DownBeat

DownBeat (stylized DOWNBEAT) is an American magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois. It is named after the "downbeat" in music, also called "beat one", or the first beat of a musical measure.

DownBeat

Categories	Music magazine
Frequency	Monthly
Year founded	1934 (1934)[1]
Company	Maher Publications
Country	United States
Based in	Chicago
Language	English
Website	www.downbeat.com
ISSN	0012-5768

DownBeat publishes results of annual surveys of both its readers and critics in a variety of categories. The DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame includes winners from both the readers' and critics' poll. The results of the readers' poll are published in the December issue, those of the critics' poll in the August issue.

Popular features of DownBeat magazine include its "Reviews" section where jazz critics, using a '1-Star to 5-Star' maximum rating system, rate the latest musical recordings, vintage recordings, and books; articles on individual musicians and music forms; and its famous "Blindfold Test" column, in a which a musician listens to records by other artists, tries to guess who they are, and rates them using the 5-star maximum rating system.

History

DownBeat was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois.[2] In September 1939, the magazine announced that its circulation had increased from "a few hundred five years ago to more than 80,000 copies a month", and that it would change from monthly to fortnightly from the following month.[3] In April 1979, DownBeat went to a monthly schedule for the first time since 1939.

In Summer 1960 DownBeat launched the Japanese edition.[4]

DownBeat was named Jazz Publication of the Year in 2016 and 2017 by the Jazz Journalists Association.[5]

Awards

Lifetime Achievement Award

• 1981 John H. Hammond[6]
• 1982 George Wein
• 1983 Leonard Feather[7]
• 1984 Billy Taylor
• 1985 Lawrence Berk
• 1986 Orrin Keepnews
• 1987 David Baker[8]
• 1988 John Conyers Jr.
• 1989 Norman Granz
• 1990 Rudy Van Gelder
• 1991 Bill Cosby
• 1992 Rich Matteson
• 1993 Gunther Schuller[9]
• 1994 Marian McPartland
• 1995 Willis Conover
• 1996 Chuck Suber
• 1997 William P. Gottlieb
• 1998 Bruce Lundvall
• 1999 Sheldon Meyer
• 2000 George Avakian
• 2001 Milt Gabler
• 2002
• 2003
• 2004
• 2005 Creed Taylor[10]
• 2006 Claude Nobs
• 2007 Dan Morgenstern
• 2008
• 2009
• 2010 Manfred Eicher[11]
• 2011
• 2012
• 2013
• 2014
• 2015
• 2016
• 2017 George Avakian[6]

Hall of Fame

The DownBeat Jazz Hall of Fame's current membership, by year, is listed in the following table. The Readers' Poll began in 1952, the Critics' Poll in 1961, and the Veterans Committee in 2008.[12]

