Jazz Week, organized and promoted by JazzBoston, will be celebrated throughout Greater Boston next month for the eighth consecutive year. The dates are Friday, April 25, through Sunday, May 4. We hope you'll participate and take advantage of our free promotional campaign via the print, broadcast, and electronic media.

Last year, Jazz Week showcased 222 performances in 109 venues in and around the city. We're looking for even wider participation in Jazz Week '14. We know Greater Boston is home to some of the most creative jazz musicians anywhere, and we want to make sure local and visiting jazz fans know it too. Every time someone discovers a new jazz ensemble or is moved by a style of jazz that's new to them, that's good for the music, the musicians, and the entire scene.

So, if you already have a gig booked locally during the Jazz Week '14 period, please make sure it's posted on the special Jazz Week '14 Schedule of Events on the JazzBoston website. If you don't have a Jazz Week gig yet, take a look at the venues near you - they may be looking for you. We've urged venues to take advantage of the free publicity too.

The Jazz Week '14 theme may inspire you - No Walls: A salute to the power of jazz to bring people together. It highlights the unique role jazz plays worldwide in breaking down racial and cultural barriers. At the same time, it invites collaborations that bring together artists from different disciplines.

Jazz Week shines a spotlight on the vibrant jazz scene that we know and you know is here year round. To get the word out, JazzBoston will print brochures, posters, and flyers; produce PSAs; issue press releases; place ads; and make aggressive use of Facebook, Twitter, and new media publications. Our 30,000 Jazz Week '14 brochures will be distributed strategically throughout the Greater Boston area. They'll also be available at the main Visitors Centers at the Boston Common and Prudential Center as well as the city's top hotels.

The special Jazz Week '14 Schedule of Events on the JazzBoston website is the central part of our promotion. All our promotional materials will send people to the site, and a simplified version of the schedule will be accessible to mobile devices.

The best way to make sure your gig is on the Jazz Week '14 Schedule of Events is to submit it yourself. All jazz-related events April 25 - May 4 are eligible for posting - jazz performances, jazz films, jazz art exhibitions, jazz seminars, meet-and-greets with local jazz musicians, jazz workshops and master classes, jazz programs for children . . . . The sooner your event is posted, the more attention you'll get.

If you haven't submitted events to the JazzBoston calendar before, you will need to set up your account first. This takes only a few minutes. Just go to www.jazzboston.org, click on either the "Musicians' Log-in" at the top of the right column or the "Submit an Event" button at the top right corner of the calendar, then register and follow the prompts from there. To get the most visibility, be sure to submit a photo with your entry. It will appear in the rotating gallery at the top of every page of the site. And if you have an MP3 file, upload that as well.

The submission process is easy, but if you have any questions, write to jazzweek@jazzboston.org and put "Event submission" in the subject line. A member of our web team will respond promptly.

To help spread the word about Jazz Week '14, JazzBoston is asking participating musicians to promote any gig you have between April 25 and May 4 as a Jazz Week event - on your website and Facebook page and in your flyers and e-blasts. Click here to download the Jazz Week '14 icon (high or low resolution) to identify those events. Please use the Jazz Week icon wherever possible. And please forward this invitation to all your jazz musician friends.

For more information and updates on Jazz Week '14, watch the JazzBoston website.

We're looking forward to a great Jazz Week '14. We hope you will be part of it.

Ken Field, Charlie Kohlhase, and Don Carlson
Co-chairs, Jazz Week '14
JazzBoston