SEATTLE— Quincy Jones, the legendary and award-winning music producer who died Monday at the age of 91, had deep roots in the Pacific Northwest.

Jones attended Coontz Junior High School in Bremerton after his family moved from Chicago when he was 10.

His family moved to Seattle in 1947 and Jones attended Garfield High School, the school where he learned the trumpet and became more serious about music.

“Garfield was the most diversified high school in America in the 1940s,” Jones said at the Upstream Fest and Summit in 2017. “Boy, oh boy, what a school.”

At the Upstream Summit, Jones joked that the rain in Seattle kept him inside to write and play music.

RELATED | Quincy Jones, legendary music producer and cultural icon, dies at 91

“Moving to Seattle forever changed me for the better,” Jones wrote in a Facebook post in 2017. “Finding music here showed me I could be more than a statistic.

“My hope and prayer is that these kids know they can do it too… the only time success comes before work is in the dictionary, and that is the TRUTH!” Jones said. “So happy to be home!!!”

Seattle also held an important place in Jones’ heart, as it was there that he met Ray Charles, the iconic pianist and singer known as “The Genius.”

“We met right after I moved to Seattle as a kid and I quickly learned that he never let his limitations be limitations,” Jones said in a 2020 Instagram post. “He told me that music was a giant gumbo that needed to be stirred up, not something to be divided into different pockets. Good music is GOOD music!”

Jones described Charles as “the best friend I could have ever dreamed of” and a “titan of a musician.”

According to the nonprofit education organization Academy of Achievement, Jones was just 14 years old when 16-year-old Charles moved to Seattle.

“When I saw Ray’s vision, I realized that this is only possible if we no longer limit ourselves to the limitations that categories place on our creativity,” Jones wrote. “We can fully unlock the power of music in its purest form.”

It was in Seattle, during a night of mischief, that Charles and some friends jokingly broke into their supervisor’s office.

“I saw a piano in the office,” Jones said. “I touched it and every cell in my body said, ‘This is what you have to do for the rest of your life.'”

At Garfield, Jones also met a young Charlie Taylor. Jones said “after becoming instant best friends because of our love of music,” the pair formed the Charlie Taylor Band.

“We took it seriously,” Jones said in a Facebook post, recalling his time as secretary and treasurer. “We got fines for drinking, being late to rehearsal, and even for not looking cool! And if you didn’t look cool, you paid a huge fine… I’m talking twenty-five cents!!”

Jones said the band only made $7 each for their first gig, but they didn’t stop performing.

“And I’m glad we didn’t, because it just happened that Bumps Blackwell saw us play and later asked us to be our frontman! And that’s how we became the Bumps Blackwell Junior Band,” Jones said. “As I always say, never be underprepared for a great opportunity!

Jones’ late brother Lloyd worked at KOMO News from 1970 to 1997. Jones’ half-brother Richard is a district judge for the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and a former King County deputy prosecutor.

Jones credits the PNW with giving him more than his love of music. In Bremerton and Seattle, he said he learned about trust, confidence and kindness.

“This life I have been blessed to have is not something I take for granted,” Jones said in an Instagram post from his 91st birthday in March. “I am grateful for everyone who has lent me a shoulder to stand on.”

“To all agree, never underestimate the positive impact you can have on a child’s life because it could be the difference between reaching 19 or 91,” Jones wrote. “I pray that I can continue to pass on what the greats have given me!!”