DownBeat July 1994 [antikvár]

ON THE BEAT DOW\BEAT July 1994 Reminiscin At 60 . I by Frank Alkyer I here's a back room in our offices here al Down Beat Central that has no windows; the lighting isn't so great, and to enter it. you have to maneuver through a small maze of shelves and boxes. It doesn't sound like much, but for DB's staff, it's one of the most wonderful places in the world. The room houses the Down Beat archives, copies of some 1,200 issues published during our first 60 years. We call that room "the morgue"—a sort of periodical resting place. But there's more living on the pages of those old issues than you or I could squeeze out of a million lifetimes—^Jelly Roll Morton and W.C. Handy debating who created jazz; Duke Ellington debuting his classic "Black, Brown Beige" to mixed reviews; Benny Gooodman, Lionel Hampton, and Teddy Wilson boldly breaking the color line; the tragic tales of such artists as Billie Holiday and Chet Baker; the musical revolutions caused by bebop and fusion; postmortem tributes to everyone from King Oliver and Chick Webb to Jaco Pastorius and Dizzy Gillespie; the first interview with Miles Davis; the last with Sun Ra. It's hard to believe that all of this was bom out of a photoless, eight-page tabloid that barely made a sound when it hit the street in July 1934. Launched by an insurance agent named Albert J. Lipschultz, that first Down Beat held little in common with the magazine today—little, except for a commitment to writing about music from a musician's viewpoint. That commitment continues today with the Maher family, who has owned Down Beat since 1944. In preparation for this special 60th anniversary issue, we've combed every Inch of Down Beat's archives. We've flipped through every photo in our files. We've fretted, fussed, and grudgingly edited to bring you some of what we believe to be the most interesting reading the music world has to offer. Of course, this issue is not a complete picture of the magazine's history. It's Down memory lone; The Down Beat Poll Winner's Show from 1975 wos oired by the Public Broadcasting Service and featured everyone from Sonny Rollins, George Benson, and Quincy Jones to Freddie Hubbard, Bill Wotrous, and Chick Corea. Pictured, from left, ore Slanley Clarke, Rohsaan Roland Kirk, Lenny White, and McCoy Tyner certainly not a complete picture of jazz history. There are thousands of names and important contributions that didn't make the final edit. But, the following pages are representative of the care and craziness Down Beat's writers, editors, and publishers have poured into this magazine and the artists over the years. We would like to thank those men and women for creating such a lush heritage. It is the foundation for Down Beat's future. Finally, we would like to thank our readers for picking up Down Beat every month. The first 60 years have been one long, terrific show packed with grace, grit, entertainment, and joy Think of this as the encore and, the next show begins in about 30 days. PS: Watch for exciting news on the Down Beat/Lionel Hampton Jazz Awards in upcoming issues. DB DOWPEAT July 1 9 9 4-Volume 61-No. 7 PUBLISHER Kevin Maher EDITORIAL DIRECTOR/ASSOC. PUBLISHER Frank Alkyer MANAGiNO EDITOR John Ephland ASSOCIATE EDITOR Ed Enhght DESIGN Betsy Bowron/Komerska PRODUCTION MGR. Becky Williams CIRCULATION MGR. Elaine Rizleris CIRCULATION ASST. Ginger Giese PRESIDENT Jack Maher CONTRIBUTORS: Larry Birnbaum, Fred Bouchard, Michael Bourne, Tom Copi, John Corbell, Owen Cordlo, Lauren Deulsch, John Diliberio, Enid Färber, Leonard Feather, Milchell Feldman. Andy Freeberg, Elaine Guregian, Frank-John Hadloy, Poler Kostakis, All Lar)ge, Jc^n Lilweiler, Howard Mandol, John McDonough, Bill Milkowski. Paul Nalkin, Dan Ouellette, Bon Sandmol, Milchoil Soidel. Bill Shoomfikor, Jack Sohmer, Stephanie Slein, Robin Tolleson, Ron Welburn, Pele Welding, Kevin Whitehead, Josel Woodard. Scolt Yanow, CORRESPONDENTS: Albany, NY Georgia Urban; Allania, Dorothy Pearce; Austin, Michael Point; Ballimore, Fred Douglass; Boston, Fred Bouchard; Bulfalo, John P Lockhart; Chicago, Jim Do Jong; Cincinnati, Bob Nave; Detroit, Michael G, Nastos; Las Vegas, Brian Sanders; Los Angeles, Zan Slewart; Minneapolis, Mary Snyder; Nashville. Dave Jenkins; New Orleans, Joel Simpson; Philadelphia, Russell Wdessner; Phoenix. Robert Henschen; Pittsburgh, David J Fabilli, San Francisco, Michael Handler; Seattle, Joseph R. Murphy; Vancouver, Vern Montgomery; Washinglon, DC, W. A. Browor, Argentina, Max Seligmann; Australia, Eric Myers; Brazil, Christopher Pickard; Finland, Roger Freundlich; Greal Brilain, Brian Prieslley; India, Vinod Advani; llaly, Ruggero Sliassi; Jamaica, Mauroon Sheridan; Japan. Shoichi Yul; Netherlands, Jaap Lüdeke; Norway, Randi Hultin; Sonogambia, Oko Draimo; South Africa, Howard Belling; Sweden, Lars Lystedl. • • •