Music producer Quincy Jones poses for a portrait to promote his documentary "Quincy" during the Toronto Film Festival on Sept. 7, 2018, in Toronto. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, File)
If your home was anything like mine this fall, "Thriller" was on constant rotation, not only through the living room speakers but through the car stereo as well. I watched, and often joined in, as my son imitated the infamous zombie dance from Michael Jackson's quintessential 1980s music video. Jackson is synonymous with "Thriller" for obvious reasons, but that song and album—the best-selling album of all time—along with so many other iconic works (including "Off the Wall," one of my personal faves), may never have come to be if not for innovative musician and producer Quincy Jones, who passed away from pancreatic cancer at the age of 91 on November 3, 2024.
Jones's work spanned genres, cultures, and media forms, providing the soundtrack to nearly every American's life and countless others around the globe. He produced songs and albums for some of the best musical artists in history, including Aretha Franklin, Dizzy Gillespie, the aforementioned Jackson, Rufus ft. Chaka Khan and Stevie Wonder, composed and produced film scores like "In Cold Blood," “The Color Purple,” and "The Wiz," and wrote his own songs like the earworm “Soul Bossa Nova,” which became the theme for the “Austin Powers” franchise. And these are just the tip of the iceberg.
Born in the South Side of Chicago, we Seattleites are proud to boast of sharing ground with the musical legend, whose family moved to Washington State in 1943 so that his father could work at a shipyard in Bremerton. Eventually, the family would move from Bremerton to Seattle, where Jones's first encounters with musical instruments and musicians shaped the man he was to become. As a student at Garfield High School, he joined his first swing band, whose members had backed up legendary vocalists like Billie Holiday, and became friends with fellow Pacific Northwest legends Ernestine Anderson and Ray Charles.
Though he lived in Seattle for less than a decade, the influence of his time here was never lost on Jones. He continued to give back to the community throughout his life, particularly in his support of the Garfield High School Jazz Band. In 2008, he attended the dedication of the Quincy Jones Performance Center at Garfield, the official home of the award-winning jazz band. As Paul de Barros recognized in his Seattle Times tribute piece, "Though Jones may have left home to make his fortune, what he learned here stayed with him, and he never shied from sharing it."
On November 18th, Jones was posthumously awarded an honorary Oscar, his second. As his daughter Rashida Jones shared as she read his previously prepared speech, her father dreamt of creating music for film to make “society and the world a more understanding and embracing place for us all to exist.”
We hold fast to your dream, Mr. Jones. Thank you for sharing your vision with us. Now, take a moment to listen.
You can watch his full Kennedy Center Honors induction ceremony by signing up for a free Kennedy Center account here.
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