Year	Readers Poll	Critics Poll
1952	Louis Armstrong[13]
1953	Glenn Miller[14]
1954	Stan Kenton[15]
1955	Charlie Parker[16]
1956	Duke Ellington[17]
1957	Benny Goodman[18]
1958	Count Basie[19]
1959	Lester Young[20]
1960	Dizzy Gillespie[21]
1961	Billie Holiday[22]	Coleman Hawkins[23]
1962	Miles Davis[24]	Bix Beiderbecke[25]
1963	Thelonious Monk[26]	Jelly Roll Morton[27]
1964	Eric Dolphy[28]	Art Tatum[29]
1965	John Coltrane[30]	Earl Hines[31]
1966	Bud Powell[32]	Charlie Christian[33]
1967	Billy Strayhorn[34]	Bessie Smith[35]
1968	Wes Montgomery[36]	Sidney Bechet & Fats Waller[37]
1969	Ornette Coleman[38]	Pee Wee Russell & Jack Teagarden[39]
1970	Jimi Hendrix[40]	Johnny Hodges[41]
1971	Charles Mingus[42]	Roy Eldridge & Django Reinhardt[43]
1972	Gene Krupa[44]	Clifford Brown[45]
1973	Sonny Rollins[46]	Fletcher Henderson[47]
1974	Buddy Rich[48]	Ben Webster[49]
1975	Cannonball Adderley[50]	Cecil Taylor[51]
1976	Woody Herman	King Oliver[52]
1977	Paul Desmond	Benny Carter[53]
1978	Joe Venuti	Rahsaan Roland Kirk[54]
1979	Ella Fitzgerald	Lennie Tristano[55]
1980	Dexter Gordon	Max Roach[56]
1981	Art Blakey	Bill Evans[57]
1982	Art Pepper	Fats Navarro[58]
1983	Stéphane Grappelli	Albert Ayler[59]
1984	Oscar Peterson[60]	Sun Ra[61]
1985	Sarah Vaughan	Zoot Sims[62]
1986	Stan Getz	Gil Evans[63]
1987	Lionel Hampton	Johnny Dodds, Thad Jones, Teddy Wilson[64]
1988	Jaco Pastorius	Kenny Clarke[65]
1989	Woody Shaw	Chet Baker[66]
1990	Red Rodney	Mary Lou Williams[67]
1991	Lee Morgan	John Carter[68]
1992	Maynard Ferguson	James P. Johnson[69]
1993	Gerry Mulligan	Ed Blackwell[70]
1994	Dave Brubeck	Frank Zappa[71]
1995	J. J. Johnson	Julius Hemphill[72]
1996	Horace Silver	Artie Shaw[73]
1997	Nat King Cole	Tony Williams[74]
1998	Frank Sinatra	Elvin Jones[75]
1999	Milt Jackson[76]	Betty Carter[77]
2000	Clark Terry	Lester Bowie[78]
2001	Joe Henderson	Milt Hinton[79]
2002	Antonio Carlos Jobim	John Lewis[80]
2003	Ray Brown	Wayne Shorter[81]
2004	McCoy Tyner	Roy Haynes
2005	Herbie Hancock	Steve Lacy
2006	Jimmy Smith	Jackie McLean[82]
2007	Michael Brecker	Andrew Hill[83]
2008	Keith Jarrett[84]	Joe Zawinul
2009	Freddie Hubbard	Hank Jones
2010	Muhal Richard Abrams	Chick Corea
2011	Ahmad Jamal	Abbey Lincoln
2012	Ron Carter	Paul Motian
2013	Pat Metheny	Charlie Haden
2014	B.B. King	Jim Hall
2015	Tony Bennett	Lee Konitz
2016	Phil Woods	Randy Weston
2017	Wynton Marsalis[85]	Don Cherry
2018	Ray Charles	Benny Golson[86]

Veterans Committee Hall of Fame

• 2008: Jo Jones, Jimmie Lunceford, Erroll Garner, Harry Carney, Jimmy Blanton
• 2009: Oscar Pettiford, Tadd Dameron
• 2010: Baby Dodds, Chick Webb, Philly Joe Jones, Billy Eckstine
• 2011: Paul Chambers
• 2012: Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt
• 2013: Robert Johnson
• 2014: Bing Crosby, Dinah Washington
• 2015: Muddy Waters
• 2016: Hoagy Carmichael
• 2017: Eubie Blake, George Gershwin, Herbie Nichols
• 2018: Marian McPartland

