Irving Townsend

Irving Townsend (1920–1981) was an American record producer and author. He is most famous for having produced the Miles Davis album Kind of Blue, which is the best-selling jazz album of all time according to the RIAA. He later served as president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States.[3][4]

Irving Townsend
BornIrving Joseph Townsend Jr.
1920
Died1981 (aged 61)
OccupationProducer & Author
NationalityAmerican
EducationPrinceton University[1][2]

Townsend, a former jazz bandleader, became an advertising copywriter for Columbia Records. He then convinced George Avakian to have him assist on recording sessions, and by the mid-1950s he was a full-time producer. He became Davis's producer after the departures of Avakian and Cal Lampley.[5]

Townsend wrote many liner notes for Columbia,[6][7] including notes for the album Black, Brown and Beige, by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Featuring Mahalia Jackson.[7] In 1975, Townsend wrote an article in The Atlantic Monthly called, "Ellington In Private" detailing his meeting with Duke at Newport Jazz Festival in 1956 which led to Ellington's subsequent signing with Columbia.[8]

Select Discography as Producer

Author
  • John Hammond On Record: An Autobiography (co-author)[15]
  • The Less Expensive Spread: Delights & Dilemmas of a Weekend Cowboy[16]
  • The Tavern[17]
  • Separate Lifetimes[17]
  • Articles in various publications including The Atlantic Monthly[18]

References
  1. "Princeton Alumni Weekly". 71. Princeton University Press. September 29, 1970: 122. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  2. "Princeton Alumni Weekly". 82. Princeton University Press. September 21, 1981: 56. Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  3. "Townsend is Re-Elected by Coast NARAS". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. June 15, 1968. p. 3.
  4. "4 Elected to NARAS Board". Billboard. Vol. 79 no. 29. Nielsen Business Media. July 22, 1967. p. 6. ISSN 0006-2510.
  5. Kahn, Ashley (2001). Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece, p. 91. Da Capo Press.
  6. Irving Townsend Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  7. "Liner Notes: Irving Townsend on "Black, Brown and Beige," by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Featuring Mahalia Jackson". Jerry Jazz Musician. November 27, 2013. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  8. Irving Townsend (May 1975). "Ellington in Private". The Atlantic. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  9. Billie Holiday – Lady In Satin Discogs. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  10. Irving Townsend. Irving Townsend at AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  11. Mahalia Jackson – Mahalia Jackson's Greatest Hits Discogs. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  12. Leonard Bernstein. Irving Townsend at AllMusic. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  13. Johnny Mathis – Live It Up! Discogs. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  14. The New Dynamic Chico Hamilton Quintet – Drumfusion Discogs. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  15. John H. Hammond; Irving Townsend (February 1, 1981). John Hammond on record: an autobiography. Penguin Books. p. 432.
  16. The Less Expensive Spread: Delights & Dilemmas of a Weekend Cowboy. J.N. Townsend Publishing. 1990. p. 169.
  17. Irving Townsend books Biblio.com. Retrieved July 28, 2018.
  18. "The Atlantic Monthly". Vol. 235. Atlantic Monthly Company. 1975. Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
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