Jazz & Pop was an American music magazine that operated from 1962 to 1971.^[1] It was launched as Jazz and managed by Pauline Rivelli, with finance provided by Bob Thiele,^[2] the producer of jazz artists such as Duke Ellington, John Coltrane, Louis Armstrong, Earl Hines and Count Basie.^[3] The publication served as a rival title to Down Beat magazine,^[2] which had been established in the 1930s.^[4]

The title of the publication changed to Jazz & Pop in August 1967.^[2] Like Down Beat, the magazine began to cover popular music as a result of the widespread cultural recognition afforded the genre following the release of the Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band;^[5] in turn, mainstream American publications increasingly adopted jazz-style critiques to analyse rock music.^[6] With the change of name, the magazine's editorial focus widened to include jazz music, rock, folk and blues.^[2]

In its original incarnation as Jazz, the magazine's staff included jazz critics Don Heckman, George Hoefer, John Mehegan and Stanley Dance, while New York–based freelancers such as Don Riker also contributed.^[7] From 1967 to 1970, its rock contributors included Gene Sculatti, Lenny Kaye and David G. Walley.^[1] Also a musician, Kaye wrote an article on the doo-wop genre in Jazz & Pop that led to the start of his successful collaboration with singer and poet Patti Smith.^[8] Between 1968 and 1971,^[9] the editor of the magazine was Patricia Kennealy, who became romantically involved with Jim Morrison of the Doors after interviewing him for Jazz & Pop.^[10] Robert Levin worked as the magazine's jazz editor,^[11] while Frank Kofsky and D.C. Hunt also contributed jazz-related articles in the late 1960s.^[12] When Ritchie Yorke wrote an article for the magazine disparaging rock critics, particularly Rolling Stone writer John Mendlesohn, it led to a terse response from Mendlesohn in the February 1971 issue of Phonograph Record, as he sought to justify his seemingly harsh approach to album reviews.^[13]

From its early years of operation, the magazine published an annual international critics poll.^[14] Referring to the 1967 poll, the website rockcritics.com recognizes it as originating from "right at the dawn of rock criticism".^[15] The Pazz & Jop annual poll, founded by Village Voice critic Robert Christgau in 1971, was named in acknowledgement of the magazine. The ratings system used by Jazz & Pop was also adopted for Christgau's poll.^[16]