Definitely not true. There were plenty of producers who were "involved in selecting the musicians who play together, what songs they record, how they're arrang

Definitely not true. There were plenty of producers who were "involved in selecting the musicians who play together, what songs they record, how they're arranged, mixed, sometimes even contributing to the writing, etc." -- Orrin Keepnews, Teo Macero, Alfred Lion, Creed Taylor, Ozzie Cadena, Don Schlitten, and the list goes on and on. A good producer often made the difference between an OK session and a great one (case in point, Sonny Stitt).