Categories music magazine Founder Ira Davidson Sabin | Frequency 10 per year Year founded 1970 | |
Editor-in-Chief Lee C. Mergner (age 62) Former editors Ira Davidson Sabin (age 88) | ||
JazzTimes is an American magazine devoted to jazz. Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C. in 1970 by Ira Davidson Sabin (born 1928) as a newsletter called Radio Free Jazz. Sabine founded Radio Free Jazz to complement his Washington, D.C. record store that he founded in 1962. As a newsletter, it informed consumers of the latest jazz releases and provided jazz broadcasters with news and backstories related to playlists.
Contents
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. One of Ira Sabin's two sons, Glenn, joined the magazine staff in 1984. In 1990, JazzTimes created a new look that incorporated exclusive cover photography and higher quality art and graphic design. Its coverage includes reviews of audio and video releases, concerts, instruments, music supplies, and books. It also features a guide to artists, events, record labels, and music schools. JazzTimes and Down Beat are the two largest print publications devoted exclusively to jazz in North America.
Ownership and management
Guthrie Inc. was the founding company of the magazine, which was closed by the company in June 2009. Lee C. Mergner — who was Associate Publisher of JazzTimes from as early as 1994 to 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 sold to Madavor Media in 2009. Jeffrey H. Sabin (born 1961), Ira's other son, was general manager. In 2009, JazzTimes was acquired by Madavor Media, LLC, a Delaware company based in Quincy, Massachusetts (Jeffrey C. Wolk, Chairman and CEO; born 1966). Madavor Media relaunched the magazine the same year.