JazzTimes turned 50 in 2020, and we commemorated that milestone in our December issue with two lists of the past 50 years’ 50 best jazz albums—one by our critics and one by our readers. Over the past two weeks, we’ve gradually unveiled these lists on our website; today (Nov. 23) we presented “50 for 50,” a special event to cap off the anniversary festivities, which aired live on Facebook and YouTube. JT editor Mac Randall discussed many of the album picks with a distinguished panel: NEA Jazz Master Terri Lyne Carrington, pianist and writer Ethan Iverson, jazz historian Ashley Kahn, and journalist David Fricke.
The “50 for 50” broadcast is now over, but if you missed it, don’t worry; it’s archived right here.
Besides those two Top 50 lists, the special 50th-anniversary issue of JazzTimes includes a selection of our greatest artist-to-artist interviews and Before & After listening sessions, as well as a brief history of the magazine and an all-1970 Artist’s Choice playlist by Brian Blade (who was coincidentally born the same year as JT). And there’s much more: Steely Dan’s Donald Fagen pays tribute to Cliff “Ukulele Ike” Edwards, Tish Oney delves deep into Peggy Lee’s 1953 Black Coffee album, and A.D. Amorosi traces the intermittent connections between two musical giants, Miles Davis and Prince. The issue officially goes on sale tomorrow (Nov. 24).