Borders joins the online jazz jam

Jazz is hot on the web. First Amazon built a jazz site in conjunction with the PBS series on jazz. Yesterday, Barnes & Noble.com unveiled a beefed up jazz section, with audio samples and tours for jazz neophytes. Today, Borders.com, which is operated by Amazon, rolled out a jazz boutique at borders.com/jazzessentials in conjunction with a store-based jazz promotion. Borders’ rationale behind the in-store and web service was almost identical to Barnes & Noble’s: Jazz is complex and some would-be jazz fans need guidance through the landscape. Jazz Essentials follows Borders’ launch last year of Classical Essentials.

IRCE 2008 Conference Multi-Media CD-ROM

A typical Borders store stocks 9,000 jazz titles, the company says. To create Jazz Essentials, Borders buyers compiled a list of 101 key titles that they believe constitute “a well-cultivated Jazz music library.” The titles represent a variety of styles. "Our goal is not to select the most important Jazz records of all time, but to share the classics that have inspired our buyers and constitute a good starting point for a Jazz library," said Randi Mayrent, merchandise manager of multimedia for Borders.

From June 4 to July 2, Borders.com will host an online promotion where customers will have the chance to win the entire 101-CD Jazz Essentials collection.