If jazz is meant to enlighten and enrich our lives, what better gifts than Directions in Music and Winter JazzFest.

Directions in Music -- featuring Michael Brecker, left, Roy Hargrove and Herbie Hancock -- will jazz up the Benedum tonight. Click photo for larger image. Directions in Music Where: Benedum Center, Downtown. When: 8 tonight. Tickets: $27.50-$47.50; 412-456-6666. Winter Jazzfest Where: Rhythm House, Bridgeville. When: Giacomo Gates at 9 tonight; Grady Tate at 8 p.m. Saturday. Tickets: $20; 412-221-5010.

I n what is shaping up to be this year's most exciting weekend for jazz fans, pianist Herbie Hancock will lead the Directions in Music Quintet in a performance at the Benedum .

But that isn't all.

After a year off -- for mostly financial reasons -- the Pittsburgh Jazz Society will unveil its new and improved Winter JazzFest at the Rhythm House in Bridgeville.

The three-day festival, which runs tonight through Sunday, will spotlight a wide-ranging group of artists, including Giacomo Gates, Grady Tate, Cecil Brooks III, David Budway and Mike Tomaro. The festival will also feature a jam session, jazz brunch and high school performances and clinics.

Budway, Ron Anthony, Brooks, Jim DeJulio and Tomaro will be inducted into the Jazz Society's Hall of Fame.

Tonight's Benedum concert will feature the legendary Hancock, saxophonist Michael Brecker, trumpeter Roy Hargrove, bassist Scott Colley and drummer Teri Lynne Carrington.

Hancock, Brecker and Hargrove collaborated previously during tributes to Miles Davis and John Coltrane.

But Brecker said Directions in Music II is different.

"It's a little more electric," he said traveling on bus through Eastern Pennsylvania. "It's Roy, Herbie and I playing our own music. It's fun and electric. Herbie has brought some keyboards, and I am playing the EWI [electronic wind instrument]."

The concert will feature songs from each member of the band. Most of them have not previously been recorded, but the tour is being taped, he said.

"We might try to do a live recording at some point."

The seven-time Grammy-winning Brecker said he's really enjoying the chemistry the quintet is generating each night.

"It's such a dream to play with Herbie and Roy. This tour really ranks among the top of some of things I've done musically. But each member brings something fresh and unique.

"The rhythm section is tight and loose at the same time. Scott and Terri have been part of Hancock's regular group for some time. They make me feel like I can't play a wrong note."

What is it like playing with Hargrove, and what does he bring to the tour?

"Roy brings youth, fire, dedication and unbelievable soul," Brecker said. "He's a real jazz musician with an enormous ability to focus. He's highly gifted and plays with weight."

Brecker, one of jazz's most versatile instrumentalists, grew up in Philadelphia and comes from a musical family. His father was a lawyer and pianist who enjoyed jazz.

In 1975, he and his trumpet-playing brother, Randy, formed the Brecker Brothers, a jazz, funk and fusion group that was nominated for several Grammys before the band disbanded in 1982. They reunited in the early '90s to release the "Return of the Brecker Brothers" and "Out of the Loop."

In the intervening years, he continued to record and perform in various groups.

"I'm just having fun playing this music," he said. "I'm discovering new things, and that's what makes playing music so great."

Fans have genuflected at Hargrove's fingertips ever since he impressed Wynton Marsalis during a workshop the trumpeter was conducting at Dallas' famed Booker T. Washington School of the Performing Arts. It's the same high school that produced pop stars Edie Brickell and Afrocentric R&B singer Erykah Badu.

After high school, Hargrove attended Boston's Berklee School of Music on scholarship, then transferred to New York's Manhattan New School for Social Research.

"Roy is completely grounded musically," said Brecker. "It's also fun to play with Roy because his sound is easy to blend with. I love playing in unison with him."

And what is it like playing with Hancock?

"He's a genius in the true since of the word. He brings an endless amount of creativity and ability to orchestrate on a dime. He's one of the last great soloists and composers. I have no idea how he does it."

Hancock, who doesn't appear to age, rose to prominence in the new Miles Davis Quintet, which also featured Wayne Shorter, Ron Carter and Tony Williams. The group recorded such seminal albums as "Live at the Plugged Nickel," "Miles Smiles" and "Nefertiti."

In 1962, Hancock recorded "Takin' Off," his debut recording for Blue Note that featured the enduring "Watermelon Man." The song has been recorded more than 200 times and reached Billboard's Top 10 when it was it was recorded by Afro-Cuban percussionist and band leader Mongo Santamaria.

Hancock followed that with "Maiden Voyage" and "Empyrean Isles," which showcased "Cantaloupe Island" and "Dolphin Dance." He continued to explore his music while recording with Davis, contributing to such electronic forays as "Jack Johnson," "Bitches Brew" and "In a Silent Way."

But in 1972, Hancock recorded "Head Hunter," a synth-electronic funk album that transformed the pianist into a cult hero. Hancock continued to explore and reinvent himself.

In 1983, he recorded the platinum "Future Shock," which featured the hit single "Rockit." The song won a Grammy for best R&B instrumental, and its video won five MTV awards.

After winning an Oscar for his score in the 1986 film "Round Midnight," Hancock recorded "1+1" with saxophonist Wayne Shorter.

"Sometimes I stand there and feel so special to be able to hear what comes from his piano," Brecker said. "He's also a wonderful person to be around."