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Chapter 13: Lovin’ It Live: A Jazz Concert Survival Guide
Your sources for reviews range from respected magazines similar to The New
Yorker (well, there’s really no magazine like The New Yorker) to top newspapers
such as The New York Times and writers for a variety of Web sites.
I spent four years reviewing live jazz for the San Diego edition of The Los
Angeles Times. I became interested in writing about music during college, and
my first hero among critics was the San Francisco Chronicle’s Thomas Albright.
He came to my critical review class at the University of California at Berkeley.
Albright wore a floppy moustache and a Civil War coat. His reviews showed
similar flair. He had a gift for capturing the electricity of great live music; his
knowledge of jazz was deep; and he had an ear for the subtler nuances of a
performance.
After you find your own gold standard among writers, you won’t trust just
any review. Here are some writers and publications that I trust when it comes
to reporting and reviewing jazz:
� The New Yorker: Top jazz scribes Whitney Balliett and Francis Davis
are among those who’ve made this magazine’s jazz coverage highly
respected. Although The New Yorker doesn’t carry reviews or profiles in
every issue, its club and concert listings are a treasure trove of what’s
new with jazz’s leading players. Check out the magazine’s Web site at
www.newyorker.com.
� Downbeat: This magazine is the longtime Bible of jazz fans. I began
reading Downbeat as a teenager and buying albums based on how many
stars they received from the magazine’s reviewers. Hunt down some
back issues, and you may be amazed how many “scoops” the magazine
provided from the beginning, singling out promising talents such as Gene
Krupa and Benny Goodman before they became famous. Pioneering jazz
writers such as Stanley Dance, Leonard Feather, and Helen Oakley helped
Downbeat stake its claim. A subscription costs about $30 a year. Or pick
it up on most newsstands. Downbeat’s Web site (www.downbeatjazz.
com) doesn’t offer as much information as ones hosted by some other
jazz magazines.
� Jazz Times: This magazine, in recent years, has given Downbeat a run
for its money, surpassing its predecessors in size and quality. Jazz Times
features top writers such as Gary Giddins, Nat Hentoff, Bill Milkowsky,
and Josef Woodard. A subscription runs about $24 per year, or find it at
most newsstands. Jazz Times also has a good Web site: jazztimes.com.
� The New York Times: Jazz writer Ben Ratliff and the publication’s broad,
intelligent, forward-looking arts coverage both compel me to include The
Times on my list. Many of jazz’s best performers live in New York, so what
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