Quincy Jones

Quincy Jones is a legendary musician, composer, and producer who has had a significant impact on the music industry for over six decades. Born in Chicago in 1933, Jones began his career as a jazz trumpeter and quickly established himself as a talented musician. He went on to become a prolific composer and arranger, working with some of the biggest names in music.

Jones got his start in the music industry in the 1950s, working as a trumpet player and arranger with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. In the early 1960s, he moved to Paris and began working as a composer and arranger for film and television. It was during this time that he first worked with legendary French singer and songwriter Jacques Brel, with whom he would go on to collaborate on several projects.
In the mid-1960s, Jones returned to the United States and began working with some of the biggest names in music. He arranged and conducted Frank Sinatra's classic album "Sinatra at the Sands" and went on to work with the singer on several other projects. He also worked with Michael Jackson, producing his hit albums "Off the Wall," "Thriller," and "Bad."
Jones has won numerous awards and honors for his work in the music industry. He has been nominated for 80 Grammy Awards and has won 28, making him one of the most successful Grammy Award winners of all time. He has also won an Emmy Award, seven Academy Award nominations, and a Tony Award nomination for his work on the Broadway musical "The Color Purple."
In addition to his work in music, Jones has been involved in a number of philanthropic and humanitarian efforts. He was one of the co-founders of the We Are the World Foundation, which raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Africa. He has also been involved in efforts to promote education and cultural exchange, and has served as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.
Jones' most recent work includes producing the soundtrack for the Netflix series "The Get Down," which explores the birth of hip-hop in the South Bronx in the late 1970s. He also released a documentary about his life and career, titled "Quincy," which premiered on Netflix in 2018.
Jones passed away at the age of 91 on November 3, 2024. At the time of his death, he was working numerous projects, including a Sammy Davis Jr. musical, a Cirque du Soleil show focused on the history of Black American music, a film about Brazilian carnivals, a film version of Ralph Ellison’s “Juneteenth”, and a film about Russian Poet Alexander Pushkin, who may have been of African origin.