Quincy Jones has died – News

“Tonight, it is with a full but broken heart that we must share the news that our father and brother, Quincy Jones, has passed away,” the family said in a statement. the newspaper. The Keeper.

“And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life he lived and know there will never be another like him.”

Jones is arguably the most versatile pop culture figure of the 20th century. He became famous as the producer of the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad, which made Michael Jackson the biggest pop star of all time in the 1980s. He was also the producer of the charity song We Are the World.

Soul Bossa Nova from his 1962 album Big Band Bossa Nova became the official song of the 1998 FIFA World Cup Jones has also produced music for Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer and many other artists.

He was also a successful film composer himself, a bandleader for big jazz bands and a multi-instrumentalist who excelled at playing trumpet and piano. However, he also moved easily in the television and film industry. His production company, which was founded in 1990, was very successful with the sitcom Fresh Prince (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), among others.

He almost abandoned creative activity until his death. In 2017, he launched Qwest TV, a subscription-based music service. Musician Reza Ackbaraly was a partner in the project.

Jones also holds the record for the most Grammy Award nominations. It belongs to the third row, only Beyoncé and Jay-Z are more successful in this direction. In addition to music awards, he has received several others, including a medal from President Barack Obama in 2011.

Jones was born in 1933 in Chicago to a family with a slave era. His grandfather was a Welsh slave, and his grandmother a slave. He was introduced to music through the walls of his childhood bedroom. His neighbor played the piano. He himself sat down to the machine at the age of seven.

He was mainly supported in his musical education by his mother, an active singer herself. He excelled in music in high school in Washington State, where he learned to play drums and several brass instruments in the high school band.

At the age of fourteen, he started playing in a band with Ray Charles, who was sixteen, in Seattle clubs, and once, in 1948, he joined Billie Holiday.

After graduating, he studied music at Seattle University, and continued in Boston. After moving to New York, he completely launched his career. For example, he played in Elvis Presley’s band when he first appeared on television.

In the 1950s he traveled extensively in Europe. He also studied in Paris, where he met famous people of the day, including Pablo Picasso, James Baldwin and Josephine Baker.

At that time, he was also in serious financial trouble, and he remembered in retrospect that he considered suicide. However, his business fortunes soon returned to him.

During his life he was enough to marry and divorce three times. He was the father of six daughters and one son, the website said The Straits.