Musician and Record Producer Quincy Jones Passes Away at 91

BroadwayWorld is saddened to report the passing of Grammy Award winner Quincy Jones. Born March 14, 1933, Jones passed away on November 3, 2024 at 91. Throughout his career, the musician and record producer won 28 Grammy Awards for his many contributions to jazz and pop music.

Jones got his start in the music industry in the 1950s, working as a trumpet player and arranger with the likes of Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie. In the early 1960s, he moved to Paris and began working as a composer and arranger for film and television. It was during this time that he first worked with legendary French singer and songwriter Jacques Brel, with whom he would go on to collaborate on several projects.

In the mid-1960s, Jones returned to the United States and began working with some of the biggest names in music. He arranged and conducted Frank Sinatra's classic album "Sinatra at the Sands" and went on to work with the singer on several other projects. He also worked with Michael Jackson, producing his hit albums "Off the Wall," "Thriller," and "Bad."

In addition to his work as a musician on numerous film soundtracks, Jones also served as a producer for such soundtracks as the screen adaptation of Broaday's The Wiz and 1985's The Color Purple, directed by Steven Spielberg. The latter became a Broadway musical, also produced by Jones, which was subsequently made into a film in 2023.

Jones won numerous awards and honors for his work in the music industry. He was nominated for 80 Grammy Awards and has won 28, making him one of the most successful Grammy Award winners of all time. He also won an Emmy Award, seven Academy Award nominations, and a Tony Award nomination for his work on the Broadway musical "The Color Purple."

In addition to his work in music, Jones was involved in a number of philanthropic and humanitarian efforts. He was one of the co-founders of the We Are the World Foundation, which raised millions of dollars for famine relief in Africa. He also was involved in efforts to promote education and cultural exchange and has served as a United Nations Goodwill Ambassador.

Jones' later work included producing the soundtrack for the Netflix series "The Get Down," which explores the birth of hip-hop in the South Bronx in the late 1970s. He also released a documentary about his life and career, titled "Quincy," which premiered on Netflix in 2018. 

Photo Credit: Jordan Strauss