The 1960 Playboy Jazz Poll

Whither Jazz? Television, radio, movies, fire houses, concert halls, steamboats, college campuses, aircraft carriers, golf courses, theatres and shopping centers—that's whither. Indeed, jazz has become so omnipresent that one funny fellow we know has come up with yet another catchy locale: why not, he asks, play jazz in dark, smoky nightclubs?

With all that jazz coming at you during the year, it's now time to pick your own favorites for the 1960 Playboy All-Star Jazz Band. And you'll be giving a real salute to the jazz musicians you like best when you vote for them in the fourth annual Playboy All-Star Jazz Poll, for a victory in the Playboy Poll is one of jazzdom's loftiest and most sought-after honors. By far the biggest and brightest poll around, it's also the only major jazz contest conducted outside of the music trade. The most popular jazzmen in each category—as determined by you—will receive the coveted sterling silver Playboy Jazz Medal; the winners will be invited to blow at the next Playboy Jazz Festival and appear in the fourth Playboy Jazz All-Stars two-disc album, a product of intra-industry cooperation among the nation's leading recording companies and issued by Playboy as a non-profit, annual contribution to the world of jazz.

To help make the 1960 poll the most sparkling yet, everyone submitting a ballot will have an opportunity to win a copy of the second Playboy Jazz All-Stars album. One hundred voters will be chosen at random from among the jazz ballots received, and will be sent the handsome two-disc album featuring the winners of the second annual poll—at no charge. It matters not how you vote—merely sending your ballot automatically puts you among those eligible for the album. So simply read the instructions that follow, check your favorite jazzmen in the space provided and get your ballot in before the countdown closes.

1. The official four-page jazz ballot is printed below. The artists thereon have been selected by a Nominating Board composed of jazz editors, promoters, representatives of the major recording companies and winners of last year's poll. They have nominated the jazzmen they consider to have been outstanding in the past year. Their nominations should serve solely as an aid to your recollection of jazz artists, not a guide on how to vote. You may vote for any living artists in the jazz field.

2. The nominees have been divided into categories which together comprise the 1960 Playboy All-Star Jazz Band. In some categories you may vote for more than one musician (e.g., trumpet, trombone) because bands normally have more than one of these instruments. Be sure to cast the correct number of votes: too many in a particular category will disqualify all your votes in that category.

3. If you wish to vote for an artist who appears on the ballot, simply place an X in the box before his name. If you wish to vote for an artist whose name was overlooked by the Nominating Board, just write his name in the space provided at the bottom of the category and place an X in the box before it.

4. The leader you select should be currently conducting a band of at least eight pieces. He, and all your other choices, should be picked because you feel that they have been the most outstanding in jazz in the past 12 months.

5. Use all four pages of the ballot and print your name and address on the last page. You may cast only one complete ballot in the poll, and that must carry your correct name and address if your vote is to be counted. This information will also be necessary if you are chosen to receive one of the 100 free Playboy Jazz All-Stars albums.

6. Cut your four-page ballot along the dotted lines and mail it to PLAYBOY JAZZ POLL, 232 E. Ohio, Chicago 11, Illinois. Ballots must be postmarked before November 1, 1959 in order to qualify, so get yours in the mail today. The results of the fourth annual Playboy Jazz Poll will appear in the February 1960 issue.

Nominating Board: Louis Armstrong, Chet Baker, Count Basie, Eàrl Bostic, Bob Brookmeyer, Ray Brown, Dave Brubeck, Miles Davis, Paul Desmond, Ella Fitzgerald, Four Freshmen, Erroll Garner, Stan Getz, Dizzy Gillespie, Jimmy Giuffre, Benny Goodman, Lionel Hampton, Coleman Hawkins, Hi-Lo's, Milt Jackson, J.J. Johnson, Stan Kenton, Barney Kessel, Shelly Manne, Gerry Mulligan, Oscar Peterson, Sonny Rollins, Frank Sinatra, Kai Winding; Rudi Meyer, Birdland; Frank Holzfeind, Blue Note; Jud Milton, KROD, El Paso, Texas; Louis L. Lorillard, Newport Jazz Festival; John Mehegan, New York Herald Tribune; Leonard Feather, Playboy; Don Gold, Playboy Jazz Festival; Wilder Hobson, Saturday Review; Creed Taylor, ABC-Paramount Records; Jack Tracy, Argo; Nesuhi Ertegun, Atlantic; Sidney Frey, Audio Fidelity; Dave Cavanaugh, Capitol; Irving Townsend, Columbia; Les Koenig, Contemporary; David Stuart, Good Time Jazz; Art Talmadge, Mercury; Jay Finegold, Park Recording Co.; Bob Weinstock, Prestige; Fred Reynolds, Bill Simon, RCA Victor; Bill Grauer, Jr., Riverside; Teddy Reig, Roulette; George Wein, Storyville; John Hammond, Vanguard; Norman Granz, Verve; George Avakian, Warner Bros. Records; Richard Bock, World Pacific.

Cut along this line

Leader

(Please check one.)

Trumpet

(Please check four.)

Trombone

(Please check four.)

Alto Sax

(Please check two.)

Cut along this line

Tenor Sax

(Please check two.)

Baritone Sax

(Please check one.)

Clarinet

(Please check one.)

Piano

(Please check one.)

Guitar

(Please check one.)

Cut along this line

Bass

(Please check one.)

Drums

(Please check one.)

Misc. Instrument

(Please check one.)

Male Vocalist

(Please check one.)

Cut Along This Line

Female Vocalist

(Please check one.)

Instrumental Combo

(Please check one.)

Vocal Group

(Please check one.)

Correct name and address must be printed here to authenticate ballot.

Name—————

Address—————

City—————

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