Dear melomaniac, just yesterday a sad piece of news was making itself heard: the most prolific music producer of all time, the one and only Quincy Jones, peacefully passed away at 91. I have been thinking about this all day yesterday and went to bed thinking of Quincy and his wonderful productions and solo albums. Nevertheless, I also woke up thinking about him and with a dark cup of coffee in my hand I walked in my office and fired up the sound system and looked for a good playlist with his best songs ever, so, here it is, starting with the everlasting “Soul Bossa Nova”, the universal “Summer In The City” or his wonderful, “The Dude”. Have a listen with me while we unwind a few of Quincy’s memorable moments of his life and legendary career.
First of all, let me tell you how the music of Quincy touches me and why it should matter so much to you and to any melomaniac, for that matter. In any piece of Quincy’s music, solo songs or songs that he has produced for others, you will find a one-of-a-kind Quincy touch that is magical and, in my opinion, renders him as the best producer ever existed.
This guy has produced the most everlasting hits ever, just take a look: Give Me The Night (George Benson), Mack The Night (Frank Sinatra), Fever (Sarah Vaughan), It’s My Party (Lesley Gore), We Are The World (USA For Africa) and, oh boy, Michael Jackson songs: Billie Jean, Thriller, Rock With You, Beat It, Dirty Diana – basically all Michael’s albums until Dangerous. Wow – that’s a heavy career!
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. was born in Chicago in 1933, and he was a record producer, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. He received 28 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award. He made his stage debut in the 50s as a jazz arranger and conductor but made his definitive debut as a producer with Lesley Gore, producing her hit “It’s My Party”.
Of course, his most notable work is as the main producer of Michael Jackson’s most successful albums: Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad. Also, he composed music for movies, I will mention here: In The Heat Of The Night (1967), The Italian Job (1969) and The Wiz (1978).
When you dig in Quincy Jones’ work, you will also find a great number of solo albums that spawned from 1955 all the way to 2010 – in total 40 discs. His solo albums are mostly original jazz compositions or reinterpretations of classics, but – if all of them have something in common, then that would be the “Quincy touch”, a groovy and meaty kind of approach to music. I did not find this anywhere else. This makes Quincy unique and quintessential in the music universe.
From these 40 solo albums, these are the ones that have a special place in my heart: Gula Matari (1970), Smackwater Jack (1971), You’ve Got It Bad Girl (1973) – but the most spectacular is 1981s The Dude. This is, in my opinion, the most superb Quincy Jones solo album.
Even if he had a full life, with health issues all the way, carrying on two brain surgeries, Quincy Jones remained active until the end, recording music and having a good voice for us all – giving us a great example how life should be lived and how talent should be spent. This is how I will remember Quincy – with a big smile on his face – always, no matter what.
Goodbye maestro, see in you in a bit!
