{"record":{"aliases":["Ahmet Ertegun","Ahmet M. Ertegun"],"appointmentIds":[],"appointmentsDataset":"https://chanceries.org/diplomats.json","archivalSources":[],"canonicalUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/person-04d8e7f03726ad0275763ade-38d9504b3a/","countrySlug":null,"countrySlugs":["turkey"],"documentedRoles":[{"assertionId":"assert-21e3f3fa16d74fe4d29a56ad","associationBasis":"documented-place-work","evidenceClass":"direct","note":"Helped organize jazz performances for integrated audiences at the Turkish diplomatic residence around 1940.","predicate":"used_place","role":"jazz gathering organizer","sourceIds":["bc-georgetown-jazz","bc-ertegun-mfa"],"targetId":"place-e08a55d0c6a5559c6acfe488","targetType":"place","title":"Edward H. Everett House","url":"/research/properties/turkey-residence-443765a222/","validTime":{"attestations":[],"continuity":"unestablished","end":null,"endInclusive":true,"start":null}}],"entityId":"https://chanceries.org/diplopedia/people/person-04d8e7f03726ad0275763ade-38d9504b3a/#person","eventIds":[],"expandedParagraphs":["Ahmet Ertegün helped organize jazz performances at the Turkish Embassy in Washington around 1940. He and his brother Nesuhi invited racially mixed audiences to hear Black musicians at a time when segregation restricted the city’s musical life. The brothers used the ambassador’s residence for jam sessions with musicians they had met in Washington.","Born in Istanbul in 1923, Ahmet heard Duke Ellington and Cab Calloway in London before his father’s Washington posting in 1934. He collected jazz and blues records and experimented with recording while still a teenager. After his father died in 1944, he remained in the United States, where he had studied philosophy at St. John’s College in Annapolis.","In 1947, Ertegün founded Atlantic Records with Herb Abramson. He worked with performers including Ruth Brown and Ray Charles, and wrote songs under the name Nugetre, his surname reversed. He stayed with Atlantic after its sale in 1967, expanding its roster into rock music, and remained active in the company until his death in 2006."],"id":"global:person-04d8e7f03726ad0275763ade","identifiers":{},"identityScope":"global","legacyPersonIds":[],"legacyUrl":"https://chanceries.org/diplomat-38d9504b3aa4b18f5584.html","name":"Ahmet Ertegün","notes":[],"paragraphSources":[["bc-georgetown-jazz","bc-ertegun-mfa"],["bc-ahmet-independent"],["bc-ahmet-independent","bc-ahmet-rockhall"]],"profileUrl":"diplomat-38d9504b3aa4b18f5584.html","relatedEvents":[],"relatedPeople":[],"relationships":[],"researchStatus":"reviewed","reviewedOn":"2026-11-01","revision":"92f8c20875684ed7","sources":[{"accessedOn":"2026-11-01","date":"","id":"bc-georgetown-jazz","locator":"Jazz performance at the Turkish Embassy, c. 1940; following paragraph on concerts beginning in 1942","publisher":"Georgetown University Library","title":"Rhythms of Resistance and Resilience","type":"institutional-history","url":"https://library.georgetown.edu/exhibition/rhythms-resistance-and-resilience"},{"accessedOn":"2026-11-01","date":"2006-12-15","id":"bc-ahmet-independent","locator":"Obituary, early life, Washington record collecting, Atlantic founding, songwriting and later management","publisher":"The Independent; Pierre Perrone","title":"Ahmet Ertegun","type":"biography","url":"https://www.the-independent.com/news/obituaries/ahmet-ertegun-428655.html"},{"accessedOn":"2026-11-01","date":"","id":"bc-ahmet-rockhall","locator":"Inductee introduction","publisher":"Rock & Roll Hall of Fame","title":"Ahmet Ertegun","type":"institutional-biography","url":"https://rockhall.com/inductees/ahmet-ertegun/"},{"accessedOn":"2026-11-01","date":"2010-09-02","id":"bc-ertegun-mfa","locator":"Ambassador Namık Tan’s remarks, paragraphs on residence jam sessions","publisher":"Embassy of Turkey in Washington","title":"Embassy Reaffirms Ties Established by Ertegun Brothers","type":"official-retrospective","url":"https://washington-emb.mfa.gov.tr/Mission/ShowAnnouncement/118348"}],"topics":["Music","Cultural exchange","Racial integration"]},"schemaVersion":1}