''Jazz & Pop'' was an American music magazine that operated from 1962 to 1971. It was launched as ''Jazz'' and managed by Pauline Rivelli, with finance provided by

Bob Thiele Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: Places *Mount Bob, New York, United States *Bob Island, Palmer Archipelago, Antarctica People, fictional characters, and named animals * Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Bob (surnam ...

, the producer of

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a majo ...

artists such as

Duke Ellington Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington (April 29, 1899 – May 24, 1974) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and leader of his eponymous jazz orchestra from 1923 through the rest of his life. Born and raised in Washington, D.C., Ellington was ba ...

John Coltrane John William Coltrane (September 23, 1926 – July 17, 1967) was an American jazz saxophonist, bandleader and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Born and rai ...

, Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines and

Count Basie William James "Count" Basie (; August 21, 1904 – April 26, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, organist, bandleader, and composer. In 1935, he formed the Count Basie Orchestra, and in 1936 took them to Chicago for a long engagement and th ...

. The publication served as a rival title to ''

Down Beat ' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm which it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1934 in Ch ...

'' magazine, which had been established in the 1930s. The title of the publication changed to ''Jazz & Pop'' in August 1967. Like ''Down Beat'', the magazine began to cover popular music as a result of the widespread cultural recognition afforded the genre following the release of

the Beatles The Beatles were an English rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the most influential band of all time and were integral to the developm ...

' ''

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band ''Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'' is the eighth studio album by the English rock band the Beatles. Released on 26May 1967, ''Sgt. Pepper'' is regarded by musicologists as an early concept album that advanced the roles of sound composi ...

''; in turn, mainstream American publications increasingly adopted jazz-style critiques to analyse

rock music Rock music is a broad genre of popular music that originated as "rock and roll" in the United States in the late 1940s and early 1950s, developing into a range of different styles in the mid-1960s and later, particularly in the United States and ...

. With the change of name, the magazine's editorial focus widened to include jazz music, rock,

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fol ...

and blues. In its original incarnation as ''Jazz'', the magazine's staff included jazz critics Don Heckman, George Hoefer,

John Mehegan John Francis Mehegan (June 6, 1916 – April 3, 1984) was an American jazz pianist, lecturer and critic. Early life Mehegan was born in Hartford, Connecticut, on June 6, 1916, although he sometimes gave the year as 1920. He began playing the vi ...

and

Stanley Dance Stanley Frank Dance (15 September 1910, Braintree, Essex – 23 February 1999, Vista, California) was a British jazz writer, business manager, record producer, and historian of the Swing era. He was personally close to Duke Ellington over a lon ...

, while New York-based freelancers such as Don Riker also contributed. From 1967 to 1970, its rock contributors included

Gene Sculatti Eugene Paul Sculatti (born January 30, 1947) is an American music journalist who compiled and edited the book ''The Catalog of Cool'' (1982). In 1966, he became the first journalist to write about the nascent San Francisco music scene in a nati ...

Lenny Kaye Lenny Kaye (''né'' Kusikoff; born December 27, 1946) is an American guitarist, composer, and writer who is best known as a member of the Patti Smith Group. Early life Kaye was born to Jewish parents in the Washington Heights area of upper M ...

and David G. Walley. Also a musician, Kaye wrote an article on the

doo-wop Doo-wop (also spelled doowop and doo wop) is a genre of rhythm and blues music that originated in African-American communities during the 1940s, mainly in the large cities of the United States, including New York, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Chica ...

genre in ''Jazz & Pop'' that led to the start of his successful collaboration with singer and poet

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter and author who became an influential component of the New York City punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album ''Horses''. Called the "punk poet ...

. Between 1968 and 1971, the editor of the magazine was

Patricia Kennealy Patricia Kennealy-Morrison (born Patricia Kennely; March 4, 1946 – July 21, 2021) was an American author and Music journalism, journalist. Her published works include rock criticism, a memoir, and two series of science fiction/fantasy and Cri ...

, who became romantically involved with

Jim Morrison James Douglas Morrison (December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971) was an American singer, poet and songwriter who was the lead vocalist of the rock band the Doors. Due to his wild personality, poetic lyrics, distinctive voice, unpredictable and e ...

the Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, with vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger, and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most controversial and influential rock acts ...

after interviewing him for ''Jazz & Pop''. Robert Levin worked as the magazine's jazz editor, while

Frank Kofsky Frank Kofsky (1935–1997) was an American Marxist historian, author, and Professor of History at California State University, Sacramento, from 1969 until his death. A musician himself, Kofsky also wrote several books on jazz Jazz is ...

and D.C. Hunt also contributed jazz-related articles in the late 1960s. When

Ritchie Yorke Ritchie Yorke (12 January 1944 – 6 February 2017) was an Australian-born author, broadcaster, historian and music journalist, whose work was widely published in the U.S., UK, Canada and elsewhere. Biography Australia: 1962–1966 Ritch ...

wrote an article for the magazine disparaging

rock critic Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on ...

s, particularly ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...

'' writer John Mendlesohn, it led to a terse response from Mendlesohn in the February 1971 issue of '' Phonograph Record'', as he sought to justify his seemingly harsh approach to album reviews. From its early years of operation, the magazine published an annual international critics poll. Referring to the 1967 poll, the website rockcritics.com recognizes it as originating from "right at the dawn of rock criticism". The

Pazz & Jop Pazz & Jop was an annual poll of top musical releases, compiled by American newspaper ''The Village Voice'' and created by music critic Robert Christgau. It published lists of the year's top releases for 1971 and, after Christgau's two-year abse ...

annual poll, founded by ''

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newspaper, alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf (publisher), Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, th ...

'' critic

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

in 1971, was named in acknowledgement of the magazine. The ratings system used by ''Jazz & Pop'' was also adopted for Christgau's poll.

References

Music magazines published in the United States Magazines published in New York City English-language magazines Magazines established in 1962 Magazines disestablished in 1971 {{music-mag-stub