Sep 23, 2026 12:37 PM
The Tribute on Record & on Tour
A tribute to John Coltrane is one thing, but there is much more to the iconic saxophonist’s 100th anniversary…
Record producer Bob Thiele’s classic photo that became the cover of John Coltrane’s landmark album A Love Supreme.
Sep 23, 2026 12:37 PM
A tribute to John Coltrane is one thing, but there is much more to the iconic saxophonist’s 100th anniversary…
SUNY Fredonia Jazz Flextet, a great example of working together.
Sep 17, 2026 4:26 PM
The question often comes up for those of us in the music business. A parent has a child immersed in jazz, or music in…
Kurt Elling, Katherine Russell and Emmet Cohen (host on the 2027 Jazz Cruise) share a laugh at sea.
Sep 8, 2026 12:47 PM
It began in 2001. A travel agent named Anita E. Berry had been booking clients on “partial” jazz cruises that took…
Clockwise from top left, Mary Halvorson, Patricia Brennan, Adam O’Farrill, Keith Jarrett’s At the Deer Head Inn: The Complete Recordings, Sheila Jordan and Jaki Byard.
Jul 16, 2026 3:22 PM
The DownBeat Critics Poll never ceases to amaze! And the 74th Edition offered plenty of accolades for poll veterans and…
The bows at the end of the star-studded event featured a ridiculous collection of jazz artistry including Helen Sung, Herbie Hancock, Robert Glasper, Tiger Okoshi, Dianne Reeves, Kurt Elling, Buddy Guy, James Reedus, John Beasley, Jacob Collier, Lizz Wright and many more.
May 12, 2026 6:15 PM
For those around the globe who celebrated International Jazz Day on April 30, the occasion, as usual, seemed like a very…
Montreux Jazz Festival at night.
Apr 23, 2026 10:38 AM
It’s a crazy world we’re living in, so right now we need to be enjoying the things that are not just good, but great…
Frank Malfitano, right, with B.B. King in 2014.
Apr 23, 2026 10:37 AM
With Frank Malfitano, founder of the Syracuse Jazz Festival, conversations don’t go in straight lines. They twist and…
Apr 14, 2026 1:01 PM
Saturday, April 18, is Record Store Day, that annual beloved holiday for everything vinyl! In preparation, DownBeat has…
Pianist Edward Simon leads of a bevy of great new Latin releases.
Mar 24, 2026 1:26 PM
In last year’s March issue of DownBeat, we wrote about a collection of hot new Latin jazz releases to help folks…
Sullivan Fortner continues a winning streak with his third Grammy for Jazz Album of the Year after earning the Gilmore Larry J. Bell Artist Award last October.
Feb 10, 2026 11:52 AM
The 68th Annual Grammy Awards presented a marathon of winners, tributes and music on Feb. 1. Kendrick Lamar added five…
Belá Fleck during an interview with Fredrika Whitfield on CNN.
Jan 13, 2026 2:19 PM
The fallout from the renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to include President Donald…
To see the complete list of nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards, go to grammy.com.
Nov 11, 2025 1:24 PM
The nominations for the 2026 Grammy Awards are in, with plenty to smile about for the worlds of jazz, blues and beyond.…
Maria Schneider leads her orchestra through a thrilling set at this year’s Detroit Jazz Festival.
Sep 23, 2025 12:55 PM
Sometimes words have more than one meaning, as in the lore about free-jazz. It usually surrounds the early work of…
George Mason Jazz Ensemble, dreamers all!
Sep 18, 2025 4:25 PM
Going to college to study music can be a daunting feat. Where should you go? How do you even think about getting in? How…
“I don’t guess I’m going to excite you; I know I’m going to excite you,” Palmieri said in an August 1994 DownBeat feature.
Aug 12, 2025 12:28 PM
Famed Latin jazz composer, bandleader and pianist Eddie Palmieri passed away in his New Jersey home on Aug. 6. He was…
Chuck Mangione on the cover of the May 8, 1975, edition of DownBeat.
Jul 29, 2025 1:55 PM
Chuck Mangione, one of the most popular trumpeters in jazz history, passed away on July 24 at home in Rochester, New…
Nicholas Payton looked very zen in this photo used for a feature in the January 2024 edition of DownBeat. His departure from Berklee College of Music was anything but.
Jul 29, 2025 1:45 PM
We live in divisive times. Earlier this year, we learned that the gifted composer, bandleader and trumpeter Nicholas…
Béla Fleck and the Flecktones have announced dates for their Jingle All the Way tour.
Jul 22, 2025 1:29 PM
Looking for something cool to check out in the heat of a sweltering summer? Here are five upcoming tours and musical…
James Brandon Lewis earned honors for Artist of the Year and Tenor Saxophonist of the Year. Three of his recordings placed in the Albums of the Year category.
