Early in his career, QUINCY JONES ( born Quincy Delight Jones Jr. on March 14, 1933) was one of the most in-demand arrangers in JAZZ, working with the likes of Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Ella Fitzgerald and Peggy Lee.
In 1958, he recorded an entire album with Jazz Singer, Sarah Vaughan in Paris, backed by a 55-piece orchestra. Among the highlights is the lovestruck ballad “Misty” – originally recorded by pianist Erroll Garner, and made famous by Johnny Mathis.
Jones helped boost the Career of the ‘King of Pop’, Michael Jackson by producing three of the most successful albums by the Pop star: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987).
In 1985, Jones Co-produced and conducted the charity song “We Are the World”, from the USA For Africa project in 1985 which raised funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia. It won 4 Grammy Awards in 1986.
“JAZZ & JONES” Pt Ii is a sequel to the previous week’s JAZZ & JONES Tribute, necessitated by popular demand. The previous week’s Tribute focused on a well- researched Discography of seven decades of Quincy Jones’ Compositions, Productions of his affiliated Artistes works & Jones’ Biography in particular, Jones’ influence on Jazz, all curated by YOMI SOWER, Host & Founder of MAXIMUM JAZZ Radio Show.
She is also Creator/ Performer for Keepin’ Jazz Alive Series of Live Jazz Entertainment.
JAZZ & JONES Pt II however, focuses on other factors which contributed to Quincy Jones success over his seven decades Music Career.
According to Yomi, ” …from research on Quincy Jones’ Music & Legacy, also from interviewing several Senior Citizens who knew Jones’ Music as well as persons who worked directly with Quincy Jones, I discovered that Jones’ success was not just a product of his Musical Genius, but can be attributed more to his:
I. Strong Business Acumen and Financial Structures/ Stability
Ii Ownership & autonomy of his Record Label, Production, Entertainment & Music Publishing outfits, QWEST, as well as Partnerships with Large Corporations like Warner Bros, NBC Productions ( now Universal Television) and Fox
iii. Solid Music Theory/ Instrument Educational Foundation
iv. Family Support & Moral upbringing
v. Music/ Projects/ Album Collaborations & Productions- Personal, For other Artistes & Large Corporations
vi. Eclectic & Multi- genre appreciation / Productions of Music
vii. Open-mindedness & willingness for Rebranding & Re- inventing of his Music, Style & Image
viii. Strong Work Ethics
ix. Foresight, Risk- taker & High Achiever Mentality
x. Abstinence from Drugs / Harmful substances
xi. Health Consciousness & Longevity
“JAZZ & JONES” Pt. II Tribute will focus on the above-mentioned factors contributing to Jones’ success, and comes up on this Saturday 16th November episode of MAXIMUM JAZZ on Guide Radio 91.5 FM Live from 4-7 PM ( also streaming via Guide Radio online)
There will be Guest Contributions from DANTE KENNEDY ( USA- Musician, Dir. of Ent. & Music at Quincy Jones’ Club in Dubai) and JEREMIAH OBUOBI aka “Jayrehmi” (Ghana – Music Business/ A & R Specialist)
Sunday’s 17th November Keepin’ Jazz Alive, at the Piano Lounge of Accra City Hotel is from 6.30PM
“Quincy Jones remains the most Iconic and business-oriented Musician & Music Producer of the 20th and 21st Century, who outlived his contemporaries, Mentored so many Artistes, excelled in Producing Music of almost every genre, including Jazz, Big Band, Classical, Bossa Nova, Pop, Hip-hop, Rap, Soul, Rock, Gospel, RnB.
He was knowledgeable in both the Production of Music and the Business of Music, therefore his demise, though a huge loss to the Music World, must be commemorated and his Legacy studied for present & future generations to learn from and emulate ”
Besides, Quincy Jones had a unique ability to turn everything he touched into gold and to further reproduce more wealth therefrom.
An example of this is seen from his Arranger & Producer role in “Wanna be starting something” on Michael Jackson’ s 1982 album “Thriller” which famously borrowed a chant from Manu Dibango’s “Soul Makossa” without permission.
One would expect that a person of Quincy Jones’ exposure should have known that borrowing a chant from Manu Dibango’s Soul Makossa without permission would have legal consequences of Copyright infringement.
However from a business perspective, Jones may have calculated that the commercial success that could be derived from taking advantage of Soul Makossa’s popularity, would far outweigh any penalty to be paid for Copyright Infringement, if ever a legal suit came up on the matter.
Dibango was never paid, consulted or credited. So Manu Dibango’s Attorneys sued Jackson in 1986, receiving an out-of-court settlement for 1,000,000 (One million) French francs, as noted by Guillaume Thibaut from RFI’s Africa service.
Meanwhile Thriller album with the song ” Wanna be starting something” sold an estimate of over 70 million copies worldwide, making it the best selling album in human history.
It is worth mentioning that “Wanna be starting something” has been covered and sampled by several Artistes including Rihanna in her 2007 song “Please Don’t stop the Music”. Consequently in February 2009 ( Four months before Jackson’s death) both she and Michael Jackson were sued by Dibango’s Attorneys who demanded the sum of £500,000 in damages at a Court in Paris. Dibango lost the case in Paris, after it turned out that Universal Music had updated its database and added Dibango into the list of those credited for Rihanna’s song…”
Besides, Yomi continued, “..Q, as he was called, was one of the few Musicians whose Music stayed relevant to every generation up till his old age., meaning he was constantly making money off his productions and Live performances till his death. Q accomplished this by re- inventing himself, also by featuring younger Artistes such as Akon, Ludacris, Tamia, Jennifer Hudson, etc and by fusing pop culture into re- mixes of his earliest productions…”
Quincy Jones had an estimated net worth of $500 million at the time of his death, according to Celebrity Net Worth.
Over the course of his seven-decade career, Jones received many accolades including 28 Grammy Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award and a Tony Award as well as nominations for seven Academy Awards and four Golden Globe Awards. He died on November 3 , 2024 aged 91.
“JAZZ & JONES” Pt Ii this Saturday & Sunday, are expected to draw Listeners from Jazz Lovers, Corporate Executives, Financial Institutions, Musicians, Music Students, as well as Audiences from Ghana’s Jazz Community, Elite Society , Diplomats/ Expatriates & Music Lovers generally.
Sunday’s Keepin’ Jazz Alive features live performances of Quincy Jones Jazz, Bossa Nova, Pop, Motown & RnB. It is Free Entry. For enquiries contact:+233 553699810 or [email protected] Keepin’ Jazz Alive Partners ( Facebook)
