Published 10 times a year, it was founded in Washington, D.C., in 1970 by Ira Sabin[1][2][3] as the newsletter Radio Free Jazz to complement his record store.

David Fricke, whose writing credits include Rolling Stone, Melody Maker and Mojo, also contributes to the magazine.

[11] Later that year, JazzTimes was acquired by Madavor Media, LLC,[1] a Delaware company based in Quincy, Massachusetts (Jeffrey C. Wolk, Chairman and CEO; born 1966).

[13] On February 15, 2023, Madavor Media was acquired by The BeBop Channel Corporation, a public company under the ticker symbol BBOP and headed up by jazz musician and interim CEO Gregory Charles Royal.

Royal believed the publication had existed in an "insular bubble for decades — a magazine seemingly written for the consumption and from the perspective of white journalists".