Sidney Denis Preston was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic.
14 Facts About Denis Preston
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Denis Preston was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiffle scenes from the 1940s to the 1960s.
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Denis Preston has been described as "Europe's first independent record producer", and as "probably the most important figure to emerge from the British jazz business".
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Denis Preston was born Sidney Denis Prechner on 16 November 1916 in Stoke Newington, London, the son of Louis Prechner and Sarah nee Hobsbaum.
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Denis Preston changed his surname to Preston by deed poll in 1946.
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Denis Preston's cousin was the historian Eric Hobsbawm.
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From 1940, Denis Preston was a regular presenter of shows on BBC Radio, including Radio Rhythm Club and later Radio Blackbirds, on which he championed black American jazz performers such as Duke Ellington.
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Denis Preston visited New York in 1948 for Decca Records, and while there heard Trinidadian musicians play calypso music.
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Denis Preston produced recordings by pianist George Shearing and blues musicians Big Bill Broonzy and Josh White.
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Denis Preston continued to edit and occasionally present World of Jazz on BBC radio.
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Denis Preston produced some of Lonnie Donegan's early skiffle recordings, including "Rock Island Line", recorded in July 1954 and first released on Chris Barber's album New Orleans Joys in January 1955 before becoming a top ten hit in the UK later that year.
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In 1958, immediately after the Notting Hill race riots, Denis Preston was active in the anti-racism movement.
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Denis Preston produced Acker Bilk's international hit "Stranger on the Shore" in 1961.
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Denis Preston's production branched out from traditional jazz into folk, modern jazz and guitar-based genres, working with artists such as Jack Elliot, Roger Whittaker, Wout Steenhuis, Shawn Phillips, Joe Harriott and Stan Tracey, as well as African and Indian-inspired artists Amancio D'Silva and Kofi Ghanaba.