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…
All of Miles Davis’ recordings with his namesake nonet are compiled on The Complete Birth Of The Cool.
(Photo: ©Herman Leonard Photography, LLC)If you’re shopping for gifts this holiday season, DownBeat has got you covered with our 2019 Holiday Gift Guide.
We’ve got articles on vinyl releases, archival recordings and musical gear/accessories. Plus, our Yuletide Music Roundup shines a spotlight on the best holiday albums of 2019.
Check out our features on the new Blue Note documentary, a batch of blues box sets, some early work by Nat “King” Cole, Miles Davis’ nonet, Erroll Garner reissues, late-period Art Pepper and a Stevie Ray Vaughan biography.
Keep in mind that many independent record shops do not sell out of all their Record Store Day inventory on Black Friday. So, stop by your local shop to see if it has any goodies left from RSD Black Friday. Our preview also provides a Top 10 list of the best releases for Record Store Day Black Friday.
Additionally, DownBeat makes the perfect gift for anyone who loves jazz. We’ve got great deals on subscriptions, whether you want to read DownBeat in print, online or on your tablet. And don’t forget to sign up for our monthly newsletter.
To read the Holiday Gift Guide from our December issue, click here.
To read the Yuletide Music Roundup for 2019, click here.
To order a subscription to DownBeat, or to buy a DownBeat book, hat or T-shirt, click here. 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.”
Mar 30, 2026 10:30 PM
In the relatively small pantheon of certifiable rock stars venturing into the intersection of pop music and jazz, the…
Lettuce, from left: Eric Coomes, Adam Deitch, Ryan Zoidis, Eric Bloom, Adam Smirnoff and Nigel Hall
Feb 17, 2026 11:05 AM
They were Berklee misfits. Neither jazzy enough for the straightahead crowd at Boston’s highly prestigious College of…
New Orleans Trad Jazz Camp
Feb 19, 2026 10:39 AM
Jazz camps have exploded around the globe as a summertime tradition for working on your chops and making new friends.…
Lovers of the big band experience, clockwise from top left, John Clayton, Leigh Pilzer, Ted Nash, David Pietro and Christine Jensen.
Feb 10, 2026 11:00 AM
The popularity of big band music might have peaked in the 1930s and ’40s, but despite the many changes on the jazz…
