When the Detroit International Jazz Festival opened last Labor Day, fans were treated to behind-the-scenes interviews and a red carpet special via the web.

A new website, DJF JazzPlanet, is helping the festival expand its reach globally, with a grant from Knight Foundation.

From the festival’s blog:

DJF’s Jazz Planet ‘ a streaming news magazine and music channel, featuring performances, news flashes, interviews and behind-the-scenes commentary from the 2010 Detroit International Jazz Festival ‘ was created to showcase Detroit as a significant center for jazz, provide a platform for artists to share their projects, and develop a mainstream audience for jazz and the festival through the internet.

The site puts the festival on the cutting edge of engaging new audiences, Dennis Scholl, Knight’s vice president/arts said.

Now on the site, users can see festival highlights. In coming months, the festival will post new videos of jazz master classes, special interviews and more.