On Sunday evening, seven-time Oscar-nominated legendary composer, producer and songwriter Quincy Jones passed away at the age of 91. The death was reported by the Associated Press, citing the artist’s spokeswoman.
Quincy Jones: life and work
Tonight, with loving but broken hearts, we must share the news of the death of our father and brother, Quincy Jones, the 28-time Grammy winner’s family said in a statement to the AP. “And while this is a tremendous loss for our family, we celebrate his wonderful life. We know there will never be another like him.
Quincy Jones was born on March 14, 1933 in Chicago. He achieved his first successes in the 1950s as an arranger and conductor of jazz orchestras. In the following decades, he divided his time between producing albums and composing film soundtracks. In 1968, he was the first black artist in history to receive two Oscar nominations in one season – for the song “The Eyes of Love” from the drama “Banning” and for the music for “In Cold Blood”. The Academy also nominated him in 1969 for his song for “For Love Of Ivy“, in 1979 for the music for “The Wizard of Oz” and in 1986 for “The Color Purple”. Steven Spielberg’s film brought Jones three nominations – for music, song and for best film, which he co-produced. In 1995, the musician won he was to receive an honorary Oscar in two weeks.
Other famous titles with unforgettable music by Quincy Jones include: “In the Heat of the Night”, “The Italian Job”, “MacKenny’s Gold”, “Tapes of Truth”, “Get Out” and the series “Ironside”, “Roots” and “Bill Cosby Show”.
Quincy Jones i “Thriller”
The artist produced the best-selling music album in history – Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”. To date, the album has sold over 70 million copies. Jones also collaborated with, among others, with artists such as Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles and Little Richard.
The 2018 documentary “Quincy” is about the composer’s life and work. You can watch its trailer below.
