Dear Colleague,
Founded by Francis Davis in 2006, this is the 19th annual Jazz Critics Poll. Results will be published by ArtsFuse shortly after January 1, 2025, with complete totals and ballots on this website. Please consult the website for additional information, including more precise definitions of what's eligible where.
Let's make this as simple as possible: Copy this into an email message, fill it out and send it to Tom Hull, the sooner the better, with Friday, December 20 as the official deadline:
Your name and primary affiliation(s)
Your choices for up to 10 New Jazz Albums of 2024
(in descending order, 1-to-10, or unranked and alphabetized
by artist).
Your choices for up to 5 Rara Avis (reissues and/or music
recorded in 2014 or earlier) of 2024 (in descending order, 1-to-5,
or unranked and alphabetized by artist).
We also have three categories: Vocal, Latin, and Debut. Please designate any albums in the New Jazz Albums (or Rara Avis) you wish to be counted under those categories. In addition, you may also list:
Your choices for up to 3 additional Vocal albums:
Your choices for up to 3 additional Latin albums:
Your choices for up to 3 additional Debut albums:
You may choose from any albums released in calendar 2024 (or 2023, if they didn't arive for you until 2024).
Once you send your ballot in, I will check and count it, and return to you a formatted copy of your ballot, as it will appear on the website. Please check my work.
Send your ballot in as soon as possible. If you change your mind, just let me know (before the deadline) and I'll update it.
Don't sweat the details. If you have fewer than the maximum number of choices, send in what you have. Vocal and Latin are pretty much whatever you think they mean. Debut has a stricter definition (which almost never allows groups to be eligible), but if it feels right, the worst that can happen is the album is ruled ineligible, and you'll have the chance to come up with something else, or leave it blank. If you can't come up with a maximum list (or don't think it's worth the trouble), just leave it short or blank.
The point isn't to judge everything. You're just making your recommendations, and in doing so, we will all benefit from your knowledge and taste. We don't give out plaques or ribbons. All we are really doing is helping our readers to better understand the great bounty of jazz released each year.
For any questions, consult the website (especially the "Notes for Voters"), and feel free to ask questions.
We use an email list (jazzpoll [at] hullworks.net) to send occasional messages to voters, including news, reminders, and notice when the Poll is published. Unless you request otherwise, I will sign you up for this list when you vote (or earlier, if you request). Unfortunately, too much of this mail winds up in various spam folders, so if you're not receiving it, you should look there.
Your colleague,
Tom Hull