December 2025

Volume 92, Number 3

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Cover

Christian McBride & Jeffrey Osborne

Diggin’ deep with our Artist of the Year and a bona fide R&B legend!

By Gary Fukushima

Christian McBride, the DownBeat Readers Poll choice for Artist of the Year, and Jeffrey Osborne, simply R&B royalty, sojourned to The Record Parlour, a used vinyl shop and show venue in Los Angeles, where they were photographed thumbing through sides, playing pinball and generally having a blast sharing road stories and jokes. After McBride and Osborne sat down for this conversation with DownBeat.

Features

90th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll
Complete Results!
By DownBeat
Jack DeJohnette
Enters the DownBeat Hall of fame
By Willard Jenkins
Branford Marsalis Quartet
Wins Album of the Year
By Phillip Lutz
Emmet Cohen
Wins Pianist of the Year
By Allen Morrison

Blindfold Test

The first-ever public DownBeat Blindfold Test at September’s Pittsburgh International Jazz Festival was also the maiden voyage Blindfold Test for its Artist in Residence, guitarist Dan Wilson. Based in nearby Akron, Ohio, Wilson’s fourth leader album was the recently issued Things Eternal (Mack Avenue/Brother Mister), following consequential sideperson experience during the 2010s with Christian McBride and Joey De Francesco. Wilson, 41, addressed 10 selections — all guitarists from Western Pennsylvania and Northern Ohio.

George Benson: “Naima” from Guitar Man (Concord, 2011)
Ahmad Jamal/Ray Crawford/Israel Crosby: “New Rhumba” from Chamber Music of the New Jazz (Argo, 1955)
Joe Negri: “It’s A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood” from Uptown Elegance (MCG, 2004)
Paul Bollenback: “Cat’s Eye” from Double Gemini (Challenge, 1997)
James Emery: “Lotus Blossom” from Inside Outlier (Self-Produced, 2024)
Sheryl Bailey: “East to Wes” from A New Promise (MCG, 2009)
Jimmy Ponder: “Mr. Magic” from James Street (High Note, 1997)
Bern Nix Trio: “Just Friends” from Alarms and Excursions (New World, Counter-Currents, 1993)
Jim Hall/Pat Metheny: “Django” from By Arrangement (Telarc, 1998)
Kenny Burrell/Stanley Turrentine: “Chitlins Con Carne” from Midnight Blue (Blue Note, 1963)