Irving Townsend

{{Short description|American record producer (1920–1981)}}

{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2021}}

{{Use American English|date=December 2021}}

{{Infobox writer

|name = Irving Townsend

|image = Irving Townsend.jpg

|birth_name = Irving Joseph Townsend

|birth_date = {{birth date|1920|11|27|mf=y}}

|birth_place = {{nowrap|Springfield, Massachusetts, U.S.}}

|death_date = {{death date and age|1981|12|17|1920|11|27|mf=y}}

|death_place = Santa Ynez, California, U.S.

|resting_place =

|occupation = Producer and author

|education = Princeton University{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NxlbAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA3-PA122|title=Princeton Alumni Weekly|publisher=Princeton University Press|volume=71|date=September 29, 1970|page=122}}{{cite journal|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IhNbAAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA56|title=Princeton Alumni Weekly|publisher=Princeton University Press|volume=82|date=September 21, 1981|page=56}}

}}

Irving Townsend (November 27, 1920 – December 17, 1981){{cite news |title=Obituaries: Irving J. Townsend |work=Santa Ynez Valley News |date=1981-12-24 |page=15A}} 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.{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zAoEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA3|title=Townsend is Re-Elected by Coast NARAS|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|date=June 15, 1968|page=3}}{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HygEAAAAMBAJ&dq=billboard%20irving%20townsend%20naras&pg=PA6|title= 4 Elected to NARAS Board|magazine=Billboard|publisher=Nielsen Business Media|date=July 22, 1967|volume=79|number=29|page=6|issn=0006-2510}}

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.Kahn, Ashley (2001). [https://books.google.com/books?id=6QArFwi9buUC&pg=PA91 Kind of Blue: The Making of the Miles Davis Masterpiece], p. 91. Da Capo Press.

Townsend wrote many liner notes for Columbia,[https://rateyourmusic.com/artist/irving_townsend/credits/ Irving Townsend] Retrieved July 28, 2018.{{cite web|url=https://jerryjazzmusician.com/2013/11/liner-notes-irving-townsend-black-brown-beige-duke-ellington-orchestra-featuring-mahalia-jackson/|title=Liner Notes: Irving Townsend on "Black, Brown and Beige," by Duke Ellington and His Orchestra, Featuring Mahalia Jackson|publisher=Jerry Jazz Musician|date=November 27, 2013|access-date=July 28, 2018}}{{Dead link|date=January 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} including notes for the album Black, Brown and Beige by Duke Ellington and Mahalia Jackson. 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.{{cite web|url=https://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/jazz/townsend.htm|author=Irving Townsend|title=Ellington in Private|work=The Atlantic|date=May 1975|access-date=July 28, 2018}}