Jazz Magazine
- Place of Publication: Northport, NY
- Language: English
- Date of Publication: 1976-1980
- Periodicity: 14 nos., quarterly
- Editors: Peter Keepnews & Tom Stites
- Publishers: Stites-Oakley
- Type: Full Text
Jazz Magazine was the product of Tom Stites, editor and publisher, with support of William O. Oakey, and a large group of dedicated jazz fans, journalists, and critics. A total of 14 quarterly issues were published from the summer of 1976 until spring 1980, with a focus “exclusively and absolutely to jazz.”1 With an attractive magazine format, engaging prose, well-designed covers, and contributions which demonstrated a love for the art, Jazz Magazine prefigured a revival in American jazz journalism in the 1980s.
Stites published the first issue without a written prospectus, stating in the second issue that he wished to prove that the premiere issue wouldn’t embarrass any of its contributors. Contributing editors included the Boston-based Bob Blumenthal; Sid Cassare from Long Island; Peter Keepnews of New York; Dan Morgenstern, newly-appointed as Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University (Newark); Harry Pearson, Tom Piazza, and Carl Strommen. Regular contributors included Leonard Feather, Sy Johnson, Don Heckman, Ira Gitler, Jerry DeMuth, Harvey Siders, Stanley Dance, Randy Savicky, among others.
A broad geographic roundup of jazz news, ranging from across the United States to Europe, introduced most issues. Interviews with prominent musicians – Miles Davis, Buddy Tate, Charles Mingus, Ron Carter, Art Blakey, and many more – are accompanied by photography. Reviews of recent recordings were provided by the editors and regular contributors and a column on reissues and retrospectives, “Time Capsules,” was provided by John McDonough. Other regular columns included “Waxings,” a free editorial column, generally by Morgenstern, “Woodshed” on pedagogical issues, and “Soundings” on stereo equipment and technology. Issues conclude with “Fragments,” a column devoted to jazz research questions submitted by readers and answered by Vincent Pelote of the Institute of Jazz Studies.
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1 Tom Stites, “From the Editor.” Jazz Magazine 1, no. 2 (Fall 1976): 7.
“Jazz Magazine was a short-lived but very high-quality publication that existed during the latter half of the 1970’s, ceasing publication in 1980. While the fledgling periodical was run on a shoestring budget, it did manage to present many excellent articles, interviews and photographs. Due to the time in which it existed and its less-than-global distribution, it is often overlooked as a significant source of valuable information.”
Michael Fitzgerald, “Jazz Magazine (1976-1980)”
(URL, accessed 12 October 2020)