Lee Townsend is an American independent music producer, curator, artist manager and co-owner of Songline/Tone Field Productions, specializing in recordings of singer-songwriters, bands, contemporary composers, improvising musicians, and cross-cultural musical collaborations.
Background and career
Since 1983, Townsend has produced albums by Bill Frisell, John Scofield, Loudon Wainwright III, Kelly Joe Phelps, Rinde Eckert, Vinicius Cantuaria, Shweta Jhaveri, Dino Saluzzi, Gabriela Anders, Petra Haden, Viktor Krauss, Elvis Costello/Bill Frisell, Choying Drolma & Steve Tibbetts, Pat Metheny/John Scofield, Joey Baron, Charlie Hunter, T. J. Kirk, Dave Holland, Hank Jones, John Abercrombie, Jerry Granelli, Marc Johnson, Jonah Smith, Noe Venable, Crooked Still, Paul Dresher, Marty Ehrlich, Dusan Bogdanovic, Paul Sprawl, and Stephen Yerkey.
Townsend is a member of the cooperative group, Floratone, with Bill Frisell, Matt Chamberlain, and Tucker Martine. He has collaborated on motion picture soundtracks and theater music. Additionally, he has been producer of the Century of Song program for the Ruhr Triennale Arts festival in Germany, Vice President of Artists and Repertoire for Verve/Polygram Records in New York, General Manager and Director of United States Operations at ECM Records in New York, Producer of Music Programming at the Montalvo Arts Center in Saratoga, California, and a staff producer at National Public Radio affiliate, KCRW-FM in Santa Monica, California.
Bill Frisell
Lookout for Hope (ECM, 1987)Before We Were Born (Nonesuch, 1989)This Land (Nonesuch, 1994)Go West: Music for the Films of Buster Keaton (Nonesuch, 1995)The High Sign/One Week (Nonesuch, 1995)Quartet (Nonesuch, 1996)Gone, Just Like a Train (Nonesuch, 1998)Good Dog, Happy Man (Nonesuch, 1999)Ghost Town (Nonesuch, 2000)Blues Dream (Nonesuch, 2001)With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones (Nonesuch, 2001)The Willies (Nonesuch, 2002)The Intercontinentals (Nonesuch, 2003)Further East/Further West (Nonesuch, 2005) Download-onlyEast/West (Nonesuch, 2005)Frisell/Carter/Motian (Nonesuch, 2006) Download-onlyBill Frisell, Ron Carter, Paul Motian (Nonesuch, 2006)Floratone (Blue Note, 2007)History, Mystery (Nonesuch, 2008)All Hat, (Universal, 2008)Disfarmer (Nonesuch, 2009)Beautiful Dreamers (Savoy, 2010)Lagrimas Mexicanas (Bill Frisell & Vinicius Cantuaria/E1, 2011)Sign of Life (Savoy, 2011)All We Are Saying (Savoy, 2011)Floratone II (Savoy, 2012)Big Sur (Sony, 2013)Guitar in the Space Age! (Sony, 2015)When You Wish Upon a Star (Sony, 2016)Bill Frisell/Elvis Costello
Deep Dead Blue (Nonesuch, 1995)The Sweetest Punch (w/Cassandra Wilson) (Decca, 1999)Petra Haden and Bill Frisell
Petra Haden and Bill Frisell (True North, 2003/Skip, 2004)Carrie Rodriguez
We Still Love Our Country (Ninth Street Opus, 2010)Love and Circumstance (Ninth Street Opus, 2010)Give Me All You Got (Ninth Street Opus, 2013)Lola (Luz/Thirty Tigers, 2016)Quentin Dujardin
Distances (Agua, 2012)David Soler Denga
Botanicas (David Soler, 2012)Real Vocal String Quartet
Four Little Sisters (Irene Sazer, Flower Note Publishing, Alisa Rose, 2012)Kalaban Coura
Kalaban Coura (Agua Music, 2011)Blame Sally
Night of 1000 Stars (Ninth Street Opus, 2009)Kelly Joe Phelps
Slingshot Professionals (Rykodisc, 2003)Tap the Red Cane Whirlwind (True North/Rykodisc, 2005)Loudon Wainwright III
Here Come the Choppers (Sovereign Artists, 2005)Jonah Smith
Jonah Smith (Relix, 2006)Doug Wamble
Doug Wamble (Blue Note, 2009)John Scofield
Hand Jive (w/Eddie Harris) (Blue Note, 1994)Groove Elation (Blue Note, 1995)A Go Go (w/Medeski Martin & Wood) (Verve, 1998)Bump (Verve, 2000)John Scofield/Pat Metheny
I Can See Your House from Here (Blue Note, 1994)Rinde Eckert
Finding My Way Home (DIW, 1992)Do the Day Over (City of Tribes, 1995)Story In, Story Out (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1997)Shweta Jhaveri
Anahita (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1999)Ani Choying Drolma/Steve Tibbetts
Selwa (Six Degrees, 2004)Dino Saluzzi/Anthony Cox/David Friedman
Rios (Intuition, 1995)Gabriela
Detras del Sol (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1997)Viento Rojo (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1999)El Viaje (Intuition, 2006)Vinicius Cantuária
Vinicius (Transparent, 2001)Lagrimas Mexicanas (with Bill Frisell, E1, 2011)Viktor Krauss
Far from Enough (Nonesuch/2004)II (Back Porch/EMI, 2007)Joey Baron
Down Home (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1997)We'll Soon Find Out (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 2000)Dave Holland
Triplicate (ECM, 1988)Hank Jones/Dave Holland/Billy Higgins
The Oracle (Polygram, 1990)Charlie Hunter
Bing, Bing, Bing! (Blue Note, 1995)Ready...Set...Shango (Blue Note, 1996)Natty Dread (Blue Note, 1997)Return of the Candyman (Blue Note, 1998)Friends Seen and Unseen (Ropeadope, 2004)T. J. Kirk
T. J. Kirk (Warner Bros., 1995)If Four Was One (Warner Bros., 1996)Marc Johnson
Right Brain Patrol (JMT, 1992)The Sound of Summer Running (Verve, 1998)Jerry Granelli
A Song I Thought I Heard Buddy Sing (ITM, 1993)Another Place (Intuition, 1994)News from the Street (Intuition, 1995)Broken Circle (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1996)Sand Hills Reunion (Songlines, 2004)John Abercrombie
Getting There (ECM, 1988)Crooked Still
Shaken By a Low Sound (Signature Sounds, 2006)Noe Venable
No Curses Here (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1999)Paul Sprawl
Blue Suitcase (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1999)Dusan Bogdanovic
Early to Rise (Palo Alto, 1984)Yano Mori (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1999)Will Bernard
Medicine Hat (Verve/Antilles, 1998)Pothole
Dirty Picnic (Intuition - Songline/Tone Field series, 1997)Stephen Yerkey
Confidence, Man (Heyday, 1994)Zubot and Dawson
Chicken Scratch (True North, 2002)Laughing Stock
Underskin (Poor Me, 2003)Fred Hersch/Bill Frisell
Songs We Know' (Nonesuch, 1998)Living Daylights
Electric Rosary (Liquid City, 2000)
