Taki Taki

Fond farewells

Broadsides from the pirate captain of the Jet Set

issue 19 May 2007

New York

Ahmet Ertegun was the greatest Turk since Kemal Ataturk, but unlike Mustafa Kemal he never killed anyone, especially a Greek. In brief, Ertegun was the supreme record man, the signer of the most important rhythm & blues, jazz, pop and rock artists of all time, the founder and builder of Atlantic Records, a company he began with the $10,000 he borrowed from his dentist. He was a diplomat’s son, his father having served as ambassador to Paris and Washington, among other posts. I met him in 1956 and we stayed friends until his death last October, when he slipped at a jazz concert, fell and hit his head and never recovered.

The first time I met him, we were walking down Third Avenue on a mild summer evening when he heard some cool jazz coming from an Edward Hopper-like house where a party was going on.

Comments

Join the debate for just $5 for 3 months

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for $5.

Already a subscriber? Log in