QUINCY JONES died on Sunday; November 3rd aged 91. Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, said he “passed away peacefully” at his home in Bel Air. His immediate family posted the following statement: “Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
This is not the place to rewrite Jones’ biography or to list his achievements and accolades , save to say that in a career spanning more than 75 years, he won 28 Grammy Awards and was named as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time magazine. “Legend” and “icon” are epithets used all too readily in the music biz; “Q” was one of the very, very few who merited both titles!
To most, Jones will probably be best remembered as the producer of Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ album, but he worked with many , many giants of the music industry including Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Aretha Franklin. Remember too that he masterminded the 1985 African Famine Relief song, ‘We Are the World’ for which he brought together something like 45 of America’s top music stars!
Jones also composed the soundtrack to more than 50 films and TV programmes including the 1969 British classic , ‘The Italian Job’. He also produced movies and TV shows – notably ‘The Colour Purple’, which introduced the public to Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg and ‘The Fresh Prince of Bel Air’.
QUINCY JONES: 1933- 2024 RIP
