George Avakian

George Mesrop Avakian wiki (March 15, 1919 – November 22, 2017) was an American record producer, artist manager, writer, educator and executive.
Following military service during World War II, Avakian became the head of Columbia’s Popular Music division, which at the time included jazz. When the long-playing record format was introduced in 1948 Avakian seized the initiative, creating a reissue series that put the first 100 pop recordings onto a series of the new 12-inch, 33 1/3-rpm discs. In 1950, Avakian produced a record of Benny Goodman’s 1938 Carnegie Hall concert—the first time a jazz orchestra played the hallowed venue—beginning a new trend of recorded live performances.
He continued through the 2000s to work in record production and artist promotion, and as a writer and historian. He received an NEA Jazz Masters Fellowship in 2010.