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Quincy Jones, musical titan and entertainment icon, has died at the age of 91
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Quincy Jones, musical titan and entertainment icon, has died at the age of 91



CNN

Musical titan Quincy Jones, the composer and producer who added his tasteful polish to recordings by everyone from Ray Charles to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, has died, according to his representatives. He was 91.

Jones “passed away peacefully this evening at his home in Bel Air, CA. Mr. Jones was surrounded by his children, siblings and immediate family,” his publicist told CNN in a statement.

“Tonight, it is with full but broken hearts that we share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones,” the statement said. “And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the amazing life he lived and know there will never be another like him. He is truly one of a kind and we will miss him dearly; we take comfort and immense pride in knowing that the love and joy that was the essence of his being was shared with the world through everything he created. Through his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat forever.”

A renowned jazz and pop musician, Jones was also a prolific cross-genre arranger, conductor, record label manager and civil rights advocate. His talent and drive led to an almost unparalleled career in entertainment.

His long and varied list of credits includes composing the music for the Oscar-winning film “In the Heat of the Night,” producing Michael Jackson’s blockbuster “Thriller” album and assembling dozens of pop and rock stars to record the 1985 charity single. We are the world.”

Born in Chicago to a carpenter father and a mother who suffered from mental illness, Jones developed a love of music early on and took up the piano.

His family eventually moved to Seattle, Washington and Jones began taking lessons from famed horn player Clark Terry.

He also met and became good friends with a then-unknown pianist named Ray Charles. The pair would enjoy a lifelong friendship.

Jones began performing with jazz bands as a teenager, and his talent in composing and arranging music caught the attention of bandleader Lionel Hampton.

Jones was only 15 when Hampton invited him to tour with the group, something that Hampton’s wife Gladys immediately put an end to.

“I got on the band bus right away and Gladys got on and said, ‘Hamp, what’s that kid doing on the bus?’” Jones recalled in an interview with the National Endowment for the Arts. “And I was so upset. And she said, ‘Get him out of here. Let him go back to school. We’ll call him later when he goes to school.’”

Jones followed her advice, finished school and earned a scholarship to Schillinger House (now known as Berklee College of Music) in Boston, where he graduated in 1951.

After graduating, he went on tour with Hampton and his band.

Thus began a legendary career in which Jones soon made arrangements and recordings for legends such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and his friend Ray Charles. Band leader Lionel Hampton, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and other giants also tapped the young Jones for their European tours.

In 1961, Jones was hired by Mercury Records as artist and repertoire director. Three years later, he made history when he was promoted to vice president, making him the first African-American man to hold such a position at a white record label.

He had his first pop hit with Leslie Gore’s 1963 single “It’s My Party,” which shot to No. 1. Jones also worked with the likes of Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee during his time at the label.

That same year, he scored what would be the first of many Grammys, the first of which was his arrangement of the Count Basie Band’s song “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

In the 1960s, Jones also began composing soundtracks, including ‘In The Heat of the Night’ and ‘In Cold Blood’.

He worked with A&M Records from 1969 to 1981 and formed his own record label, Qwest.

In 1982, Jones had one of his most famous collaborations when he produced Michael Jackson’s best-selling album ‘Thriller’.

Three years later, he called on Jackson and a host of other stars for the charity single “We Are the World.” That same year, he found success on the big screen with the production of the Steven Spielberg-directed film ‘The Color Purple’.

Jones also had a hit on the small screen with the television series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which starred his mentee Will Smith.

Jones entered the world of publishing in 1993 when he founded the music/cultural magazine Vibe, which he sold in 2006.

A brain aneurysm in 1974 caused Jones to temporarily lighten his workload and focus on spending time with his family.

Over the years he had three marriages and seven children with five different women.

Jones was married to his high school sweetheart Jeri Caldwell from 1957 to 1966 and the couple had one daughter, Jolie.

In 1967, he married Swedish model Ulla Andersson and they had two children, Martina and Quincy Jones III, before divorcing in 1974.

That same year, Jones married actress Peggy Lipton, a union that lasted until 1990, and produced two daughters, actresses Rashida Jones and Kidada Jones.

He also had a daughter, Rachel, with dancer Carol Reynolds, and a daughter – fashion model Kenya Kinski-Jones – with actress Nastassja Kinski.

Jones has not slowed down personally or professionally in his later years. In 2014, he produced the documentary “Keep on Keepin’ On” about his mentor, jazz trumpeter Clark Terry.

Reflecting on his own career that year, Jones told Rolling Stone, “I never thought about it until I turned 80, but I’ve been blessed to work with every major music star in the history of America — including Louie Armstrong.”

“You can’t plan that,” Jones said. “You can’t say, ‘Mr. Sinatra, I want to work with you.” No. You have to wait until he calls you.”

This is a developing story and will be updated.