# 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.
| Year | Readers Poll | Critics Poll | Veterans Committee Poll |
| 1952 | Louis Armstrong |
| 1953 | Glenn Miller |
| 1954 | Stan Kenton |
| 1955 | Charlie Parker |
| 1956 | Duke Ellington |
| 1957 | Benny Goodman |
| 1958 | Count Basie |
| 1959 | Lester Young |
| 1960 | Dizzy Gillespie |
| 1961 | Billie Holiday | Coleman Hawkins |
| 1962 | Miles Davis | Bix Beiderbecke |
| 1963 | Thelonious Monk | Jelly Roll Morton |
| 1964 | Eric Dolphy | Art Tatum |
| 1965 | John Coltrane | Earl Hines |
| 1966 | Bud Powell | Charlie Christian |
| 1967 | Billy Strayhorn | Bessie Smith |
| 1968 | Wes Montgomery | Sidney Bechet & Fats Waller |
| 1969 | Ornette Coleman | Pee Wee Russell & Jack Teagarden |
| 1970 | Jimi Hendrix | Johnny Hodges |
| 1971 | Charles Mingus | Roy Eldridge & Django Reinhardt |
| 1972 | Gene Krupa | Clifford Brown |
| 1973 | Sonny Rollins | Fletcher Henderson |
| 1974 | Buddy Rich | Ben Webster |
| 1975 | Cannonball Adderley | Cecil Taylor |
| 1976 | Woody Herman | King Oliver |
| 1977 | Paul Desmond | Benny Carter |
| 1978 | Joe Venuti | Rahsaan Roland Kirk |
| 1979 | Ella Fitzgerald | Lennie Tristano |
| 1980 | Dexter Gordon | Max Roach |
| 1981 | Art Blakey | Bill Evans |
| 1982 | Art Pepper | Fats Navarro |
| 1983 | Stéphane Grappelli | Albert Ayler |
| 1984 | Oscar Peterson | Sun Ra |
| 1985 | Sarah Vaughan | Zoot Sims |
| 1986 | Stan Getz | Gil Evans |
| 1987 | Lionel Hampton | Johnny Dodds, Thad Jones, Teddy Wilson |
| 1988 | Jaco Pastorius | Kenny Clarke |
| 1989 | Woody Shaw | Chet Baker |
| 1990 | Red Rodney | Mary Lou Williams |
| 1991 | Lee Morgan | John Carter |
| 1992 | Maynard Ferguson | James P. Johnson |
| 1993 | Gerry Mulligan | Ed Blackwell |
| 1994 | Dave Brubeck | Frank Zappa |
| 1995 | J. J. Johnson | Julius Hemphill |
| 1996 | Horace Silver | Artie Shaw |
| 1997 | Nat King Cole | Tony Williams |
| 1998 | Frank Sinatra | Elvin Jones |
| 1999 | Milt Jackson | Betty Carter |
| 2000 | Clark Terry | Lester Bowie |
| 2001 | Joe Henderson | Milt Hinton |
| 2002 | Antonio Carlos Jobim | John Lewis |
| 2003 | Ray Brown | Wayne Shorter |
| 2004 | McCoy Tyner | Roy Haynes |
| 2005 | Herbie Hancock | Steve Lacy |
| 2006 | Jimmy Smith | Jackie McLean |
| 2007 | Michael Brecker | Andrew Hill |
| 2008 | Keith Jarrett | Joe Zawinul | Jo Jones, Jimmie Lunceford, Erroll Garner, Harry Carney, Jimmy Blanton |
| 2009 | Freddie Hubbard | Hank Jones | Oscar Pettiford, Tadd Dameron |
| 2010 | Muhal Richard Abrams | Chick Corea | Baby Dodds, Chick Webb, Philly Joe Jones, Billy Eckstine |
| 2011 | Ahmad Jamal | Abbey Lincoln | Paul Chambers |
| 2012 | Ron Carter | Paul Motian | Gene Ammons, Sonny Stitt |
| 2013 | Pat Metheny | Charlie Haden | Robert Johnson |
| 2014 | B.B. King | Jim Hall | Bing Crosby, Dinah Washington |
| 2015 | Tony Bennett | Lee Konitz | Muddy Waters |
| 2016 | Phil Woods | Randy Weston | Hoagy Carmichael |
| 2017 | Wynton Marsalis | Don Cherry | Eubie Blake, George Gershwin, Herbie Nichols |
| 2018 | Ray Charles | Benny Golson | Marian McPartland |
| 2019 | Hank Mobley | Nina Simone | Scott LaFaro, Joe Williams |
| 2020 | George Benson | Jimmy Heath | Mildred Bailey, Carmen McRae |
| 2021 | Roy Hargrove | Carla Bley | Booker Little, Yusef Lateef |
| 2022 | Kenny Barron | Geri Allen |
| 2023 | Pharoah Sanders | Alice Coltrane | Red Norvo, Mario Bauza |
| 2024 | John McLaughlin | Charles Lloyd | |

## Awards
### 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 |
| 1973 (tie) | 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 |
| 1978 (tie) | Dancing in Your Head | Ornette Coleman | Horizon |
| 1978 (tie) | Sophisticated Giant | Dexter Gordon | Columbia |
| 1978 (tie) | Homecoming: Live at the Village Vanguard | Dexter Gordon | Columbia |
| 1978 (tie) | 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 |
| 2019 | Emanon | Wayne Shorter | Blue Note |
| 2020 | Waiting Game | Terri Lyne Carrington | Motema Music |
| 2021 | Data Lords | Maria Schneider Orchestra | ArtistShare |
| 2022 | Jesup Wagon | James Brandon Lewis and the Red Lily Quintet | Tao Forms |
| 2023 | Amaryllis & Belladonna | Mary Halvorson | Nonesuch |
| 2024 | The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow | Charles Lloyd | Blue Note |

### 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