Throughout his more than seven-decade career, Jones followed the ever-changing pulse of pop, from Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra, jazz to hip-hop, most of the time tinkering with the beat himself.
(FILES) US music producer Quincy Jones performs during the 10th edition of the Mawazine international music festival “World Rythms” in Rabat on May 25, 2011.(Photo by FADEL / AFP)
According to US media on Monday, Quincy Jones, a titan of the music business who produced some of Michael Jackson’s most well-known albums and worked with such icons as Frank Sinatra and Count Basie, died at the age of 91.
According to US media, his publicist, Arnold Robinson, confirmed his death in a statement without naming the cause.His studio skills and arranging abilities allowed him to bridge the gaps between the stars of the 20th century as a jazz musician, composer, and tastemaker.Over the course of his more than seven-decade career, Jones followed the ever-changing pulse of pop, from Michael Jackson to Frank Sinatra, jazz to hip-hop, most of the time tinkering with the beat himself.Born on the south side of Chicago in 1933, Quincy Delight Jones Jr. became friends with Ray Charles as a teenager after discovering a talent for the piano at a recreation centre.
After a brief stint at Massachusetts’ Berklee College of Music, Jones travelled with bandleader Lionel Hampton before settling in New York, where he became well-known as an arranger for Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington, Count Basie, and, of course, Charles.Before relocating to Paris in 1957 and studying under the renowned composer Nadia Boulanger, he collaborated with Dizzy Gillespie for a number of years and played second trumpet on Elvis Presley’s “Heartbreak Hotel.”
(FILES) Herbie Hancock Humanitarian Award recipient Quincy Jones speaks onstage during the Thelonious Monk Institute International Jazz Vocals Competition 2015 at Dolby Theatre on November 15, 2015, in Hollywood, California. (Photo by Rachel Murray / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
Later, Jones ventured into Hollywood, composing music for TV series and films.Jones is one of the most decorated people in entertainment, having won 28 Grammys and almost every other major achievement award.For the 1967 movie “Banning,” Jones became the first Black composer to receive an Oscar nomination in the original song category.Jones found Will Smith, established a hip-hop magazine, started a label, and produced the popular television program “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air” in the 1990s.
In addition to writing his own hits, such as the hypnotic “Soul Bossa Nova,” he arranged for dozens of celebrities in the business at a breakneck pace.However, he was most known for producing Michael Jackson’s albums “Bad,” “Thriller,” and “Off the Wall.”Whatever it is, Quincy has done it. In 2001, jazz pianist Herbie Hancock told PBS, “He is been able to take this genius of his and translate it into any kind of sound that he chooses.”He has no fear. Telling Quincy he is incapable of doing something is the best way to get him to do it. He will, of course—he will do it.