Quincy Jones, trumpeter, composer, director, arranger and producer of the biggest music stars of recent decades, died this Sunday, November 3, at his home in California, at the age of 91, his promoter Arnold Robinson reported this Monday. in a statement.
«With a full but broken heart, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones. 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,” the Jones family said in the statement released by the promoter.
Quincy Jones was a major influence on American music. His vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s landmark album “Thriller” to composing award-winning film and television soundtracks and collaborating with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other artists.
“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it was the producers’ fault’; “So if it works well, it should be your ‘fault,’ too,” Jones said in an interview with the Library of Congress in 2016. “The clues don’t suddenly appear. The producer must have the skill, experience and capacity to guide the vision to fruition.”
From the streets to the top
Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones cited the hymns his mother sang at home as the first music he could remember. But he looked back sadly on his childhood, and once told Oprah Winfrey that “there are two types of people: those who have parents or caregivers who take care of them and those who don’t. There is nothing in between.” Jones’ mother suffered from emotional problems and was eventually institutionalized, a loss that made the world seem “meaningless” to Quincy.
Jones went from associating with gangs on Chicago’s South Side to the heights of show business, becoming one of the first black executives to prosper in Hollywood and amassing an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of rhythm and the American song.
For years, you were unlikely to find a music lover who didn’t have at least one record to his name, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who didn’t have some connection to him.
“We Are the World” and even cinema
He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inauguration celebration and produced the stellar recording of “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity album to help fight hunger in Africa.
Lionel Richie, who co-wrote “We Are the World” with Michael Jackson and was among the featured singers of the 45 participants – including Tina Turner, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen – would call Jones “the maestro of the orchestra.”
As a music executive, he overcame racial barriers by becoming vice president of Mercury Records in the early 1960s. In 1971, he became the first black music director to participate in the Academy Awards ceremony.
The first film he produced, “The Color Purple,” received 11 Oscar nominations in 1986 (but, much to his disappointment, won none). In partnership with Time Warner, he created Quincy Jones Entertainment, which included the pop culture magazine Vibe and Qwest Broadcasting. The company was sold for $270 million in 1999.
Long list of honors and awards
The list of his honors and awards fills 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography, “Q,” including 27 Grammys at the time (now 28), an honorary Academy Award (now two) and an Emmy for “Roots.”
He also received the Legion of Honor from France, the Rudolph Valentino Prize from the Republic of Italy, and a Kennedy Center Honor for his contributions to American culture.
He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, “Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones” and a 2018 film by his daughter Rashida Jones. His memoirs made him a highly successful author.
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