Jazz has infected the world like a disease. This curious epidemic has brought improvisation, swing, and the blues to all areas of human habitation. This month we celebrate Jazz in all its different forms, in all the different places it calls home.

Talking heads have recently trumpeted the roots of Jazz gumbo in New Orleans. This month new 'Round About New Orleans Columnist Tod Smith keeps both ears open to Nawlins Jazz with a spotlight on the Crescent City's future stars. And, pausing for a moment to look back in history, columnist Marshall Bowden offers some curious Late Night Thoughts on the controversial public image of New Orleans native Louis Armstrong.

This month at All About Jazz also brings new Global Gig updates covering Philadelphia, Seattle, St. Louis, Los Angeles, Chicago, Britain, and Australia.

Brand new Bay Boppin' Columnist Forrest Bryant examines the ever-growing number of Jazz festivals around the San Francisco Bay Area. Meanwhile, New York @ Night Columnist David Adler inaugurates his series with a tour of some of the most recent happenings in and around jazz's unofficial world headquarters.

Finally, new London Calling Columnist John Eyles offers a sampling of some of the most interesting places to hear jazz in the city on the Thames.

We've also put the spotlight on a couple of influential Jazz guitarists this month. Groove master Rodney Jones presents the seventh installment in his Making of a Jazz CD series, offering valuable insider insight into what makes a studio jazz session work. And Nathaniel Friedman examines the spectral plectrum of in-and-out guitarist Nels Cline in his expansive feature, Mighty Like the Blues.

Since we replaced our old outdated search engine with the state-of-the-art Google powerhouse, we've made it much easier for you to access material from the massive All About Jazz archives--which, by the way, include over 11,000 pages of material! Take a moment to search for your favorite artist or style and you'll discover the amazing depth of our coverage.

Back to the subject of the Jazz "infection." You may wish to contribute your thoughts on the discussion topic of the month: Has Jazz become too cerebral for even the average jazz listener to comprehend and enjoy? Even we can't agree on this one, so weigh in with your commentary and read what fellow visitors have to say.

Lean back, get comfortable, and squeeze that rubber ball. You're about to get a healthy injection of All About Jazz!