Pioneering record producer was 91

Quincy Jonesthe legendary record producer, composer and multi-instrumentalist whose contributions to contemporary music spanned more than seventy years and multiple genres such as jazz, pop and hip-hop, has died at the age of 91.

“Tonight, it is with full but broken hearts that we share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones,” Jones’ family said in a statement. “And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the amazing life he lived and know there will never be another like him.”

One of the music industry’s most celebrated icons, Jones earned a record 80 Grammy nominations and 28 wins, including three Producer of the Year awards and two Album of the Year and Song of the Year awards. His most recent victory came in 2019 Quincythe semi-autobiographical documentary written and co-directed by his daughter Rashida Jones won the award for Best Music Film.

As a producer and arranger, Jones was responsible for some of the most definitive records of the twentieth century. He produced Michael Jackson’s 1982 hit Thrillerwhich remains the best-selling album of all time, as well as its equally successful 1987 follow-up, Bad. He collaborated with the top talents of every era, including Dizzy Gillespie, Aretha Franklin, Ray Charles, Rufus & Chaka Khan and Al Jarreau, and also helmed hit singles across genres such as Lesley Gore’s ‘It’s My Party’, Frank Sinatra’s rendition of ‘Fly Me to the Moon (In Other Words)’ and ‘Strawberry Letter 23’ by the Johnson brothers.

Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born in Chicago, Illinois on March 14, 1933. He began learning to play the piano at an early age and eventually took up the trumpet after his family moved to Seattle. He left Berklee College of Music in Boston after a year to tour with jazz bandleader Lionel Hampton and then moved to New York City, where he became a freelance arranger for Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Ella Fitzgerald and more.

In 1956 he released his first album This is how I think about jazzbut rose to prominence with subsequent releases, such as 1962 Big band Bossa Nova and 1971 Smackwater Jack. He further explored genres beyond jazz and big band music in his solo output with 1973’s You’ve got it bad girl1974 Body heatand 1981 The Guy. Jones’ magnum opus from 1989, Back on the blockcombined all the widespread sensibilities, including the burgeoning hip-hop style, and went on to win seven Grammys, including Album of the Year.

In 1985, Jones assembled a group of top musicians, including Stevie Wonder, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, to record the single “We Are the World” for the nonprofit organization USA for Africa. The song, written by Jackson and Lionel Richie, continued Raising $75 million for humanitarian aid in Africa and received three Grammys, including Song and Record of the Year. Jones led the recording sessions with more than 45 musicians and posted a warning at the entrance that read: “Please check your ego at the door.”

Jones was equally groundbreaking in the entertainment industry, becoming the first African American to be nominated for Best Original Song at the Academy Awards in 1967 for “The Eyes of Love.” Forbidden. As a film composer, Jones wrote memorable scores In the heat of the night, The Italian trackAnd The color purpleand he was the musical supervisor on Sidney Lumet’s 1978 musical The Wizwhich introduced him to Michael Jackson and led to their partnership in 1979 From the wall. He scored indelible theme songs for television Sanford & son And Iron sideand later ran his own production company, Quincy Jones Entertainment, which produced The fresh prince of Bel-Air And Crazy television.

Among many accolades, Jones received the Grammy Legend Award in 1992, the John F. Kennedy Center Honors in 2001, the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2011, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2013 as the recipient of the Ahmet Ertegun Prize. He achieved EGOT status in 2016 as producer of the Tony Award-winning stage adaptation of The color purple. In addition to his numerous Grammy wins, Jones won the Emmy for Outstanding Music Composition Carrots in 1977 and was honored with the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award from the Oscars in 1994.