jones

0

Quincy Jones

Producer, songwriter

Quincy Jones Entertainment

In an industry largely populated by twenty- and thirty-somethings, 65-year-old Quincy Jones continues spinning out albums, publications and enterprises without skipping a beat.

Talent, passion and longevity are the hallmarks of Jones’ 53-year devotion to music, an industry in which he has been vaulted to godfather status.

“You don’t know where to start when you talk about ‘Q.’ His frame of reference is awe-inspiring,” said Michael Greene, president of the National Academy of Records Arts & Sciences. “He’s always had his finger on the pulse of the industry.”

That connection began when he took up the trumpet and sang in a gospel quartet in Seattle at the age of 12. By the mid-1950s, he was arranging and recording for such greats as Ray Charles and Duke Ellington.

He helped crack the race barrier by landing a job as vice president at Mercury Records in 1961 becoming the first high-level black executive of a major record company.

Jones has diversified into other entertainment arenas. His own Los Angeles-based record label, Qwest Records, has a roster of well-known artists, including New Order and Tamia, whose eponymous album has ranked on Billboard’s Top R & B; Album charts for about five months.

His musical production credentials include the multi-platinum success of Michael Jackson’s solo albums, “Off the Wall,” “Bad,” and “Thriller,” as well as film and television production credits with the 1985 movie “The Color Purple” and the NBC series “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.”

Everything Jones does is in high volume: He has been married three times, he has seven children, he has penned 33 movie scores, he has won 26 Grammy awards and is the all-time most-nominated Grammy artist with 76 nominations. He is also the owner of Vibe Ventures Inc., which publishes “Vibe” and other magazines.

Qwest Records President Mark Persaud is currently working on a double-CD compilation of Jones’ previous and new love songs for a 1999 release. Persaud describes Jones’ personal ease with people as a key to his success. “He can still relate to a 20-year-old and relate just as freely with a CEO of a major corporation,” Persaud said.

Nola Sarkisian

No posts to display