Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s landmark “Thriller” album to writing award-winning film and television scores and working with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other artists died at age 91. .
Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, said he died Sunday evening at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, surrounded by family.
Chris Pizzello / Invision / AP, File)
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones,” the family said in a statement. “And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the beautiful life he lived and know there will never be another like him.
“He is truly one of a kind and will be greatly missed; we are comforted and immensely proud to know that the love and joy, which was the essence of his being, was shared with the world through it all. that he created Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity.”
Jones rose from Chicago’s South Side gang to the heights of show business, becoming one of the first black executives to thrive in Hollywood and building an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of rhythm and American song.
For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who didn’t own at least one record bearing his name or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who didn’t have some connection to him.
Jones has kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the recording of the stars of “We Are the World”, the 1985 charity record for the fight against famine in Africa.
Lionel Richie, who co-wrote “We Are the World” and was among its featured singers, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.”
