This plaque was presented to Duke Ellington by DownBeat magazine in 1969. It is a wooden plaque with an engraved metal plate. The metal plate is engraved:
DUKE ELLINGTON ARRANGER DOWN BEAT JAZZ CRITICS POLL 1969
American music magazine, DownBeat, was established in 1934 in Chicago, Illinois. The publication is devoted to “jazz, blues and beyond.” DownBeat magazine publishes annual surveys of both its readers and critics in a variety of categories and presents awards to its winners.