Jul 17, 2025 2:27 PM
You see before you what we believe is the largest and most comprehensive Critics Poll in the history of jazz. DownBeat…
Donald Harrison is among the headliners at the Quantum Leap Music Festival, to be held Aug. 14–17 on Long Island.
Jul 15, 2025 3:30 PM
It’s festival season in the world of jazz, blues and beyond. And as updates come in to DownBeat, we’ll send them out…
Romero Lubabmbo and Dianne Reeves provide a study in chemistry and artistry on June 29 at this year’s Montreal Jazz Festival.
Jul 11, 2025 9:34 AM
This iconic Canadian festival has, as the saying goes, “a little something for everyone,” with some 350 acts…
Louis Moholo-Moholo formed The Blue Notes with Johnny Dyani, Mongezi Feza, Chris McGregor, Nikele Moyake and Dudu Pukwana, a group that championed free-jazz with an African sensibility during the 1960s and ’70s.
Jun 24, 2025 1:50 PM
Louis Moholo-Moholo, a legendary South African drummer, passed away June 13 in Cape Town, South Africa. He was 85. Born…
Mathias Eick is a trumpeter of serious tone and substance.
Apr 29, 2025 12:09 PM
There’s something about ECM records. No matter who the artist is, they never seem to be in a hurry. Don’t mistake…
Crowds chill at the John Coltrane Jazz & Blues Festival in North Carolina.
Apr 16, 2025 11:04 PM
If great art is made in chaos, get ready for some killer festivals this year. In digging into the 2025 festival scene…
Apr 10, 2025 3:32 PM
Once again, in preparation for Record Store Day — this Saturday, April 12 — DownBeat goes crate-diggin’ to bring…
The cover image of one of two new Sun Ra releases on vinyl.
Apr 10, 2025 4:49 PM
If you’re like DownBeat’s editors and need a good dose of music from the avant garde side of jazz, get to your local…
Tony Williams’ Civilization is among the new entries in Blue Note’s Classic Vinyl Series.
Apr 10, 2025 4:49 PM
From a Record Store Day Exclusive to a trio of cool Tone Poet Society releases as well as a duo of additions to the…
Apr 10, 2025 4:45 PM
Resonance Records has been a valued and frequent contributor to RSD in past years. This year is no exception, with four…
A document of John Lee Hooker live in Paris.
Apr 15, 2025 3:32 PM
Here’s a fresh batch of blues on vinyl to break your heart and make you love it. And when that heart needs mending,…
More Mingus? Thank you!
Apr 10, 2025 4:53 PM
Here’s even more great music to please your ears and satisfy your hunger for historically significant recordings. Many…
“In terms of what a singer is capable of making you feel, she is as good as it gets,” Cavassa said of Mahalia Jackson during a live Blindfold Test with DB’s Frank Alkyer.
Apr 1, 2025 9:06 AM
At the end of last summer, over the Labor Day weekend, vocalist Gabrielle Cavassa took time out from preparing for her…
The 47th Kennedy Center Honors featured a stellar group including The Grateful Dead, film director Francis Ford Coppola, Arturo Sandoval, Bonnie Raitt and The Apollo Theater. Will future Honors uphold these standards?
Apr 1, 2025 1:09 PM
Editor’s Note: The following served as the First Take column, which is our editor’s letter, in the April issue of…
Joshua Breakstone’s Jazz Guitar Dream Experience takes campers all the way to Japan.
Feb 5, 2025 10:59 AM
For musicians with a passion for globe-trotting who seek something new and different in a jazz camp experience, there…
Jamming at the JazzWire Summer Summit.
Feb 5, 2025 10:36 AM
Ah, summertime. Breathe in those fresh summer breezes … and get to the woodshed to improve your chops! That’s right,…
Cynthia Erivo and Herbie Hancock perform “Fly Me To The Moon” during a Grammy Awards tribute to Quincy Jones on Feb. 2.
Feb 4, 2025 12:50 PM
The jazz and blues community may not have been center stage for the majority of the 67th annual Grammy Award…
Some of the artists with recent releases on Mack Avenue, acquired by Exceleration Music.
Feb 3, 2025 11:17 PM
Exceleration Music, a music company dedicated to independent music, has acquired Mack Avenue Music Group, a jazz label…
Nov 26, 2024 3:39 PM
Looking for a great gift for your vinyl-loving loved one (or yourself)? Record Store Day’s Black Friday releases offer…
“It was now or never because if you wait, wait, wait until you have some funding, maybe it will never happen,” Barbara Bruckmüller says of her ambitious new recording.
Nov 12, 2024 12:54 PM
Barbara Bruckmüller has a quiet tone with an easy laugh and smile. Her demeanor belies an intense love for large…
“At this point in my life I’m still looking for the note,” Charles Lloyd told DownBeat last year. “But I’m a little nearer.”
