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Nesuhi Ertegun, Producer, Jazz Scholar, Jazz Journalist, Founder of Crescent Records
| by Michael Macomber |
Nesuhi Ertegun
(right, with brother Ahmet)
Nov 26, 1917 to
Apr 15, 1989
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Born in Istanbul, Turkey in 1917, Nesuhi Ertegun first came to America in 1935, along with his younger brother Ahmet, when their father, diplomat Mehmet Munir Ertegun, became the Turkish Ambassador to the United States.
Both huge fans of jazz, the brothers promoted concerts together in the early to mid-1940s. While Ahmet founded the Atlantic Records label in New York in 1947, Nesuhi moved to Los Angeles to found his own label, Crescent, right around the same time.
While in LA, Nesuhi also helped organize legendary New Orleans jazz trombonist Kid Ory's band, and later ran the Jazzman label. |
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Nesuhi Ertegun's lifelong passion for jazz affected everything he chose to do: from writing about traditional jazz while serving as editor of Record Changer magazine, to teaching the first-ever accredited course in jazz studies at UCLA.
This passion turned out to be a boon for Atlantic Records, when Nesuhi returned to the East Coast in 1955 to join his brother's label as A&R chief. Largely responsible for Atlantic's amazing jazz roster, which included such legendary artists as Ornette Coleman, John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and Herbie Mann, Nesuhi also produced many of these sessions.
His other accomplishments include serving as president of the International Federation of Phonogram and Videogram Producers, and founding the New York Cosmos soccer team.
In 2004, Mica and Ahmet Ertegun established the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame at Lincoln Center in New York, in honor of Nesuhi Ertegun’s immense and varied contributions to the jazz world. |
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Darin LPs Produced by Nesuhi Ertegun:
That's All (Atco 33-104, March 1959)
This is Darin (Atco 33-115, January 1960)
Darin at the Copa (Atco 33-122, August 1960)
It's You or No One (Atco 33-124, June 1963)
Winners (Atco 33-167, June 1964)
Clementine (Clarion 603, 1964) |
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Other LPs Produced by Nesuhi Ertegun (Selected Discography):
Mabel Mercer: Sings Cole Porter (Atlantic 1213, 1955)
Modern Jazz Quartet: Fontessa (Atlantic 1231, 1956)
Charles Mingus: The Clown (1957, Atlantic 1260)
Art Blakey with Thelonious Monk: Art Blakey with Thelonious Monk (Atlantic 1278, 1958) |
Nesuhi Ertegun Links:
Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame |
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