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JazzBoston's 7th annual Jazz Week is almost here! From April 26 to May 5 jazz will be ringing through clubs, libraries, T stations, and - in keeping with this year's theme, Jazz is in the house - the homes of jazz lovers all over the Greater Boston area.

The festivities get underway with a variety of kickoff weekend events...
On Friday, April 26, student ensembles from New England Conservatory will open the 10-day celebration for the fourth consecutive year with free noontime concerts at Downtown Crossing, South Station, the Boston Public Library Courtyard, and the Harvard Square T station.

Friday night, head over to Scullers Jazz Club for an 8 pm or 10 pm show by Monty Alexander & the Harlem-Kingston Express. Eric Jackson will be hosting the second set for a live WGBH broadcast of Eric in the Evening. Alternatively, you can visit with James Merenda and Tickle Juice at Outpost 186 in Cambridge at 8 pm.

Kresge Auditorium will be home to MIT's 50th Jazz Anniversary Gala Concert with Steve Kuhn on Saturday, April 27, at 7:30 pm. This event, which doubles as the 6th Annual Herb Pomeroy Memorial Concert, is sold out, and the waiting list is full. There's a chance of getting a seat by waiting in line the evening of the concert.

If you're west of Boston Saturday night, you can catch the Chris McDermott Group at the Acton Jazz Cafe at 9 pm or the Benny Sharoni Quartet with George Garzone at the Chianti Jazz Lounge in Beverly at 9:30 pm.

On Sunday, April 28, 3 - 6 pm, join the festivities at Wally's as the jazz community honors Arni Cheatham, named 2013 Boston Jazz Hero by the Jazz Journalists Association. Details in the article below.

Jazz Week will continue with two series of free events presented by JazzBoston:

Jazz Week @ the Boston Public Library...
April 29, 6 - 7:30 pm, Commonwealth Salon, Improvise Your Life
Saxophonist and improvisation guru Tom Hall leads an interactive workshop for musicians and non-musicians alike, guaranteed to raise awareness of the improvisational possibilities of each moment.
May 2, 12:15 pm, Library Courtyard (in a protected alcove), Authors Conversation
Music writer and author Bob Blumenthal talks with musician and author Paul Combs about Combs's recently published book, Dameronia: The Life and Music of Tadd Dameron.
May 4, 1 - 4:30 pm, Rabb Auditorium, High School Jazz Band Showcase
Reports of jazz being moribund are belied by the enthusiasm of teenage musicians for the music. The lineup includes bands from the Boston Latin School, Rivers School, Roland Hayes School of Music, and others.

Jazz Week @ South Station...
April 29 - May 3, noon - 1 pm, Piano Solos by Boston Favorites
A different musician will sit down at the station's new baby grand at lunchtime each day. Monday it's Tim Ray; Tuesday, Maxim Lubarsky; Wednesday, Yoko Miwa; Thursday, John Funkhouser; and Friday, Gilson Schachnik.

Don't miss these other special Jazz Week events:

April 30, 6 - 9 pm, JazzBoston's 2nd Annual International Jazz Day Listening Party + Global Launch of JazzBird! Join other members of Greater Boston's jazz community at Darryl's Corner Bar for an intimate celebration of International Jazz Day with thousands of jazz lovers around the globe. Watch the evening concert in Istanbul via YouTube on Darryl's giant screen, and listen in on smaller concerts worldwide via JazzBird, JazzBoston's new music radio app, the only one just for jazz. No cover, complimentary apps, cash bar, open to all, RSVP required. Write to jazzweek@jazzboston.org and tell us if we can count you in.

April 29, 8:15 pm,BGJI Jazz Summit with Brian Blade at Berklee Performance Center. The Berklee Global Jazz Institute (BGJI) presents its third annual BGJI Summit, featuring master drummer Brian Blade with BGJI all-stars Danilo Perez, Joe Lovano, and John Patitucci.