Nov 7, 2024 2:34 PM
What can we say about the shamanistic Charles Lloyd that this magazine hasn’t said during the past three years? After…
Benny Golson soaks in the music during a late-career performance at Chicago’s Jazz Showcase.
Sep 24, 2024 1:22 PM
Benny Golson, one of the greatest composers and saxophonists of the bebop era, passed away Saturday, Sept. 21, at his…
Students jam at The New School in New York.
Sep 5, 2024 2:27 PM
The road we call jazz can take you anywhere — from your quiet hometown to the grandest stages of the world; from…
“I figured you’d get this one,” laughed John Clayton, left, after Rufus Reid guessed Billy Childs. “This one’s a little soft pitch.”
Jul 31, 2024 12:30 PM
When the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers symposium hit Nashville in May, one of the most…
“I figured you’d get this one,” laughed John Clayton, left, after Rufus Reid guessed Billy Childs. “This one’s a little soft pitch.”
Jul 16, 2024 3:14 PM
When the International Society of Jazz Arrangers and Composers symposium hit Nashville in May, one of the most…
The Lemon Bucket Orchestra dives into the crowd at the Ottawa Jazz Festival.
Apr 11, 2024 12:38 PM
Ah, spring, when a jazz fan’s mind turns … to summer festivals! From fantastic locales to intimate encounters, from…
One of three beachside stages at the Rio das Ostras Jazz & Blues Festival.
Apr 11, 2024 2:54 PM
For those seeking a truly unique jazz and blues getaway, perhaps a trip to Brazil is in order during late May into early…
Duane Davis (left), Oscar Hernandez and Terri Lyne Carrington at this year’s JEN Conference in New Orleans.
Apr 9, 2024 11:58 AM
There are times when you listen to jazz musicians reveal the stories behind their lives and careers, and you can’t…
Looking toward the city side of learning, campers at the Summer Jazz Workshop of Fordham College at Lincoln Center performed in New York’s Times Square.
Feb 8, 2024 1:31 PM
Summertime, and the living is … improvised! When the weather heats up and the days get longer, there’s no shortage…
Chick Corea’s Elektric Band heads up a stellar group of boxed sets.
Dec 19, 2023 1:07 PM
Looking for that perfect last-minute gift? There’s plenty to choose from in this year’s edition of the DownBeat…
The 313 Partnership from Third Man Records and Blue Note Records.
Dec 19, 2023 1:20 PM
Between Record Store Day’s still-fresh Black Friday releases and a bevy of reissues and new vinyl releases, there is a…
Steve Davis Meets Hank Jones, Vol. 1 on Smoke Sessions Records.
Dec 19, 2023 12:24 PM
Smoke Sessions Records has expanded its growing list of vinyl offerings. In addition to the mammoth five-LP box of…
Craft Recordings has released a boxed set reissue of Thelonious Monk’s Brilliant Corners.
Dec 19, 2023 12:26 PM
Craft Recordings continues its deep-dive into jazz history with a slew of reissues featuring such brilliant artists as…
“I worked in a factory for a year, saving up money so I could study music in college,” said Wayne Shorter about his humble beginnings.
Nov 22, 2023 12:46 PM
With Wayne Shorter’s passing on March 2, the readers of DownBeat wanted to honor him one more time by naming him…
Philadelphia’s University of the Arts “Z” Big Band.
Sep 28, 2023 3:51 PM
In creating the DownBeat College Guide each year, a great deal of thought goes into what students and parents need to…
Piazza IV Novembre at the Umbria Jazz Festival, which celebrates its 50th anniversary this summer.
Apr 27, 2023 11:45 AM
For many, it’s been a long, hard winter, and we could just as easily be talking about Los Angeles as the Midwest or…
“I knew Dizzy’s music inside and out,” Cassidy said about playing in the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. “That’s what I grew up chasing.”
Apr 25, 2023 1:03 PM
There’s a zen-like drive to alto saxophonist Sharel Cassity that’s undeniable — über calm on the exterior, but…
Apr 21, 2023 11:40 AM
Record Store Day hits April 22, so we deliver a glimpse at some of the vinyl dropping in and around that blessed holiday…
Gretchen Valade
Jan 3, 2023 4:34 PM
EDITOR’S NOTE: As this edition of the DownBeat Enewsletter was about to go out, we learned of the passing of jazz…
That’s What Happened captures Miles Davis on the comeback trail of his career in the early to mid-1980s.
Dec 13, 2022 6:00 PM
With all the new releases coming out around the holidays, here are a few team DownBeat is digging into right now! Brian…
Author Richard Koloda spent two decades researching this addition to the legend of free-jazz saxophonist Albert Ayler.
