Check The College Guide!

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The 2026 DownBeat College Guide is an invaluable resource for music students, especially jazz students, to find a school that’s right for them. Just click below to dive into this special digital edition, which we’ve created to help you on your jazz education journey! DB


CLICK HERE TO SEE THE GUIDE!

Click on the cover image to view DownBeat’ 2026 College Guide
Click on the cover image to view DownBeat’ 2026 College Guide


  • Don_and_Maureen_Sickler_by_Richard_Halterman_copy_2.jpg

    Don and Maureen Sickler serve as the keepers of engineer Rudy Van Gelder’s flame at Van Gelder Studio, perhaps the most famous recording studio in jazz history.

  • Jack_DeJohnette_by_Steve_Sussman.jpg

    ​Jack DeJohnette boasted a musical resume that was as long as it was fearsome.

  • Trio_aRT_courtesy_Trio_aRT_copy_3.jpg

    Trio aRT with its avalanche of instrumentation: from left, Pheeroan akLaff, Scott Robinson and Julian Thayer.

  • KurtElling_6.2.25_by_ElliotMandel-REV-6.jpg

    “Think of all the creative people I’m going to meet and a whole other way of thinking about music and a challenge of singing completely different material than I would have sung otherwise to my highest level in dedication to the moment,” Elling says about his Broadway run.

  • Pat_Metheny_Side-Eye_III_Jimmy_Katz.jpg

    Pat Metheny will perform with his Side-Eye III ensemble at ​Big Ears 2026 in Knoxville, Tennessee, next March.