''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. It borders on Lake Michigan to its northeast, the Mississippi River to its west, and the Wabash River, Wabash and Ohio River, Ohio rivers to its ...

. It is named after the " downbeat" in music, also called "beat one", or the first beat of a musical measure. ''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. Since 2008, the Hall of Fame also includes winners from the Veterans Committee. 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 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

, Illinois. 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. In Summer 1960 ''DownBeat'' launched the Japanese edition. In 1972 the publisher of the magazine was Maher Publishers. Starting in July 1979, ''DownBeat'' went to a monthly schedule for the first time since 1939. ''DownBeat'' was named Jazz Publication of the Year in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2021 by the Jazz Journalists Association.

DownBeat Jazz 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 Poll in 2008.

Awards

Album of the Year

Critics' Poll

Lifetime Achievement Award

* 1981 John H. Hammond * 1982 George Wein * 1983 Leonard Feather * 1984 Billy Taylor * 1985 Lawrence Berk * 1986 Orrin Keepnews * 1987 David Baker * 1988 John Conyers Jr. * 1989 Norman Granz * 1990 Rudy Van Gelder * 1991 Bill Cosby * 1992 Rich Matteson * 1993 Gunther Schuller * 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 * 2006 Claude Nobs * 2007 Dan Morgenstern * 2008 * 2009 * 2010 Manfred Eicher * 2011 * 2012 * 2013 * 2014 * 2015 * 2016 * 2017 George Avakian * 2018 * 2019 * 2020 * 2021 * 2022 Gretchen Valade * 2023 Randall Kline

References

External links

''Down Beat'' website"About ''Down Beat'': A History As Rich As Jazz"
*Th
Jazz Journalists Association
Lifetime Achievement Award * Nesuhi Ertegun
Jazz Hall of Fame

Arts For Art
{{Webarchive, url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120501123848/http://www.visionfestival.org/ , date=May 1, 2012 Lifetime Achievement Award
NAMM Oral History Interview with Kevin Maher
January 25, 2014 Blues music magazines Jazz awards Jazz magazines published in the United States Magazines established in 1934 Magazines published in Chicago Monthly magazines published in the United States Music magazines published in the United States