RIP Quincy Jones, whose musical accomplishments across a range of genres and endeavors may be wider and deeper than any other figure of the past century.
In the realm of jazz . . .
His abilities as a trumpet player put him on the road with the Lionel Hampton big band at the age of 20, where he sat next to the likes of Clifford Brown and Art Farmer. He was a sideman with a variety of artists, including Dizzy Gillespie and Thad Jones,
He was also one of the greatest jazz arrangers, arranging for and producing a slew of the greatest jazz artists, including Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Sarah Vaughn, Cannonball Adderley, Ray Charles, Tony Bennett, George Benson and Dinah Washington, and Miles Davis.
As a composer . . .
He studied with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen.
Wrote the scores for over 40 major motion pictures, including In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, The Italian Job, Bob & Ted & Carol & Alice, the Getaway, and The Color Purple. Wrote the themes for several tv shows, including Sanford and Son, Ironside, and Banacek.
As a pop producer . . .
He is best known for producing Michael Jackson’s albums Off the Wall, Thriller, E.T., and Bad. The sales figures for these albums alone are estimated to top 135 million copies. But he also produced albums by some of the most definitive pop artists ever, including Aretha Franklin, Donny Hathaway, Lena Horne, James Ingram, Rufus, Donna Summer, Lesley Gore. (“It’s My Party” —yeah, he produced that!)
He’s also known for having produced “We Are the World.” What’s less appreciated is how he might have been the only producer in the world who could have held the attention and respect of the wide range of stars gathered in that room.
