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Down Beat is an
American
magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond" to
indicate 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.
Down Beat publishes results of annual surveys of both its
readers and critics in a variety of categories. The
Down Beat 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.
Well-known features of
Down Beat 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.
Musicians that get 50% right on the "Blindfold Test" do better than
average.
In April 1979,
Down Beat went to a monthly schedule for
the first time since 1939.
Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame
The
Down Beat Jazz Hall of Fame is maintained at Universal Studios' City Jazz club in
Orlando
, Florida
.
Current membership, by year, is listed in the following table. The
critics' poll was not initiated until 1961, so winners before then
were all chosen by readers' polls.
Veterans Committee Hall of Fame
2008:
Jo Jones,
Jimmie Lunceford,
Erroll Garner,
Harry
Carney,
Jimmy Blanton
Down Beat Jazz Album of the Year
An essential contribution of the critics' and readers' polls
published in the August resp. December issues are the selections
for "Jazz Album of the Year", listing the dozen or so most popular
albums. Listed here are the top 3 albums of the selections:
2006 critics' poll:
(1)
Andrew Hill:
Time Lines
(Blue Note)
(2)
Wayne Shorter Quartet:
Beyond
The Sound Barrier (Verve)
(3)
Sonny Rollins:
Without A Song
(The 9/11 Concert) (Milestone)
2007 critics' poll:
(1)
Ornette Coleman:
Sound
Grammar (Sound Grammar)
(2)
Trio Beyond:
Saudades
(ECM)
(3)
Sonny Rollins:
Sonny,
Please (Doxy)
2008 critics' poll:
(1)
Maria Schneider:
Sky
Blue (ArtistShare)
(2)
Michael Brecker:
Pilgrimage (Heads Up)
(3)
Joe Lovano and
Hank Jones:
Kids: Duets Live At Dizzy's Club
Coca-Cola (Blue Note)
See also
Down Beat Lifetime
Achievement Award
References
External links
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