events this month. Pianist, composer, and improviser Anthony Coleman presents recent solo piano and chamber music compositions, including two commissioned works, on Jan. 26 at 8 p.m. at New England Conservatory's Jordan Hall. He'll be joined on several pieces by the student ensemble, Survivor's Breakfast. Check the NEC events calendar for details.

Filmmaker Kate Matson and FiLmprov present a free night of live improvised music to animated films, "Reference Points," (image from film above left) on Jan. 27 at 8 p.m. at MIT's Killian Hall, 160 Memorial Drive. Musicians will include Mark Harvey, Phil Scarff, Bill Lowe, Dan Zupan, Peter Bloom, and John Funkhouser.

Jazz pianist Matt Savage holds a trio performance featuring standards and originals on Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. at Berklee's Berk Recital Hall, while pianist John Kordalewski and trombonist and tuba player Bill Lowe host workshops and seminars, "Listening to Jazz," at the Dudley Public Library branch, 65 Warren St., Roxbury, on Jan. 29 and Feb. 12 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

On Jan. 29 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m.at the Honan-Allston Public Library branch, D.R. Finch Music will present a free interactive jazz performance workshop for youth, featuring the Kevin Harris Project.

"Sun Ra in Song" is the title of a free concert hosted by Berklee's Africana Studies on Feb. 1 at 7:30 p.m. at David Friend Recital Hall, while the Revolutionary Snake Ensemble will perform while children paint at the Boston Children's Museum on Feb. 6 from 2 to 4 p.m.