American music supremo Quincy Jones dies at 91

Quincy Jones, a major influence on American music in his work with artists ranging from Count Basie to Frank Sinatra, who also reshaped pop music by collaborating with Michael Jackson, died on Sunday at the age of 91, his publicist Arnold Robinson said, reported Reuters.

Jones breathed his last at his home in the Bel Air section of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” the family said in a statement provided to The Guardian. “And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”

From Grammy-studded achievements to groundbreaking work in music production and films, Jones’ career spanned over 70 years.

Born in Chicago in 1933, his early life was marked by struggle. But growing up in Washington, he developed a keen interest in music. By age 14, he was performing in Seattle’s clubs alongside a young Ray Charles. He went onto study at Seattle University and later in Boston before moving to New York, where he found himself playing trumpet in Elvis Presley’s band and mingling with jazz greats like Miles Davis and Charlie Parker.

With his early work as a trumpeter and later as an arranger and bandleader, he became quite famous. During his time in Europe in the 1950s, he also deepened his musical knowledge and formed connections with cultural figures including Pablo Picasso and Josephine Baker.

Throughout his career, Jones was at the forefront of pop, jazz, funk, and R&B. He produced countless chart-topping hits, including George Benson’s ‘Give Me the Night’ and Patti Austin and James Ingram’s ‘Baby Come to Me,’ and orchestrated funk projects with Rufus and Chaka Khan and the Brothers Johnson. In the 1960s, he created four million-selling hits for Lesley Gore, including the iconic ‘It’s My Party’.

Jones’s pioneering role extended to film and television, where he scored movies like The Italian Job, In the Heat of the Night, and The Color Purple, which earned him three of his seven Oscar nominations. He went on to become the first African American nominated for an Oscar for Best Original Song in 1968.

In television, his work included scores for The Bill Cosby Show and Ironside.

Jones also partnered with Frank Sinatra in 1958. Their partnership spanned multiple projects, including Sinatra’s final album LA Is My Lady in 1984. However, it was his work with Michael Jackson that made him a legend in pop culture.

Producing Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad in the 1980s, Jones helped Jackson become the biggest pop star in the world. Thriller, in particular, became the best-selling album of all time. Together with Jackson and Lionel Richie, he also co-produced the 1985 charity single ‘We Are the World’, raising funds for Ethiopian famine relief.

In addition to his work in music, Jones ventured into television production with his company Quincy Jones Entertainment, founded in 1990. Its major hit, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, ran for six seasons and propelled Will Smith to stardom.

During his career, he won an astounding 28 Grammy Awards out of 80 nominations, and he remains third in Grammy nominations, following Beyoncé and Jay-Z.

Jones’s personal life was rich and complex. He married three times and had seven children, several of whom pursued careers in the entertainment industry. His daughter, Rashida Jones, is a successful actor, writer, and producer, while others, like Kidada Jones, have made names for themselves in fashion and media.

Jones also narrowly escaped the infamous Manson murders by forgetting an appointment at Sharon Tate’s home on the night of the attack in 1969. In 1974, he survived a life-threatening brain aneurysm, though it forced him to stop playing the trumpet.