Denis Preston

Sidney Denis Preston (né Prechner, 16 November 1916 – 21 October 1979) was a British record producer, recording studio owner, radio presenter and music critic. He was particularly influential in the British jazz and associated skiffle scenes from the 1940s to the 1960s.

Preston worked independently; he was not contracted to a particular record label and would often risk cutting a record before pitching for a deal. He has been described as "Europe's first independent record producer", and as "probably the most important figure to emerge from the British jazz business". Neil Ardley described him as "a rare Diaghilev like figure" who steered many of the key figures of the British jazz scene into the studio when nobody else would record them.