Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
In Memoriam: John Hammond Jr., 1942–2026
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
Hall of Fame Kenny Barron has been a model of grace and elegance for more than six decades.
(Photo: Michael Jackson)The readers have spoken in the 87th annual DownBeat Readers Poll, handing a triple-crown victory to Jazz Artist, Bassist and Producer of the Year Christian McBride. The poll results appear in the December 2022 issue of DownBeat.
Pianist Kenny Barron, a model of grace and elegance for more than six decades, was elected to the DownBeat Hall of Fame.
Guitarist of the Year Pat Metheny’s Side-Eye NYC (VI.IV) was voted Album of the Year, handing the perennial readers’ favorite a double win.
Snarky Puppy, the jazz-funk-rock-world juggernaut led by Michael League, was honored for the third time as Group of the Year.
Readers bade a fond farewell to the late Joey DeFrancesco by voting him Organist of the Year one final time.
In addition to those awards, readers bestowed the Historical Album of the Year award upon John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme: Live In Seattle. Buddy Guy won Blues Artist of the Year honors, and Keb Mo’s Good To Be … won Blues Album of the Year. Jon Batiste was named Beyond Artist of the Year, and Robert Glasper’s Black Radio III won Beyond Album of the Year.
Click HERE for the complete DownBeat 87th Annual Readers Poll listings. DB
Hammond came to the blues through the folk boom of the late 1950s and early 1960s, which he experienced firsthand in New York’s Greenwich Village.
Mar 2, 2026 9:58 PM
John P. Hammond (aka John Hammond Jr.), a blues guitarist and singer who was one of the first white American…
“Cerebral and academic thought is a different way to approach music,” Flea says of his continuing dive into jazz. “I’ve always relied on emotion and intuition and physicality.”
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In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.
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The first wave of artists scheduled to perform at the 2026 DC JazzFest have been announced. This year’s headliners…
Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.
Feb 24, 2026 12:00 PM
After earning the 2024 Best Jazz Vocal Album Grammy for her seventh album, How Love Begins (La Reserve), comprising 12…
“These days, with curated news, where people only get half the story, people can’t even speak to family members anymore,” Schneider laments.
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Maria Schneider is doing her part to try to fix what ails America. Which got her thinking about crows, specifically,…