Album of the Year

Critics' Poll

Year	Title	Musician	Label
1965	A Love Supreme	John Coltrane	Impulse!
1966	At the Golden Circle, Vol. 1	Ornette Coleman Trio	Blue Note
1967	The Popular Duke Ellington	Duke Ellington	RCA
1968	The Far East Suite	Duke Ellington	Bluebird/RCA
1969	...And His Mother Called Him Bill	Duke Ellington	Bluebird/RCA
1970	Bitches Brew	Miles Davis	Columbia
1971	New Orleans Suite	Duke Ellington	Atlantic
1972	The You and Me That Used to Be	Jimmy Rushing	RCA
1973 (tie)	’’Constellation’’	Sonny Stitt	Cobblestone
	’’Sahara’’	McCoy Tyner	Milestone
1974	Solo Concerts	Keith Jarrett	ECM
1975	Silent Tongues	Cecil Taylor	Freedom
1976	Oscar Peterson and Dizzy Gillespie	Oscar Peterson & Dizzy Gillespie	Pablo
1977	Creative Orchestra Music 1976	Anthony Braxton	Arista
1978 (tie)	Insights	Toshiko Akiyoshi – Lew Tabackin Big Band	RCA
	Dancing in Your Head	Ornette Coleman	Horizon
	Sophisticated Giant	Dexter Gordon	Columbia
	Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard	Dexter Gordon	Columbia
	Nonaah	Roscoe Mitchell	Nessa
1979	Cumbia & Jazz Fusion	Charles Mingus	Atlantic
1980	Air Lore	Air	Arista/Novus
1981	Full Force	Art Ensemble of Chicago	ECM
1982	Playing	Old and New Dreams	ECM
1983	Blues Forever	Muhal Richard Abrams	Black Saint
1984	The Ballad of the Fallen	Charlie Haden	ECM
1985	That's the Way I Feel Now	Various	A&M
1986	The African Flower	James Newton	Blue Note
1987	Song X	Pat Metheny & Ornette Coleman	Geffen
1988	In All Languages	Ornette Coleman	Caravan of Dreams
1989	Audio-Visualscapes	Jack DeJohnette	Impulse!
1990	In East Berlin	Cecil Taylor	FMP
1991	Dream Keeper	Charlie Haden	Blue Note
1992	Lush Life	Joe Henderson	Verve
1993	So Near, So Far (Musings for Miles)	Joe Henderson	Verve
1994	Always Say Goodbye	Charlie Haden	Verve
1995	Rush Hour	Joe Lovano & Gunther Schuller	Verve
1996	Keith Jarrett at the Blue Note	Keith Jarrett Standards Trio	ECM
1997	Sound Museum: Hidden Man	Ornette Coleman Quartet	Harmolodic/Verve
1998	Nashville	Bill Frisell	Nonesuch
1999	Gershwin's World	Herbie Hancock	Verve
2000	Soul on Soul	Dave Douglas	RCA
2001	Dusk	Andrew Hill	Palmetto
2002	Not for Nothin'	Dave Holland	ECM
2003	Footprints Live!	Wayne Shorter Quartet	Verve
2004	Extended Play: Live at Birdland	Dave Holland Quintet	ECM
2005	Concert in the Garden	Maria Schneider	ArtistShare
2006	Time Lines	Andrew Hill	Blue Note
2007	Sound Grammar	Ornette Coleman	Sound Grammar
2008	Sky Blue	Maria Schneider	ArtistShare
2009	Road Shows, Vol. 1	Sonny Rollins	Doxy/EmArcy
2010	Historicity	Vijay Iyer	ACT
2011	Ten	Jason Moran	Blue Note
2012	Accelerando	Vijay Iyer	ACT
2013	Without a Net	Wayne Shorter Quartet	Blue Note
2014	WomanChild	Cécile McLorin Salvant	Mack Avenue
2015	Bird Calls	Rudresh Mahanthappa	ACT
2016	The Epic	Kamasi Washington	Brainfeeder
2017	America's National Parks	Wadada Leo Smith	Cuneiform
2018	Dreams and Daggers	Cécile McLorin Salvant	Mack Avenue

See also

• The Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award
• International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE)
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (not jazz exclusively, but many recipients are jazz musicians)
• BBC Jazz Awards
• NEA Jazz Masters
• Benny Heller

