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The Center for Jazz Studies at Columbia University has just launched Jazz Studies Online, a new website showcasing an extensive collection of digital resources — journal articles, book chapters, magazines, teaching materials, talks, online links, and performances — to represent the diversity and innovation that's a part of the growing field of jazz and the school's Jazz Studies program.

"JSO is the first resource of its kind," said George E. Lewis, the Center's Director. "We want to harness the power of digital media to expand the intellectual conversation surrounding jazz."

With the aim of reaching the largest possible audience, JSO is built on an open access model of research and scholarly communications. Visitors will find journal articles, book chapters, magazines, teaching materials, and audio and video clips… all available free of charge.

Website topics and features include the impact of jazz on modernism, the artistic possibilities of new technology, the racial and cultural struggles in which jazz music first emerged, the globalization of jazz, and the intersection of improvisation with other spheres of social life. Drawing on the work of leading scholars, researchers, journalists, and musicians, JSO is aimed toward anyone with a serious interest in jazz.

Unique features of the site include:

· Rare or out-of-print publications such as The Jazz Review (1958-60) in digital form

· Performances and interviews with major artists and writers hosted by the Center for Jazz Studies

· Discussion forums (including "virtual panels") on emerging topics

· Featured resources on leading jazz journalists, such as Barry Ulanov and Nat Hentoff

· Comprehensive teaching and research materials (including syllabi, bibliographies, filmographies, and discographies) and a Jazz Glossary illustrated with audio and video

· Research materials on jazz from many regions outside the United States

Jazz Studies Online was developed with the aid of generous contributions from the Ford Foundation. John Szwed, Professor of Music and Jazz Studies, is Editor-in-Chief of JSO, and Tad Shull, a jazz performer and scholar, is Editor.