RIP to the Great
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr.
March 14, 1933 - November 3, 2024
There may be no other figure in Western music history who spent more time at its forefront, in more different areas, than the great Quincy Jones.
He spent some of his early days in Seattle with Ray Charles, who became a lifetime inspiration. Moving to New York City, his star rose as he played in many settings, soon becoming musical director for Dizzy Gillespie. Starting his own bands in the late 1950s, he began what would be one of his close associations, with Frank Sinatra. He worked with Count Basie & Sinatra during their high profile Las Vegas days, arranging & conducting.
During his continuing ascent in the 1960s/1970s, he worked with Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald, & many others, scored many films, & composed one of his best-known songs, Soul Bossa Nova, which of course took on a new life later thanks to Austin Powers. For TV he wrote the theme song for Sanford & Son, music for the TV blockbuster Roots, & much more. He worked with Diana Ross & Michael Jackson on the production of The Wiz; this led to his most famous association-with Michael Jackson. 1979's Off the Wall was a huge hit, & its follow-up, 1982's Thriller, is merely the best-selling album of all time. In 1985 Jones used the peerless power he had built to create the star-studded We Are the World record to help famine in Africa.
These are but some of the top highlights in what was, without debate, one of the most astonishing careers ever seen in music. He won countless awards & was awarded many honorary degrees. Jones kept busy in various aspects of the music world until very late in his life, having become something more than an elder statesman; he literally was modern western music, in living, breathing form.
Jazz Lines Publications is proud to publish some of the work that Quincy Jones did in the jazz field; although this was just one area that he enhanced with his inimitable presence, the music he created here is part of the endless proof that this was one monumental singular genius. RIP Mr. Jones-& thank you so much.
