Quincy Jones RIP

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

"... He burst onto the music scene as a jazz trumpeter in Seattle in 1947, right about the time he became lifelong friends with a blind piano player then known as R.C. Robinson, later known as Ray Charles.

He wrote music for Count Basie and earned a short-lived spot touring with Lionel Hampton before Hampton’s wife overruled the arrangement because at 15 Jones was too young and needed to finish school. Once Jones did three years later, he was back on the bus with Hampton’s group.

Jones had 28 Grammy Awards, the third-most won by a single person — only Beyoncé at 32, and Georg Solti at 31, had more. He was nominated 80 times. Charles inspired Jones


Jones considered Charles an inspiration for his own music career, seeing how Charles overcame his blindness to become a star.

Jones went on to become the first African American to be a senior executive at a major White-owned music label — Mercury Records. In 1963, he produced Lesley Gore’s 1963 hit “It’s My Party,” and, in 1964, he arranged the jazz-pop hit “Fly Me to the Moon” for Sinatra and Count Basie. Sinatra, in fact, nicknamed Jones “Q.”

And that very fine band of the early 1960s in Europe, Phil Woods, Clerk Terry, Jerome Richardson et al.

RIP.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Ray Charles and small band, "The Ray" 1956, Atlantic.

Composed Q.Jones. Arranged Q.Jones.

http://youtu.be/eabAnUxDDxA?si=qwenJxsz0RyRpWKz

[johncorrigan]

Ray Charles and small band, "The Ray" 1956, Atlantic.

Composed Q.Jones. Arranged Q.Jones.

http://youtu.be/eabAnUxDDxA?si=qwenJxsz0RyRpWKz

Thanks a lot. Here's Q with Frank in '84.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eIazK40JKbM

[Serial_Apologist]

And yet for all that Quincy never seemed to get name mentioned in jazz circles other than as an eminence behind Sinatra, Basie just at the time when his music was becoming less cutting edge, and the beginnings of Soul and Disco: the forms that foregrounded American pop music culture as product that came out of jazz after jazz became separated off in its mainstream presentation as niche.

I'll probably get slated for saying this.

At least he is freed from having to live with the "choices" of the forthcoming Presidential election.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Well..."In an eyebrow-raising interview, Quincy Jones, who was 84 at the time, said of Trump: “I used to hang out with him. He’s a crazy motherf***er. Limited mentally – a megalomaniac, narcissistic. I can’t stand him".- Independent today.

[BLUESNIK'S REVOX]

Ray Charles on Quincy ..http://youtu.be/f0O7vbDrf54?si=EhXyJ47ZyNRetbZs
the standouts for me are the arrangements etc he did for James Moody's little bands in the early 50s, which in turn influenced the first Ray Charles band sound, the albums with Sonny Stitt etc etc, his own early albums with Lucky Thompson, Cannonball etc and the great, if financially disastrous, band that played Europe in 196O plus. Later he expanded greatly to film but I think (and have read) that jazz was always his love. One of the good guys.

[cloughie]

A very talented musician - a very long career - no doubt his contribution to the career of Michael Jackson in the 80s was good - I couldn’t really say as thankfully and along with Jarvis Cocker I never ‘got’ MJ! but Ray Charles’ ‘In the heat of the night’ was a tremendous sound!
Overall - Thank you for the music. RIP Quincy.

[pastoralguy]

Very sad news indeed. His work with Mr. Sinatra was outstanding.

[Maclintick]

An extraordinary talent and a multi-faceted career. I haven't heard it mentioned on any of the radio tributes today that he studied composition with Nadia Boulanger and Olivier Messiaen in 50s Paris. RIP, Quincy

[Ian Thumwood]

Quite interesting to read the comments about Quincy Jones in sites like BBC and then count off the records he was involved with which have not been mentioned. I am beginning to think that most people are unaware of the breadth of his work. There have been aimed staggering omissions notably the exceptional.1960 big band that toured Europe . That was one of my Dad's favourite jazz groups and I would concur that there was something magical about that band.

Jones cropped up everywhere and even when he appeared to have left jazz behind in the 2000s, he still managed to produce another decent offering with the Basie band which he had envigorates 40 years earlier.

There was so much jazz he was involved in that I think his subsequent career in pop should not distract from. That said, I heard a Michael Jackson track on the radio last week from the Thriller album and was struck hoe musical the score was. A lot of jazz fans write this work off but it is beginning to sink in that the charts were often really sophisticated. Rhe harmonies and bass line could have only come from a jazz mind. Massively superior to so much other pop material. Never appreciated it at the time.

[Jazzrook]

Walkin’ from Quincy Jones’ 1956 album ‘This Is How I Feel About Jazz’. Great solos from Art Farmer, Lucky Thompson & Phil Woods:

https://www.YouTube.com/watch?v=VPRFLIgHC98

JR

[Ian Thumwood]

I saw Quincy Jones at Vienne where he temporarily fronted the Keystone big band.i always thought they were a decent big band but when Quincy conducted them, their performance was transformed.

Also forgot to note that he was another who studied with Nadia Boulanger.

That is a cracking album, Jazzrook.

[gradus]

I bought his first big band album Birth of a Band because it contained the theme music - A Change of Pace - for 'Cool for Cats' presented by Kent Walton of all people (he of wrestling promotions fame) and the track is still terrific.
Quincy was a great musician across so many categories, God bless him.

[Ian Thumwood]

And yet for all that Quincy never seemed to get name mentioned in jazz circles other than as an eminence behind Sinatra, Basie just at the time when his music was becoming less cutting edge, and the beginnings of Soul and Disco: the forms that foregrounded American pop music culture as product that came out of jazz after jazz became separated off in its mainstream presentation as niche.

I'll probably get slated for saying this.

At least he is freed from having to live with the "choices" of the forthcoming Presidential election.

S A
Don't think I can leave this comment unanswered because I think that many people who grew up listening to big bands who I knew always considered Quincy Jones too modern. I would probably have a very similar perception of Q's work as Bluesnik if you consider his work up to the early sixties. By then, I think his ability took him in other directions although he was still able to make Basie still relevant in 1960s. You have to be an enthusiast to appreciate how he transformed Basie.


Where I agree is that he eventually became more involved with pop from mid 60s and whilst this was OK when the pop material was by jazz singers. For me, the fusion stuff of the 1970s lacks appeal but so many jazz musicians fell unto the same trap. That said, there were still decent excursions into jazz and the work with Michael Jackson raised the standard for pop.

[Cockney Sparrow]

A Prom from 22 Aug 2016 (available for 29 days) was re-played last night on BBC2. I wouldn't have watched in 2016, but I have to hand it to the band - really great players.........

I've only watched to the interval (interview with The Man himself) and will be picking up the programme again by watching the piece with the phenomenal Hammond Organ player Corey Henry - toward the end of the first half. (Well, phenomenal to me, who knows very little about this genre of music...).

Available for 29 days:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b07pqrkw/bbc-proms-2016-quincy-jones-prom