Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Benny Goodman head this year’s class of 12 inductees to the Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame, which opened last fall at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s new home in the Time Warner Center.
The other 2005 inductees, announced Monday, include trumpeter Roy Eldridge, pianist Earl “Fatha” Hines, alto saxophonist Johnny Hodges of the Duke Ellington Orchestra, Basie band drummer Jo “Papa Jo” Jones, bassist-bandleader-composer Charles Mingus, cornetist Joe “King” Oliver, who brought Louis Armstrong north to Chicago from New Orleans in 1922, and Thomas “Fats” Waller, the stride pianist and singer who wrote hit tunes such as “Ain’t Misbehavin” and “Honeysuckle Rose.”
Pioneering bebop drummer Max Roach and tenor saxophonist Sonny Rollins became the first living inductees. The Jazz Hall of Fame is named after the Turkish-born Ertegun, who played a key role in developing the catalog of jazz, R&B and rock albums at Atlantic Records, the label founded by his brother Ahmet.
The inductees were chosen by a 58-member panel of jazz musicians, educators and scholars from 17 countries.
An induction ceremony will be held Sept. 8 at Frederick P. Rose Hall, home of Jazz at Lincoln Center.
“These great jazz musicians set new standards for instrumental and vocal performance in the 20th century,” said trumpeter Wynton Marsalis, JALC’s artistic director, in a statement. “Their work stands as a testament to the creative power of jazz.”
Last year’s inaugural group of 14 inductees included Louis Armstrong, Miles Davis and Billie Holiday.