Irving Townsend

Irving Townsend(1920-1981) was an American record producer and author. He is most famous for having produced, in March 1959, the Miles Davis album "Kind of Blue", which at #12, is the highest-ranked jazz album on "Rolling Stone's" 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, and according to the RIAA, is the best-selling jazz album of all time. He later served as president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States from 1969-.

From "Music is my Mistress", an autobiography by Duke Ellington:

"Irving Townsend is a very sensitive musician. He plays clarinet in a trip symphony, one of those groups that includes doctors, lawyers and accountants who worked there way through college as professional musicians and who like to get together once or twice a week to try out there chops. He is now executive producer for Columbia on the West Coast. As an a&r man he is wonderful. He has full knowledge of the mechanics of business, and he also has such understanding that he seems to know what the artist is trying to get without going into long winded rigamarole of rules and regulations, and without being swayed by what some other artist did last week. Ii love him and his whole beautiful family. We are indebted to him for having produced many of our favorite and most satisfactory records."

Produced records by artists such as:

* Billie Holiday
* Miles Davis
* Mahalia Jackson
* Leonard Bernstein
* Duke Ellington
* Andre Previn
* Johnny Mathis
* Percy Faith
* Wayne Shorter
* Jimmy Rushing
* Dave Brubeck
* Doris Day
* Ada Moore
* Flatt & Scruggs

Books

* co-wrote "John Hammond On Record: An Autobiography"
* The Less Expensive Spread
* The Tavern
* Separate Lifetimes
* articles in various publications including Atlantic Monthly as well as numerous liner notes.
* Brother-in-law of pulp noir author Jim Thompson

References

1.http://www.mdhs.org/eubieblake/subs/detail.asp?cat=Correspondence&id=548

2. The Columbia Records back catalogue

3. http://music.msn.com/artist/?artist=16180368&menu=credits&startingItem=61