RIP: Quincy Jones

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Quincy Jones died yesterday at the age of 91.  No cause of death was given.

Quincy Jones loved music from an early age.  In high school Mr. Jones played trumpet and arranged music.  After high school Quincy Jones received a scholarship to Seattle University.  He left after one semester with a scholarship to attend Boston’s Berklee’s College of Music.  Mr. Jones left college to tour with Lionel Hampton’s band as a pianist and trumpeter.  It was on this tour that Quincy Jones began to get a reputation for his musical arrangements.

After the tour, Mr. Jones worked creating musical arrangements for stars such as Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Gene Kupra and Sarah Vaughn.  Quincy Jones continued to take freelance arrangement jobs and he toured with several bands.  He then took a job as musical director of Mercury Records New York division.  

In 1961, two things happened:  He became the Vice President of Mercury Records and was hired to compose the music for The Pawnbroker.  Quincy Jones became so in demand to produce music for movies that he left Mercury Records.  For the remainder of his career Quincy Jones wrote, performed, arranged and produced music for films, television, records and live performances. 

Some of Quincy Jones composer credits include: The Pawnbroker; Mirage; The Slender Thread; Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre; Walk Don’t Run; The Deadly Affair; Enter Laughing; Ironside (movie); Hey Landlord (7 episodes); In the Heat of the Night; In Cold Blood;  Ironside (12 episodes); The Split; McKenna’s Gold; The Italian Job; Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice; John and Mary; Catus Flower; The Out of Towners; They Call Me Mister Tibbs!; The Bill Cosby Show (52 episodes); The Anderson Tapes; The Hot Rock; The New Centurians; The Getaway; Roots (2 episodes) and The Color Purple.

Quincy Jones was nominated for 9 Academy Awards and won 2:

  • 1968 Nominee: Best Music, Original Song – “The Eyes of Love” from Banning shared with Bob Russell
  • 1968 Nominee: Best Music, Original Music Score – In Cold Blood
  • 1969 Nominee: Best Music, Original Song – “For Love of Ivy” from For Love of Ivy shared with Bob Russell
  • 1979 Nominee: Best Music, Original Song Score and Its Adaptation or Best Adaptation Score for The Wiz
  • 1986 Nominee: Best Music, Original Score for The Color Purple shared with: Jeremy Lubbock · Rod Temperton · Caiphus Semenya · Andraé Crouch · Chris Boardman · Jorge Calandrelli · Joel Rosenbaum · Fred Steiner · Jack Hayes · Jerry Hey · Randy Kerber
  • 1986 Nominee: Best Music, Original Song from The Color Purple for “Miss Celie’s Blues (Sister)” shared with: Rod Temperton · Lionel Richie
  • 1986 Nominee: Best Picture for The Color Purple shared with: Steven Spielberg · Kathleen Kennedy · Frank Marshall
  • 1995 Winner for the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award
  • 2025 Winner Honorary Award

Quincy Jones was nominated for 4 Primetime Emmy Awards and won 1:

  • 1970 Nominee: Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition – For a Series or a Single Program of a Series (In Its First Year Only) – The Bill Cosby Show
  • 1977 Winner: Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition for a Series (Dramatic Underscore) for Roots Part I shared with Gerald Fried
  • 1995 Nominee: Outstanding Informational Series for Punk shared with: Jeffrey Peisch · Andrew Solt · Robert B. Meyrowitz · David Salzman · Ted Haimes · Greg Vines · Marc Sachnoff · David Axlerod
  • 1996 Nominee: Outstanding Variety, Music or Comedy Special for The 68th Annual Academy Awards shared with: David Salzman

Quincy Jones was nominated for 80 Grammys and won 28.  

