Monday, February 16, 2009

An Institution Closes

Jazz Journal billed itself as "The World's Greatest Jazz Magazine." It was certainly among the longest lived, publishing continuously since 1948.

Like DownBeat, Jazz Journal was also a family business, and like DownBeat before it, Jazz Journal is now facing closure due to a death in the family. The death of Janet Cook, associate publisher and wife of publisher and editor-in-chief Eddie Cook, has led Eddie to decide to close the doors.

In his announcement, Cook left open the hope that someone would rescue the magazine – as happened with both DownBeat and, following the retirement of Bill Smith, Coda – but no white knights have stepped forward yet.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Sadly, I doubt that anyone will pick up JJI: World recession, and to go with it in this case, JJI never really got into the 21st century - no website, not even an email address. Letters might - or more likely might not - get answered, even with a stamped addressed envelope enclosed, and if they were, many months later.

It would need one hell of a lot of investment - it's only real asset is the congtributors of which there are many knowledgable people: Alun Morgan, Mark Gardner, Steve Voce to name a few, and of course, the name.

I doubt it would remain a UK publication, even if a buyer could be found: it would need somebody with deep pockets and a generous nature - which lets out people like Branson. The only way I could envisage it surviving - perhaps as a quartly would be if teh Ronnie Scott Club wanted a prestige house magazine again.