- Source: DownBeat
- Source: Downbeat
DownBeat (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues 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, Illinois. 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 Chicago, 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
=See also
The Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Award
International Association for Jazz Education (IAJE)
BBC Jazz Awards
NEA Jazz Masters
References
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 Archived December 23, 2010, at the Wayback Machine
Arts For Art Archived May 1, 2012, at the Wayback Machine Lifetime Achievement Award
NAMM Oral History Interview with Kevin Maher January 25, 2014
Downbeat, down beat or Down Beat may refer to:
Downbeat and upbeat, the first and last beats, respectively, of a measure in music
DownBeat, an American jazz magazine
Downtempo or downbeat, a laid-back electronic music style similar to ambient music
Down Beat, the NATO reporting name of the Leninets PN radar carried by the Russian/Soviet Tupolev Tu-22K and Tupolev Tu-22M bombers
Downbeat Jazz Club, a jazz club in New York City