May 3, 8 pm, Street Sounds: Monologues with Black Existence at Hibernian Hall. Playwright Ed Bullins's classic monologues are translated into dance theater by producer/director Bill Lowe, who is also part of the outstanding ensemble of musicans accompanying the action.

May 3, 8 pm, "WICN Presents Karrin Allyson." Join 4-time Grammy nominee Karrin Allyson for an intimate evening of jazz vocals at Tuckerman Hall in Worcester. Concert proceeds benefit WICN.

May 4, noon - 5 pm, South End Historical Society: South End Jazz Open House. The self-guided tour of four sites at the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Columbus Ave., "the jazz corner of Boston," will be followed by a party at Wally's Cafe.

This is just a sample of the more than 200 events taking place at venues in and around the city during Jazz Week '13. For the complete schedule of Jazz Week events, go to the JazzBoston website.

Jesse Weiner Photography (right)

For more than 40 years, saxophonist, bandleader, educator, community activist, and photographer Arni Cheatham has been spreading heart and soul all over the Greater Boston scene. On Sunday, April 28, Eric Jackson (a former Boston Jazz Hero) will present Cheatham with the Jazz Journalists Association's 2013 Boston Jazz Hero Award in recognition of his staunch but quiet activism, which continues today.

Cheatham arrived in Boston in 1969 and quickly became an important part of the jazz community. As a founding board member of the Jazz Coalition, he created and led JazzEd, which brought jazz to the Boston public schools to help bridge racial divides during the desegregation process. He also created and ran the coalition's Community Concert Program, bringing ensembles to more than 400 schools and other neighborhood locations. He continues to use his skills as a master teacher/performer today as co-leader of Riffs & Raps, JazzBoston's family of educational programs for all ages.

As if all that weren't enough, Cheatham has also done his fair share of performing and recording. For his own ensembles, Thing, Search, Smoke, and Synergy, he has composed, performed, and recorded extensively. He has been an anchor of the Aardvark Jazz Orchestra almost since its birth 40 years ago and is a member of the highly regarded Makanda Project. He has also been part of the all-star ensemble that comes together every year for the John Coltrane Memorial Concert.

No doubt about it, Arni Cheatham has more than earned this award. Come to Wally's on April 28th, 3-6 pm, to witness his longtime role of "Jazz Hero" being made official!

The party, hosted by JazzBoston and the Wally's family, is open to all. Music by Bill Lowe and Cheatham's Champs, complimentary snacks, cash bar. RSVP required for a head count. Write to friendsofarni@jazzboston.org and tell us if we can count you in.

Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo

Members of Greater Boston's music radio community gathered at Scullers Jazz Club on April 2 to share ideas about programming and promoting jazz and celebrate the launch of JazzBird, JazzBoston's new music radio app.

JazzBird, the only music radio app just for jazz, provides an up-to-the-minute schedule for a curated collection of shows streaming live from broadcast and Internet stations around the globe. To boost our local stations and our local scene, shows created by stations in the Greater Boston area are at the top of the list for each time slot and are further set apart by a "B" icon that signifies a "Boston, USA, show."

WHRB - Harvard, WMBR - MIT, BIRN - Berklee, LCR College Radio - Lasell, WWPI - Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Zumix Radio, Boston Free Radio, CyberStation USA, TOUCH 106.1 FM, WBUR, WGBH, and WICN were among the stations people came from to join the conversation, meet and mingle with other jazz radio enthusiasts, and learn about JazzBird. The jazz radio panel (pictured above with Phillip Landrum of MIT at the mike) included former WGBH host and producer Steve Schwartz; Fred Taylor, Scullers Entertainment Director and President of HT Productions; singer and community radio host Tyra Penn; Eric Jackson, Dean of New England radio and host of Eric in the Evening on WGBH; and long-time Boston Symphony Orchestra host Ron Della Chiesa.

JazzBird is now available to download! Get the free version to find jazz that fits your mood anytime, anywhere. Try it out, and let us know what you think. Then if you're a multitasker, you may want to buy the full app ($2.99) to listen while using other features on your mobile device at the same time. The full version also has a sleep timer for listening in bed and a switch to turn off ads.

