Musician Quincy Jones dies at 91

BarcelonaAmerican musician Quincy Jones died this Sunday at the age of 91 in Los Angeles, "surrounded by family," as reported by his representative, Arnold Robinson. "It is with a broken heart that we must share the death of our father and brother. And although it is a great loss for the family, we celebrate the life he lived and know that there will never be anyone like him," says the family. ~BK_LINE_BREAK~ Indeed, Quincy Jones was unique, especially as a producer. His magic is evident in some of the most relevant milestones of American popular music of the 20th century, such as Michael Jackson's records. Off the wall (1979), Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987). His resume as a producer also includes albums by Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, Sarah Vaughan, Donna Summer, George Benson and Little Richard, among others. In other words, he is part of some of the main chapters in the musical history of the United States, especially jazz, pop, soul and disco music. Quincy Jones is the third artist who has won the most Grammy Awards, 28, behind Beyoncé (32) and George Solti (31). He was also the producer of We are the world (1985), composed by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and performed for charity (to alleviate hunger in Ethiopia) by a group of stars such as Stevie Wonder, Bob Dylan, Tina Turner, Bruce Springsteen, Dionne Warwick and Al Jarreau, among others. ~BK_LINE_BREAK~ He was also a prominent composer of film soundtracks such as In cold blood (Richard Brooks, 1967), In the heat of the night (Norman Jewison, 1967), A man for Ivy (Daniel Mann, 1968), The escape (Sam Peckinpah, 1972), The magician (Sidney Lumet, 1978) and The color purple (Steven Spielberg, 1985), among others. Despite not winning any Oscars, it did have seven nominations.

Born in Chicago on March 14, 1933, and settled with his family in Seattle in 1945, Quincy Jones got into music as a trumpet player, and soon excelled as an arranger. Jazz was his first field of action, especially when he began his studies at the Berklee School of Music in Boston. The big break came when he joined Lionel Hampton's band, for whom he also made arrangements. He also worked with Ray Charles, Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Count Basie and Duke Ellington. At the same time, he was developing a career as a leader, navigating different trends in bebop and modern jazz. The first album under his name was This is how I feel about jazz (1957). Between this album and Back on the block (1989), Jones traveled different paths of jazz, pop and soul, a career culminating with hits such as Oh no bullfight, one of the songs on the album The dude (1981).

The book Q: the autobiography of Quincy Jones (2001) –translated into Spanish by Luis Murillo Fort for Libros del Kultrum in 2021– is an essential testimony of the musical culture of the second half of the 20th century. In addition to providing all kinds of things about Jones' personal life –such as his marriages to Jeri Caldwell (1957-1966), Ulla Andersson (1967-1974), Peggy Lipton (1975-1989) and Nastassja Kinski (1991-1995)–, it explains the ways of singers like Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald and Sarah Vaughan, the details that made them so great. "Frank [Sinatra] had grown up singing with big bands and he could sound like a wind instrument; therefore, he never lost the beat of the song. His swing was impressive," he said of Sinatra, for whom he made arrangements on the records It might as well be swing (1964) and Sinatra at the Sands (1966), an album shared with Count Basie and Quincy Jones himself. He also produced Sinatra's album LA is my lady (1984). ~BK_LINE_BREAK~ Of Ella Fitzgerald he emphasized that she liked "arrangements that gave her freedom to sing" and that allowed her to "get drunk with the orchestra." On the other hand, Sarah Vaughan prefers sophisticated arrangements, "with more suggestive chord changes." All this knowledge acquired firsthand during the fifties was fundamental for Jones to develop his career as a producer, with goals such as Michael Jackson's platinum trilogy. ~BK_LINE_BREAK~ Success with Michael Jackson

"I met Michael Jackson in 1972, at a party at Sammy Davis's house in Los Angeles," Quincy Jones explained in the autobiography. However, they did not work together until filmmaker Sidney Lumet asked the producer to supervise the soundtrack forThe magician, an African-American adaptation ofThe Magic of Oz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. "Personally, the best thing aboutThe magician "It was Michael, and I was finally able to work with [songwriters] Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson," she recalled. According to Jones, Jackson showed up at her house one day. "He said, 'I'm putting together stuff to do my first solo record for Epic Records. Could you help me find a producer? '" Jones had a lot of work to do, but said she would think about it. After a while, as they worked on The magician, proposed that he produce it. But the record company was skeptical, considering Jones too jazzy for pop. "I don't care what he thinks. Quincy will produce the record," Jackson said. The result was Off the wall (1979), and the extension of the singer's voice range, both in terms of the low and high notes. The understanding was extraordinary, supported also by very juicy sales. Thus, both repeated in Thriller (1982) and Bad (1987), and culminated a historic trilogy.