''JazzTimes'' is an American magazine devoted to

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 m ...

. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Sabin as the newsletter ''Radio Free Jazz'' to complement his record store.

Coverage

After a decade of growth in subscriptions, deepening of writer pools, and internationalization, ''Radio Free Jazz'' expanded its focus and, at the suggestion of jazz critic Leonard Feather, changed its name to ''JazzTimes'' in 1980. Sabin's Glenn joined the magazine staff in 1984. In 1990, ''JazzTimes'' incorporated exclusive cover photography and higher quality art and graphic design. The magazine reviews audio and video releases concerts, instruments, music supplies, and books. It also includes a guide to musicians, events, record labels, and music schools. David Fricke, whose writing credits include ''

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 ...

'', ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' and ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

'', also contributes to the magazine.

Web traffic

JazzTimes.com was redesigned in 2019. Among its most popular stories are the JazzTimes10, which look at the "Top 10" of a specific categories of jazz, from Christmas songs to tunes from the Loft Jazz era. Also popular are its annual critics and readers polls of the top artists, albums and songs in jazz. JazzTimes.com's most successful month was in February 2015, when it registered more than half a million pageviews. In 2019, it registered 3,736,397 pageviews with 65% of its traffic direct and a quarter of it from organic search.

Ownership and management

Guthrie Inc. was the founding company of the magazine and suspended ''JazzTimes'' in June 2009. Later that year, ''JazzTimes'' was acquired by Madavor Media, LLC, a Delaware company based in

Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy ( ) is a coastal U.S. city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the largest city in the county and a part of Metropolitan Boston as one of Boston's immediate southern suburbs. Its population in 2020 was 101,636, making ...

(Jeffrey C. Wolk, Chairman and CEO; born 1966). Madavor Media relaunched the magazine the same year. Lee C. Mergner — who was Associate Publisher of ''JazzTimes'' from as early as 1994 till sometime after September 1999 — became publisher as early as 2001. Glenn D. Sabin (born 1963), one of Ira's sons, was the publisher when the magazine was sold in 2009, and Jeffrey H. Sabin (born 1961), Ira's other son, was general manager at the time. Mac Randall was named editor in chief in 2018 after Mergner stepped down from his role. Mergner remains a part-time employee for ''JazzTimes''.

References

{{reflist, 30em, refs= {{cite news , last1=Schudel , first1=Matthew James , author-link1= , date=September 13, 2018 , title=Ira Sabin, D.C. Record-Store Owner, Founder of ''JazzTimes'' Magazine, Dies at 90 – After working as a drummer, Mr. Sabin opened one of the country’s premier jazz record stores, then launched a magazine , url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ira-sabin-dc-record-store-owner-founder-of-jazztimes-magazine-dies-at-90/2018/09/13/a1590754-b76c-11e8-a2c5-3187f427e253_story.html , department=Obituaries , work= Washington Post, The , language=en-US , volume= , issue= , edition= , page= , pages= , archive-url= , archive-date= , access-date=September 16, 2018 , via= , url-access=, postscript= {{space, 1{{ISSN, 2641-9599, {{ProQuest, 2103429099 (U.S. Newsstream database). {{cite news , last1=Sandomir , first1=Richard , author-link1=Richard Sandomir , date=September 18, 2018 , title=Ira Sabin, Founder of ''JazzTimes'' Magazine, Is Dead at 90 , script-title= , trans-title= , url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/09/17/obituaries/ira-sabin-dies.html , department= , work= New York Times, The , type= , series= , language=en-US , volume=167 , issue=85089 , edition=Print , page=A21 , access-date=April 20, 2021 , via= , url-access=subscription , postscript= {{space, 1{{ISSN, 0362-4331 (publication), {{EBSCOhost, 131822420 (article). {{cite news , last1=Chesto , first1=Jon , author-link1= , date=July 16, 2009 , title=Quincy Company Rescues ''JazzTimes'' With Acquisition , url=https://www.patriotledger.com/article/20090716/NEWS/307169603 , format= , department= , work= Patriot Ledger, The , type= , series= , language=en-US , volume= , issue= , others= , edition= , location=

, page= , pages= , access-date=February 20, 2021 , via= , url-access= , postscript= {{nowrap, LCCN {{URL, https://www.loc.gov/item/sn89062494/, sn89062494 (publication), {{ISSN, 0889-2253 (online version).

External links

Official site
Jazz magazines Magazines established in 1970 Magazines published in Massachusetts Magazines published in Washington, D.C. Music magazines published in the United States Ten times annually magazines