Quincy Jones, one of the industry’s musical titans, passed away Sunday night at the age of 91 in his home in Bel Air, California. His family, through Jones’ publicist Arnold Robinson, released a statement through The Associated Press:
“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. He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy, that were the essence of his being, was shared with the world through all that he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
Best known for his work in shaping the pop music genre by producing masterpieces such as Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall and Thriller and working with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Quincy Jones’ musical roots started with jazz.
Born Quincy Delight Jones Jr. on March 14, 1933 in Chicago, he was the oldest of two sons born to Sarah Frances and Quincy Delight Jones Sr. Jones was introduced to music at a young age through his mother’s love for religious songs and through their neighbour Lucy Jackson who played the piano. Early in his childhood, his mother Sarah suffered a schizophrenic breakdown and was sent to a mental institution. His father Quincy Sr. later remarried and relocated the family from Chicago to Washington State during World War II where he worked at a Naval shipyard. When the war ended, the family moved to Seattle, where the city’s emerging jazz scene gave Jones his start in music.
Jones attending Garfield High School where he developed skills as a trumpeter and arranger. It was during this time that a 14-year-old Quincy Jones would meet 16-year-old Ray Charles at the Black Elks club, an African-American fraternity. Charles would serve as a major inspiration in Jones’ burgeoning career as a jazz musician.
In 1951, Jones embarked on his studies at Seattle University, later transferring to Berklee College of Music. However, he left school entirely in 1953 when he was offered an opportunity to tour as a trumpeter and pianist with vibraphonist and bandleader Lionel Hampton. He began to hone in on his arranging skills and started writing arrangements for artists such as Sarah Vaughn, Dinah Washington, Count Basie, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles.
Jones would spend the 1950s touring across Europe, leading several orchestras and studying under music teachers Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen. “We had the best jazz band on the planet, and yet we were literally starving. That’s when I discovered that there was music, and there was the music business,” Jones recalled during an interview with Ralph J. Gleason, “If I were to survive, I would have to learn the difference between the two.”