2820 Hon. John Conyers

2820 EXTENSIONS OF REMARKS, Vol. 157, Pt. 2 February 28, 2011 It is Arch’s work with the community of vet- Many renowned artists joined Atlantic door. This was done, as Ahmet Ertegun liked erans, however, for which he is most well Records such as Ray Charles, Ruth Brown, to point out, much to the consternation of known. Three years ago, Arch helped to lead LaVern Baker, the Drifters, the Coasters, ‘‘outraged Southern senators,’’ who com- plained to his father, Ambassador Mehmet an effort to have the remains of a Congres- Aretha Franklin and Led Zeppelin. Other art- Munir Ertegun, about the practice. sional Medal of Honor recipient from the Bronx ists shaped by Ertegun include John Coltrane, ‘‘I thought it would be wise to rebuild the given proper burial at Arlington National Cem- Stevie Wonder, and Mick Jagger. historical image of the Turkish Embassy res- etery. Cornelius H. Charlton was post- Asked by the Slate magazine on his legacy, idence as a center for jazz and jazz fans,’’ humously awarded our nation’s highest mili- Ertegun responded, ‘‘I’d be happy if people Tan said. ‘‘People should be aware of the his- tary honor for bravery during the Korean War said that I did a little bit to raise the dignity torical significance of this house and of He was killed in 1951 but his body was not and recognition of the greatness of African- Ahmet and Nesuhi Ertegun. They made a laid to rest at Arlington. In November 2008, American music.’’ good place for Turkey in the hearts and On Friday, February 4th, in acknowledge- minds of the black community here and in Arch, along with members of Sgt. Charlton’s the music community around the United family and several veterans from the Bronx ment of Black History Month, Namik Tan, the States and elsewhere.’’ VA, oversaw the reinterring of Sgt. Charlton’s Republic of Turkey’s current ambassador to The Ertegun boys were already hard-core body into Arlington National Cemetery. As a the United States, announced a series of six swing buffs by the time their father was result, Arch and the dedicated group who concerts at the Turkish Ambassador’s resi- named Turkey’s ambassador to Washington championed this effort formed The Friends of dence to highlight the unique role the Em- in 1934, when Nesuhi was 17 and Ahmet was Charlton Garden, a Bronx-based 501(c)3 not- bassy played in the promotion of jazz music 11. for-profit organization that advocates for vet- and racial integration and acceptance in our Upon landing in America, the young Turks Nation’s capitol. The first concert will be to- dived headlong into the heart of the Dis- erans affairs. Arch serves as Co-Chair of The trict’s hopping jazz scene, frequenting the Friends of Charlton Garden, and is a member morrow and it will feature the Orrin Evans Howard Theatre, a mecca of black entertain- of several other veterans groups, including Trio. ment, to hear Ellington and other favorites. The American Legion Mitchell-Royal Post As we conclude Black History month, I ‘‘I got my education in music at the How- 1905, and the Bronx Chapter of the National would like to pay tribute to the contributions of ard,’’ Ahmet later declared. Association of Black Veterans. the former Turkish Ambassador Mehmet Munir The Erteguns began promoting concerts, Mr. Speaker, after so many years of helping Ertegun and his sons Ahmet and Nesuhi too—at the Jewish Community Center, the others, Leroy Archible has earned the grati- Ertegun and to their contributions to bringing National Press Club and elsewhere—partly tude of more people than he could possibly jazz to the world. because they so loved the music but also out of a sense of social responsibility. ‘‘You can’t know. If you were to ask him, however, Arch A STIRRING MOMENT IN JAZZ HISTORY TO imagine how segregated Washington was at would tell you that his proudest moments have ECHO IN TURKISH EMBASSY that time,’’ Nesuhi told The Post in 1979, a come as a husband to Ella, a father, and as (By J. Freedom du Lac) decade before his death. ‘‘Blacks and whites a grandfather. Arch has been the heartbeat of The ghosts are jamming again. couldn’t sit together in most places. So we so much good during his life; he is accom- They’re playing that hot jazz in the Turk- put on concerts.... Jazz was our weapon plished in work; respected among peers; and ish Embassy’s old Sheridan Circle mansion, for social action.’’ brave in all things. Mr. Speaker, I ask that my just as they did in the 1930s and ’40s, when They regularly invited musicians back to colleagues join me in paying tribute to Mr. the ambassador’s boys, Ahmet and Nesuhi the embassy. The typical gathering began Ertegun, were always inviting their favorite with a meal served by servants in tuxedos. Leroy Richard Archible. musicians over to hang and blow and thump. Then came the sweetest dessert for hard-core f The informal, integrated gatherings swing fans. achieved near-mythic status—‘‘Washington’s ‘‘Nesuhi and I made the most out of the HONORING THE EMBASSY OF TUR- most famous private jam sessions,’’ jazz extra-territorial situation offered by the em- KEY AND THE ERTEGUN FAMILY journalist Bill Gottlieb called them in The bassy by inviting musicians who’d played in FOR THEIR CONTRIBUTION TO Washington Post in 1943—and then they town the night before over for Sunday JAZZ evaporated into history. lunch,’’ Ahmet recalled in his 2001 book, ‘‘So many people don’t know about it,’’ ‘‘What’d I Say: The Atlantic Story.’’ ‘‘They said Namik Tan, Turkey’s current ambas- all loved the idea of having lunch at an em- HON. JOHN CONYERS, JR. sador. He’s in the mansion’s second-floor bassy, particularly one as well-appointed and OF MICHIGAN music parlor, envisioning Lester Young sit- in such grand surroundings as the Turkish IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ting in the wood-paneled room, coaxing embassy in Washington. After lunch, jam Monday, February 28, 2011 those light, airy notes out of his tenor saxo- sessions would inevitably develop.’’ phone. Or maybe it’s Benny Carter, making If there’s a record of the artists who vis- Mr. CONYERS. Mr. Speaker, a recent his alto sax sing. And aren’t those the cats ited the Erteguns, the embassy hasn’t been Washington Post article examined the Em- from Duke Ellington’s band—Johnny able to find it. Based on interviews with the bassy of Turkey’s role in promoting jazz in Hodges, Harry Carney, Barney Bigard—on brothers, Gottlieb’s columns in The Post and America. Former Turkish Ambassador Mehmet deck to play? photos at the Library of Congress, though, Munir Ertegun and his sons Ahmet and ‘‘Just try to scan back and imagine sitting the cumulative guest list probably included Young, Carter, boogie-woogie pianist Meade Nesuhi Ertegun were instrumental in raising here and listening to those great jazz musicians play,’’ Tan said. Lux Lewis, blues giant Leadbelly, and mem- the profile of jazz in the 1930s and 40s in the On Friday, in a nod to Black History bers of the Count Basie and Ellington bands. District of Columbia. Month, Tan will announce a series of six in- You can feel it when you set foot in the While growing up in Washington, DC, vitation-only concerts at his palatial resi- place, said Washington jazzman and educator Ahmet Ertegun and his brother, Nesuhi, dis- dence just off Embassy Row. The first, Davey Yarborough, who performed at the regarded the racial barriers that divided the March 1, will feature pianist Orrin Evans. residence in October in what Tan called ‘‘a city and the country and hosted jam sessions Jazz at Lincoln Center, on whose board practice for the series.’’ at the Turkish Embassy. Many notable jazz Ahmet Ertegun served, is curating the se- ‘‘You feel the history coming up the steps,’’ Yarborough said. ‘‘There’s a sense of artists performed, including Lester Young, ries, which Tan conceived to highlight the mansion’s past as one of Washington’s most energy, a sense of ancestry that you get to Benny Carter, Meade Lux Lewis, Leadbelly, exclusive—and unlikely—jazz venues. absorb. If Lester Young played here, his spir- and members of the Count Basie and Elling- These will be much more formal affairs it is still here, and he might guide me ton bands. On a recent visit to the Embassy, than the jam sessions hosted by the brothers: through a breakthrough on my instrument— Ambassador Tan showed me a picture of Dr. Ahmet, who founded Atlantic Records and like, ‘Here, let me show you what it really Martin Luther King at the embassy with jazz produced some of R&B’s greatest sides; and felt like.’ ’’ musicians. Nesuhi, who ran the jazz department at At- To Nesuhi Ertegun, watching Ellington’s Later in his life, Ertegun went on to found lantic and produced classic records for John band jamming at the mansion ‘‘was one of the biggest thrills of my life,’’ he told The Atlantic Records in 1947 as a record label for Coltrane, Ray Charles, Bobby Darin and Ro- berta Flack. Post in 1979. gospel, jazz and R&B music with partner Herb But any jazz is notable at 1606 23rd St. NW, The music, he said, seemed to go over well Abramson. His brother eventually joined the where the Erteguns proudly flouted the con- with others, too. ‘‘I remember once there firm and created one of the most successful ventions of segregated Washington by wel- was an embassy party, and I was having independent labels in American history.

Load more