Nesuhi Ertegün

Nesuhi Ertegün promoted integrated jazz concerts in Washington with his brother Ahmet. From 1942, they presented musicians to mixed audiences at the Jewish Community Center and National Press Club. Their earlier gatherings at the Turkish diplomatic residence, around 1940, had brought Black performers and integrated audiences together. The brothers had first developed their interest in jazz while living in London. ^{1, 4}

Nesuhi’s later work centered on jazz records. He bought Jazz Man Records in 1946 and ran it alongside Crescent Records until 1952, before working for Good Time Jazz. In 1955, Ahmet and Jerry Wexler persuaded him to join Atlantic Records, where he became vice president responsible for jazz and the long playing record department. ²

At Atlantic, he produced recordings by John Coltrane, Charles Mingus, and the Modern Jazz Quartet. His responsibilities later extended to distributing music internationally. In 1971 he founded WEA International, which handled releases abroad for Atlantic, Warner Bros., Elektra, and MCA. He remained its president and chief executive until 1987. ^{2, 3}