The 88th Annual DownBeat Readers Poll!

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(Photo: Mark Sheldon)

The DownBeat Readers have spoken. And the results are vast! With 36 categories and hundreds upon hundreds of albums and artists listed, this year’s poll — as always — represents a snapshot of the jazz scene. Click HERE to enjoy the complete results! DB


COMPLETE READERS POLL RESULTS, CLICK HERE!



  • John_Hammond_courtesy_johnhammond.com.jpg

    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.

  • Flea_by_Gus_Van_Sant_copy.jpg

    “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.”

  • Dee_Dee_Bridgewater_Courtesy_Dee_Dee_Bridgewater.jpg

    Vocalist Dee Dee Bridgewater will be among the headliners at this year’s DC JazzFest.

  • Ted_Panke_Nicole_Zuraitis_copy.jpg

    Blindfold Test proctor Ted Panken, left, with the Grammy-winning Nicole Zuraitis.

  • Maria_Schneider_%C2%A92026_Mark_Sheldon_-07_copy.jpg

    “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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May 2026
Miles Davis
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