References

1. Ron Welburn (Autumn 1987). "Jazz Magazines of the 1930s: An Overview of Their Provocative Journalism". American Music. 5 (3): 255–270. doi:10.2307/3051735. JSTOR 3051735.
2. Edward Komara (2006). Encyclopedia of the Blues. Psychology Press. p. 756. ISBN 978-0-415-92699-7. Retrieved 7 July 2016.
3. "A New Down Beat". DownBeat. Vol. 6 no. 9. September 1939. p. 12.
4. "Shinu, Shinu, Shinu". Time Magazine. 12 September 1960. Retrieved 1 July 2020.
5. "Wadada Leo Smith Among Winners of 2017 JJA Awards". DownBeat Magazine. 16 May 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
6. "In Memoriam: Producer George Avakian". DownBeat Magazine. 4 December 2017. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
7. Heckman, Don (23 September 1994). "Leonard Feather; Jazz Critic, Composer". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
8. "Baker Wins Downbeat's 1987 Lifetime Award". The Indianapolis Star. Indianapolis, Indiana. 25 July 1987. p. 12.
9. Pincus, Andrew L. (2002). Musicians with a Mission: Keeping the Classical Tradition Alive. UPNE. pp. 109–. ISBN 978-1-55553-516-2. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
10. Panken, Ted. "The Right Groove - "DownBeat" Lifetime Achievement Award". Open Music Library. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
11. Ricci, Michael (4 April 2010). "Manfred Eicher Wins Downbeat Lifetime Achievement Award". All About Jazz. Retrieved 26 September 2018.
12. "DownBeat Archives". DownBeat. Retrieved 8 April 2017.
13. "1952 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
14. "1953 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
15. "1954 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
16. "1955 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
17. "1956 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
18. "1957 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
19. "1958 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2014. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
20. "1959 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
21. "1960 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
22. "1961 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
23. "1961 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
24. "1962 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
25. "1962 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
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30. "1965 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
31. "1965 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
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36. "1968 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on October 29, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
37. "1968 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
38. "1969 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on January 18, 2013. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
39. "1969 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
40. "1970 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
41. "1970 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
42. "1971 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
43. "1971 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
44. "1972 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
45. "1972 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on December 30, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
46. "1973 Down Beat Readers Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved May 13, 2008.
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53. "1977 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on May 17, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
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60. "Oscar Peterson Dies at Age 82". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on December 7, 2008. Retrieved November 16, 2008.
61. "1984 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
62. "1985 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
63. "1986 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
64. "1987 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
65. "1988 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
66. "1989 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
67. "1990 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
68. "1991 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
69. "1992 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
70. "1993 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
71. "1994 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on February 16, 2009. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
72. "1995 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
73. "1996 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
74. "1997 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
75. "1998 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
76. "BMI Scores in Year End Jazz Polls". bmi.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
77. "1999 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
78. "2000 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on June 16, 2011. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
79. "2001 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on March 6, 2012. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
80. "2002 Down Beat Critics Poll". downbeat.com. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
81. "BMI Dominates Downbeat Critics Poll". bmi.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
82. "BMI Jazz Greats Sweep 'Downbeat' Critics Poll". bmi.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
83. "BMI Jazz Giants Score in Down Beat 2007 Critics Poll". bmi.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
84. "BMI Jazz Composers Top 'Downbeat' Readers Poll". bmi.com. Retrieved November 14, 2008.
85. "Marsalis, Krall, Corea Among DownBeat Readers Poll Winners". wyntonmarsalis.org. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
86. Panken, Ted (August 2018). "Benny Golson". DownBeat.

External links

• Down Beat website
• "About Down Beat: A History As Rich As Jazz"
• The Jazz Journalists Association Lifetime Achievement Award
• Nesuhi Ertegun, Jazz Hall of Fame
• Arts For Art Lifetime Achievement Award
• NAMM Oral History Interview with Kevin Maher January 25, 2014
• DownBeat Critics Poll Archives at Acclaimed Music Forums