The JazzBird team (shown above with our partner, John Pries of Audibilities LLC, back row at left) is continually searching for shows to add. If you have a favorite show that's not on the app, please tell us about it. We're also expanding our Listening Panel. If you're a musician or a regular jazz radio listener, consider joining the panel for 3 months. Write to us if you'd like to learn more about being part of the panel.

Christian McBride

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

• Become a JazzBoston member now. Annual memberships begin as low as $20.

Scullers is offering tickets to the following shows:
April 24, 8pm, Rudresh Mahanthappa, 2 pairs of tickets
April 25, 10pm, Hiroshima, 2 pairs of tickets
April 26, 10pm, Monty Alexander (live WGBH broadcast!), 4 pairs of tickets
April 27, 10pm, Rebecca Parris, 2 pairs of tickets
May 1, 8pm, Ed Reed, 3 pairs of tickets
May 2, 8pm, Michelle Wilson, 2 pairs of tickets
May 3 and 4, 10pm, Christian Mcbride, 2 pairs of tickets
May 8, 8pm, Steve March Torme, 2 pairs of tickets
May 9 and 10, 10pm, Fourplay, 2 pairs of tickets
May 11, 10pm, Greg Abate, 2 pairs of tickets
May 15, 8pm, John Stein, 2 pairs of tickets.

The Regattabar is offering one pair of tickets to each of the following shows:
April 26, 10pm, Johnny A.
April 27, 10pm, Gato Barbieri
May 1, 7:30pm, Jarabe de Palo
May 3, 7:30pm, Darcy James Argue's Secret Society
May 4, 10pm, Stanley Sagov
May 8, 7:30pm, Craig Taborn
May 9, 7:30pm, Martin Taylor & Mimi Fox
May 10, 7:30pm, Laszlo Gardony
May 11, 7:30pm, Juanito Pascual
May 15, 7:30pm, Christopher O'Riley.

World Music/CRASHarts is offering JazzBoston members a 20% discount good for this upcoming concert at the Berklee Performance Center:
May 3, 8pm: PARIS COMBO
Tickets must be purchased in advance and are subject to availability. For phone purchases, call 617.876.4275 between 10 am and 5 pm and mention coupon code JZB420 . If you purchase your tickets online, put coupon code JZB420 in your shopping cart. This offer expires Tuesday, April 30, 5 pm. The discount is not valid for previously purchased tickets and cannot be combined with any other offer. Handling fees apply.

The Rimon Jazz Institute Ensemble.

April 23, The NEC Jazz Composers' Workshop Orchestra brings you a concert featuring NEC students performing student-composed works, under the direction of pianist and composer Frank Carlberg. 8 pm, Jordan Hall.

April 26, Wellesley College presents their BlueJazz Strings and Combos directed by Paula Zeitlin. 7:00 pm, Jewett Art Center Auditorium.

April 28, The Rimon Jazz Institute Ensemble, a stellar group of students from the Institute and Berklee College of Music, perform modern jazz originals and jazz renditions of Israeli classics that they have composed and arranged. 7:00 pm, David Friend Recital Hall.

April 29, NEC's In the Mix series presents an evening of vocal and instrumental jazz ensembles coached by vocalist Aubrey Johnson, drummer Rakalam Bob Moses, and guitarist Joe Morris. 6 pm, Pierce Hall.

May 3, Wellesley College brings you their BlueJazz Big Band directed by Cercie Miller. 7:00pm, Jewett Art Center Auditorium.

"Celebrating Poetry and Jazz Together" JazzBoston and NEC team up for a special concert series taking place at branches throughout the Boston Public Library system during April, when National Poetry Month and Jazz Appreciation Month coincide.
April 22, 7 pm, Jazz pianist Steven Gordon at the Charlestown branch.
April 25 , 6:30 pm, Jazz pianist Steven Gordon at the South Boston branch.
April 29, 6:30 pm, Jazz vocalist Rebecca Sullivan and her ensemble at the Connolly branch.