Jazz · Senior Critic
Marcia Holloway
On the desk since 2015 · 412 reviews filed
Former archivist at the Institute of Jazz Studies; leads our coverage of post-bop, the AACM’s second life, and contemporary Blue Note releases.
Editor-in-Chief · Brooklyn, since 2014
Daniel Reyes & the 34-person desk that publishes AllMusic Mag, every weekday.
A short introduction to the editor who founded the publication, the critics who keep it running, and the standards every essay, review, and oral history on this site is held to.
Read the founding essay →On the Masthead
A working newsroom, not a freelancer pool.
The masthead is organized into seven standing beats — jazz, classical, electronic, hip-hop, folk, metal, and global traditions — each led by a senior critic on the staff payroll of AllMusic Mag Editorial, Inc. Around the staff desk, a rotating roster of 120 contributing writers in 22 countries files dispatches, oral histories, and translations into the editorial pipeline every week. Translation desks in Mexico City, Berlin, Lyon, and Osaka produce weekly editions in Spanish, French, German, and Japanese, reaching readers in 41 countries.
What unifies the desk is a single, deliberately old-fashioned rule: every review runs an average of 1,800 words, and 92% of what we publish carries original reporting from a named byline. No aggregated wire copy, no syndicated takes, no algorithm-recycled recommendations. If a story on this site does not have a critic's name on it, it was not written for this site.
The Staff Desk
34 critics. Seven beats. One newsroom.
A selection of senior staff critics and department leads. The full 34-person roster, including associate editors and the translation desk, is published in every printed issue and in the complete masthead archive.
Classical & New Music · Senior Critic
Theo Yamada
On the desk since 2016 · 387 reviews filed
Trained as a conductor at Tanglewood; writes the weekly Concert Hall column and covers Korean and Japanese new-music scenes in translation.
Electronic & Ambient · Senior Critic
Ines Larsson
On the desk since 2017 · 298 reviews filed
Edits the quarterly Ambient Listening essay series and files weekly dispatches from the Berlin and Stockholm underground.
Hip-Hop · Senior Critic
Andre Whitfield
On the desk since 2015 · 445 reviews filed
Former editor at XXL; leads our oral-history series on independent labels from Stones Throw to Def Jam South, and chairs the year-end Critics’ Poll.
If a piece cannot name the session musicians, the pressing plant, and the hour the tape was bounced, it is not yet a review. It is a recommendation. We do not publish recommendations here — we publish criticism.
Recent Bylines
What the desk published this week.
Four pieces from the current issue, each carrying a named byline. The complete archive of 18,400+ reviews and essays is searchable by artist, label, year, and genre.
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Commissioning & Pitches
Commission a named desk critic, or pitch a story to the editors.
A&R scouts, festival programmers, label publicists, and artist estates commission long-form coverage from our staff desk. Editorial pitches from working writers are read on a rolling basis by the senior editors. We respond within ten business days.
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