Bad Times at Jazz Times

Unconfirmed reports continue to filter out of Silver Spring, Maryland, that Jazz Times magazine's precarious advertising revenue position will force it to cease publication. In his latest post on the matter, my artsjournal.com colleague Howard Mandel quotes a recently dismissed Jazz Times associate editor as saying that “it's doubtful the magazine would be able to survive in its present format." To read Howard's posts on the situation, go here.

Ira Sabin founded Radio Free Jazz in 1970 as an adjunct to his retail record business. I began contributing reviews and articles in 1975 when it was printed on newsprint in a tabloid format. I have no clear notion of how many hundred thousand words I published there before and after it morphed into the slick magazine that became Jazz Times, gave Down Beat a run for its money and consistently won awards. For a variety of reasons, I haven't contributed to Jazz Times in the past year or so, but if it disappears I will be saddened by a major loss to the community of listeners who value the music. I hope that efforts to save the magazine succeed.