  • 1961 Nominee: Best Arrangement for “Let The Good Times Roll”
  • 1961 Nominee: Best Jazz Performance Large Group for “The Great Wide World Of Quincy Jones”
  • 1962 Nominee: Best Performance by an Orchestra – For Dancing for “I Dig Dancers”
  • 1963 Nominee: Best Original Jazz Composition for “Quintessence”
  • 1963 Nominee: Best Performance by an Orchestra – For Dancing for “Big Band Bossa Nova” shared with Stan Getz · Gary McFarland
  • 1963 Nominee: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Quintessence”
  • 1964 Nominee:  Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Large Group for “Quincy Jones Plays The Hip Hits”
  • 1964 Nominee: Best Performance by an Orchestra- For Dancing for “Quincy Jones Plays The Hip Hits”
  • 1965 Nominee: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance – Large Group or Soloist with Large Group for “Quincy Jones Explores The Music Of Henry Mancini”
  • 1965 Nominee: Best Original Jazz Composition for “The Witching Hour”
  • 1965 Nominee: Best Instrumental Performance – Non-Jazz for “Golden Boy (String Version)”
  • 1965 Nominee: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Golden Boy (String Version) (Single)”
  • 1968 Nominee: Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or Television Show for In the Heat of the Night
  • 1970 Nominee: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Walking In Space”
  • 1970 Nominee: Best Instrumental Theme for “Mackenna’s Gold (Main Title) (Album)”
  • 1970 Nominee: Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special for Mackenna’s Gold
  • 1970 Nominee: Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special for The Lost Man
  • 1971 Nominee: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Gula Matari (Single)”
  • 1971 Nominee: Best Contemporary Instrumental Performance for “Soul Flower”
  • 1971 Nominee: Best Instrumental Composition for “Gula Matari”
  • 1971 Nominee: Best Jazz Performance, Large Group or Soloist with Large Group for “Gula Matari”
  • 1973 Nominee: Best Pop Instrumental Performance by an Arranger, Composer, Orchestra and/or Choral Leader for “Money Runner”
  • 1973 Nominee: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Money Runner”
  • 1973 Nominee: Best Original Score Written for a Motion Picture or a Television Special for $
  • 1974 Nominee: Best Pop Instrumental Performance for “You’ve Got It Bad Girl (Instrumental Portions) (Album)”
  • 1975 Nominee: Best Pop Vocal Performance by a Duo, Group or Chorus for “Body Heat (Album)”
  • 1975 Nominee: Best Pop Instrumental Performance for “Along Came Betty (Track)”
  • 1977 Nominee: Best Instrumental Composition for “Midnight Soul Patrol” shared with: Johnny Mandel · Louis Johnson
  • 1978 Nominee: Best Arrangement for Voices for “Oh Lord, Come By Here” shared with: James Cleveland
  • 1978 Nominee: Best Inspirational Performance for “Oh Lord, Come By Here” shared with: James Cleveland
  • 1978 Nominee: Best Instrumental Composition for “Roots Medley (Motherland, Roots Mural Theme)”
  • 1979 Nominee: Best Instrumental Composition for “End Of The Yellow Brick Road”
  • 1979 Nominee: Best Arrangement for Voices for “Stuff Like That”
  • 1979 Nominee: Producer of the Year
  • 1980 Nominee: Best Disco Recording for “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (Single)”
  • 1980 Nominee: Producer of the Year
  • 1982 Nominee: Album of the Year for “The Dude (Album)”
  • 1982 Nominee: Best Pop Instrumental Performance for “Velas (Track)”
  • 1983 Nominee: Producer of the Year
  • 1984 Nominee: Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
  • 1984 Nominee: Best R&B Instrumental Performance for “Billie Jean (Instrumental Version)” shared with: Jerry Hey
  • 1984 Nominee: Best Rhythm & Blues Song for “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (Single)” shared with James Ingram
  • 1985 Nominee: Best Rhythm & Blues Song for “Yah Mo B There” shared with James Ingram · Michael McDonald · Rod Temperton
  • 1986 Nominee: Best Recording for Children for “We Are the World” shared with: George Duke
  • 1988 Nominee: Album of the Year for “Bad” shared with: Michael Jackson
  • 1988 Nominee: Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
  • 1989 Nominee: Record of the Year for “Man In The Mirror” shared with: Michael Jackson
