Downbeat Reader's Poll

[Jim Alfredson]

Darcy James Argue was posting about the Downbeat Reader's Poll today on Facebook so I checked it out. Does anyone here participate? It was overly long, imo. Why are there 40+ jazz album of the year nominees? The same thing applies to the list of instrumentalists. Has it always been that lengthy?

[king ubu]

Here's the 1962 Playboy Jazz Poll listings (from the Nov. 1961 issue):

[Justin V]

I started to vote last year and was surprised at how many long-dead musicians (i.e., Bob Berg and Pat Patrick) were initially included on the ballot in their respective categories alongside living (and eligible) musicians. I emailed DownBeat, but I haven't looked to see whether the ballot has been corrected for this year's voting.

[JSngry]

They have nominees now?

I think I only actually voted once, in, like, 1972 or something, but for as long as I can remember, the ballots were always blank and you could vote for whoever you wanted to. At first you had to cut it out of a magazine page, but then they went to a perforated card. Am I remembering that right?

So, what, now there's a list of "approved" people from whom you get to select? Like some Soviet Russia election? I guess that means that everybody's dead (or dying) (or not for sale) and now the market's all "thanks for shopping, here's what you can buy, it's what we want to sell you. Get used to it, bitches." Apparently, many already have.

Fuck that.

[mjazzg]

another viewpoint here

http://www.freejazzblog.org/2013/08/down-beat-poll.html

[JSngry]

When did they start giving "suggestions" to voters? What year did that happen?

[paul secor]

I voted in the DB poll back in the 60s. Now I just listen to music.

[BeBop]

I could vote for the people I think should win, but they won't even show up in the results. Instead, I'll divert my efforts: attending a concert, kicking-in on a Kickstartr, or saying something nice about them where I think someone might hear.

[jlhoots]

I voted in the DB poll back in the 60s. Now I just listen to music.

Me too.

[Jim Alfredson]

It seems like an awful waste of time.

[xybert]

On the subject of Downbeat polls, in the Critics poll can anyone explain to me what the criteria are to qualify as a Rising Star versus a non-Rising Star? Not trying to beat up a soft target or be facetious, genuine question.

[danasgoodstuff]

My issue with the critics poll is that they used to put the Rising Star/Deserving More Recognition right after the regular results in each catagory (tenor sax, etc.) so you could easily see see who'd got screwd by having their vote split between the two - so obviously their was no hard and fast rule about who was rising and who not, although I think at one time they tried to quantify it but that didn't work out, IIRC... and I always hated that I couldn't vote for new Star/underappreciated/whatever as a reader. And what's up with Ray Charles not being in their Hall of Fame? If anyone is Jazz, Blues AND Beyond, it's he.

Edited August 19, 2013 by danasgoodstuff

[Hot Ptah]

I started reading Down Beat, and voting in the Readers Poll, in the mid-1970s. I do not remember Down Beat having a list of suggested artists to vote for, before this year.

I think that it is pointless to complain about the Down Beat Readers Poll. The results have never been credible from an objective standpoint. Going back to the mid-1970s, the results have always been strange and seemed wrong in many respects.

For one thing, it is amazing how few votes there are in any Down Beat Poll. So Sonny Rollins gets 243 votes as best tenor saxophonist and Joshua Redman gets 251 votes--is a vote size of that magnitude important or credible in any way? After you get past the first few vote getters on some instruments, the votes are in the under 100 magnitude. So does it matter that Herbie Hancock got 63 votes as best pianist and Cecil Taylor got 57 votes? Who cares?

Edited August 19, 2013 by Hot Ptah