Dec 13, 2022 6:14 PM
When considering what to buy those who are impossible to buy for (guilty, as charged), loved ones can’t go wrong with…
Ramsey Lewis takes part in a live DownBeat interview at the The Midwest Clinic in December 2009. Saxophonist Kirk Whalum (not shown) also took part in the conversation.
Sep 13, 2022 2:41 PM
It’s the week before Christmas in Chicago. The tree in Daley Plaza has been decked out and glowing — all 90 feet of…
Michael Bourne shared his exuberance and enthusiasm for jazz with gusto, be it on the radio or in the pages of DownBeat.
Aug 23, 2022 3:21 PM
The DownBeat staff had to remove the name of a favorite contributor from the magazine’s masthead this month. Michael…
Jones sat down for a live interview last December in Chicago at the Midwest Clinic.
Jul 19, 2022 2:25 PM
Sean Jones is riding a career high right now. And he’s doing it in a very modern way. In today’s jazz world, those…
Charles Lloyd and the Marvels performing at Jazz Middelheim in Belgium.
Apr 29, 2022 10:25 AM
This year’s summer jazz festival season is cause for special, and excessive, celebration. The entire jazz ecosystem…
Left: Drummer Allison Miller will teach at Jazz Camp West this summer. Right: Summer Jazz at DePaul University offers its first camp at the famed jazz institution this summer.
Feb 22, 2022 3:54 PM
For anyone (make that all of us) who are just plain done with this pandemic, here’s a prediction: Jazz camps will go…
Martino dazzled as a player and demonstrated amazing resilience in overcoming life’s challenges.
Nov 2, 2021 1:34 PM
Jazz guitarist Pat Martino passed away Nov. 1 at age 77 following a long illness. Known for his incredible guitar chops…
Collier, at work in the midst of COVID, at Van Gelder Studios last September.
Aug 3, 2021 4:28 PM
Pandemic stories — we hear them wherever we go. Pretty much every story in this issue is a pandemic story in some way.…
Charles Tolliver
Jun 8, 2021 1:11 PM
On June 16 at 6:30 p.m. (CDT), the Strata-East All-Stars will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the artist-driven label…
Lee Morgan (1938–’72)
Jun 8, 2021 11:24 AM
There aren’t many artists in the history of jazz who could turn a three-night engagement into 12 albums (eight CDs) of…
Curtis Fuller
Jun 2, 2021 4:37 PM
It’s been a challenging few weeks with the loss of trombonist Curtis Fuller and bassist Mario Pavone as well as three…
Avishai Cohen with conductor Alexander Hanson and the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra
May 11, 2021 11:27 AM
Bassist and composer Avishai Cohen has been dreaming big for a long time. And part of that dream has been to expand his…
Triology 2 received the Grammy for Best Jazz Instrumental Album.
Mar 15, 2021 1:18 PM
Chick Corea, who passed away on Feb. 9, was awarded two Grammy Awards yesterday during the 63rd annual evening honoring…
Chris Collins, president and artistic director of the Detroit Jazz Festival Foundation, attributes the ability to pull off the live event to the professionalism of Detroit’s tech crews, musicians and foundation staff.
Sep 10, 2020 8:59 AM
The Detroit Jazz Festival pulled off a first—a live jazz fest with no audience—during the Labor Day weekend. Rather…
Roy Hargrove at Chicago’s Jazz Showcase in 2017.
Nov 4, 2018 10:27 AM
Roy Hargrove, the acclaimed trumpeter who was part of the Young Lions jazz movement of the early 1990s, has been…
Ndugu Chancler at the Jazz Education Network conference in San Diego on Jan. 16, 2015.
Feb 24, 2020 10:17 AM
The great Leon “Ndugu” Chancler passed away on Feb. 3 from undisclosed causes. He was 65. You might not recognize…
Leon “Ndugu” Chancler at the Jazz Education Network conference in San Diego on Jan. 16, 2015.
Feb 19, 2018 10:34 AM
In tribute to drummer Ndugu Chancler, who passed away on Feb. 3, below is the feature ‘Like Royalty,’ which was…
An all-star cast gathers at the JEN Conference. Front row, seated from left: Victor Wooten, Roy “Futureman” Wooten, Kirk Whalum, Jeff Coffin, Johnny Vidacovich, Stanton Moore, Branford Marsalis (standing), David Paich, Caleb Chapman, Rubén Alvarez, Howard Levy, Rashawn Ross and Randy Brecker with Caleb Chapman’s Crescent City Super Band.
Feb 9, 2017 9:35 AM
The 8th annual Jazz Education Network Conference had a little more glide in its stride this year when more than 4,000…
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T.S. Monk at home
Nov 9, 2021 3:04 PM
What’s it like to grow up the child of a famous father, the son of jazz royalty? What’s it like to share the name…
