Apr 29, 2025 11:53 AM
Vocalist Andy Bey Dies at 85
Singer Andy Bey, who illuminated the jazz scene for five decades with a four-octave range that encompassed a bellowing…
Wynton Marsalis is the newest inductee in the DownBeat Hall of Fame.
(Photo: Joe Martinez)DownBeat is proud to announce the results of its 82nd Annual Readers Poll.
Wynton Marsalis topped the Trumpet category, and readers elected him into the DownBeat Hall of Fame.
Diana Krall topped the categories Female Vocalist and Jazz Album of the Year, for her exquisite disc Turn Up The Quiet (Verve).
Corea was voted Jazz Artist of the Year. Herbie Hancock topped both the Piano and Keyboard categories.
Snarky Puppy topped the Jazz Group category, Chris Potter won the Tenor Saxophone category and Anat Cohen topped the Clarinet category.
The Maria Schneider Orchestra was voted the top Big Band, and its leader took home the honors for top Composer and Arranger.
The winner for Historical Album is the Bill Evans Trio’s On A Monday Evening (Fantasy), documenting performances in Madison, Wisconsin, on Nov. 15, 1976.
The readers’ choice for top Blues Album is TajMo (Concord), a collaboration between revered blues veterans Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’.
Guitarist Jeff Beck topped the Beyond Artist or Group category, and the Beyond Album honors went to You Want It Darker (Columbia), the final album by singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, who passed away Nov. 7, 2016.
“The results of this year’s Readers Poll are an indication of the incredible variety and depth of talent on the jazz scene today,” said DownBeat Editor Bobby Reed. “Wynton Marsalis’ induction into the DownBeat Hall of Fame is a reminder that he is not only a remarkable composer and bandleader, but also one of the most skillful musicians to ever pick up a trumpet. With his induction into the Hall of Fame, he joins timeless luminaries such as Louis Armstrong, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, Dizzy Gillespie and Billie Holiday.”
The December issue of DownBeat contains the complete results in all 34 Readers Poll categories.
Additionally, the issue includes features on numerous poll winners, including Marsalis, Corea, Krall, Snarky Puppy, and Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’, as well as Christian McBride, who won the Bass category.
The list of winners is below:
82nd ANNUAL DOWNBEAT READERS POLL WINNERS
Hall of Fame: Wynton Marsalis
Jazz Artist: Chick Corea
Jazz Group: Snarky Puppy
Big Band: Maria Schneider Orchestra
Jazz Album: Diana Krall, Turn Up The Quiet (Verve)
Historical Album: Bill Evans Trio, On A Monday Evening (Fantasy)
Trumpet: Wynton Marsalis
Trombone: Trombone Shorty
Soprano Saxophone: Wayne Shorter
Alto Saxophone: Kenny Garrett
Tenor Saxophone: Chris Potter
Baritone Saxophone: James Carter
Clarinet: Anat Cohen
Flute: Hubert Laws
Piano: Herbie Hancock
Keyboard: Herbie Hancock
Organ: Joey DeFrancesco
Guitar: Pat Metheny
Bass: Christian McBride
Electric Bass: Stanley Clarke
Violin: Regina Carter
Drums: Jack DeJohnette
Percussion: Sheila E.
Vibraphone: Gary Burton
Miscellaneous Instrument: Béla Fleck (banjo)
Female Vocalist: Diana Krall
Male Vocalist: Gregory Porter
Composer: Maria Schneider
Arranger: Maria Schneider
Record Label: Blue Note
Blues Artist or Group: Buddy Guy
Blues Album: Taj Mahal & Keb’ Mo’, TajMo (Concord)
Beyond Artist or Group: Jeff Beck
Beyond Album: Leonard Cohen, You Want It Darker (Columbia)
Fans will have opportunities to see many of these groundbreaking artists on tour in the coming weeks. Marsalis and the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra will embark on a Big Band Holidays tour, which begins on Nov. 30 in Richmond, Virginia, and later makes stops in South Carolina, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina. The band will enjoy a residency at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s Rose Theater on Dec. 13–17. For more info, visit Marsalis’ website.
The Chick Corea/Steve Gadd Band is in the midst of a European tour that includes concerts in Germany, Italy, Spain, Switzerland, France and Austria. For more info, visit Corea’s website.
Krall will tour Canada in the coming weeks, beginning with a Nov. 21 show in Quebec City, followed by 11 more concerts, culminating in a Dec. 8 performance in Vancouver. For more info, visit Krall’s website. DB
“It kind of slows down, but it’s still kind of productive in a way, because you have something that you can be inspired by,” Andy Bey said on a 2019 episode of NPR Jazz Night in America, when he was 80. “The music is always inspiring.”
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