Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine – born on the same day as Jones, March 14, 1933 – honored his “heavenly twin” as “a titan in the musical world.” Caine added: “He was a wonderful man and a unique human being, and he was fortunate to have known him.” (Jones also scored the 1969 heist film starring Caine, The Italian track.)

Another actor, Colman Domingo, recalled meeting Jones and the producer and asking him where he was from: “Philly I replied, his eyes were sparkling and he was talking about the Uptown Theater.” I was so excited to see Mr. American Music itself. I literally knelt because he was a king. Thank you Mr. Quincy Jones for providing all the audio.”

Domingo, who starred in the 2023 remake The color people – which Jones produced after scoring Steven Spielberg’s 1985 original – also said he hoped everyone would play Jones’ music all day to “send away this king of genius… Why? Because there would be no American music without this great man.”

Other tributes came from Nile Rodgers, who bestowed a number of honorable hashtags on Jones – “leader, teacher, spirit, pioneer” – and producer Flying Lotus, who wrote of Jones: “He was absolutely the template.”

Elsewhere, playwright Jeremy O. Harris celebrated Jones’ versatility and “limitless” contributions to American culture. “Quincy Jones, literally born when the limits of how big a black boy could dream were unfathomably high, taught us that the limit does not exist,” he wrote, adding: First black person nominated for an Oscar for best score. First black person later nominated twice in the same year. The producer of undisputedly the greatest albums of the 20th century. An EGOT. Father of some incredibly talented children and godfather to musicians all over the world.”