  • 1990 Nominee: Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
  • 1990 Nominee: Producer of the Year
  • 1991 Nominee: Best Pop Instrumental Performance for “Setembro (Brazilian Wedding Song)”
  • 1994 Nominee: Best Music Video, Long Form for “Miles And Quincy Live At Montreux” shared with Rudi Dolezal · Hannes Rossacher · Miles Davis Quintet · Jim Beach · Gavin Taylor
  • 1997 Nominee: Best Instrumental Arrangement with Accompanying Vocal(s) for “Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me (Track)”
  • 2002 Nominee: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Soul Bossa Nova”
  • 2002 Winner: Best Spoken Word Album for “Q – The Autobiography Of Quincy Jones” shared with: Elisa Shokoff · Steve Strassman
  • 1964 Winner: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “I Can’t Stop Loving You” artist: Count Basie
  • 1970 Winner: Best Instrumental Jazz Performance, Large Group or Soloist with Large Group for “Walking In Space”
  • 1972 Winner: Best Pop Instrumental Performance for “Smackwater Jack”
  • 1974 Winner: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Summer In The City”
  • 1979 Winner: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “The Wiz Main Title – Overture Part One” shared with: Robert Freedman
  • 1981 Winner: Best Instrumental Arrangement for “Dinorah, Dinorah” artist: George Benson shared with: Jerry Hey
  • 1982 Winner: Producer of the Year
  • 1982 Winner: Best Cast Show Album for “Lena Horne – The Lady And Her Music, Live On Broadway” artist: Lena Horne
  • 1982 Winner: Best Arrangement on an Instrumental Recording for “Velas” artist: Quincy Jones shared with Johnny Mandel
  • 1982 Winner: Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) for “Ai No Corrida” artist: Quincy Jones shared with: Jerry Hey
  • 1982 Winner: Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal for “The Dude”
  • 1984 Winner: Album of the Year for “Thriller” shared with Michael Jackson
  • 1984 Winner: Record of the Year for “Beat It” shared with Michael Jackson
  • 1984 Winner: Best Recording for Children – E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial for the “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial album” shared with Michael Jackson
  • 1985 Winner: Best Arrangement on an Instrumental for “Grace (Gymnastics Theme)” artist: Quincy Jones shared with: Jeremy Lubbock
  • 1986 Winner: Record of the Year for “We Are the World” (various artists)
  • 1986 Winner: Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals for the album “We Are the World” (The artist USA for Africa did not receive a Grammy Award for this win)
  • 1986 Winner: Best Music Video, Short Form – We Are the World for the music video “We Are The World – The Video Event.” (The artist USA for Africa did not receive a Grammy Award for this win.) shared with: Tom Trbovich
  • 1989 Winner: Trustees Award
  • 1991 Winner: Best Arrangement on an Instrumental for “Birdland” artist Quincy Jones shared with: Rod Temperton · Ian Prince · Jerry Hey
  • 1991 Winner: Best Instrumental Arrangement Accompanying Vocal(s) for “The Places You Find Love” artists: Siedah Garrett and Chaka Khan shared with: Clif Magness · Jerry Hey · Glen Ballard
  • 1991 Winner: Producer of the Year, Non-Classical
  • 1991 Winner: Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group for “Back On The Block” shared with Ice-T · Kool Moe Dee · Big Daddy Kane · Melle Mel · Quincy Jones III
  • 1991 Winner: Best Jazz Fusion Performance for “Birdland”
  • 1991 Winner: Album of the Year for “Back On The Block”
  • 1992 Winner: Legend Award
  • 1994 Winner: Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance for “Miles And Quincy Live At Montreux” shared with Miles Davis · Miles Davis Quintet
  • 2019 Winner: Best Music Film – for Quincy shared with: Alan Hicks · Rashida Jones · Paula DuPré Pesmen

Quincy Jones’ music has been a part of my life for almost as long as I’ve been alive. The music he created improved each television or movie project he was part of.  His collaborations with Michael Jackson are classic.  His leadership in getting We Are the World made for charity has yet to be matched.  Quincy Jones was a musical genius and his efforts made life a bit better.

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Quincy Jones’ family friends and fans.