Q's Quest: The musical journey of Quincy Jones.

A River City Examiner Black History Exclusive

By Byron Lee

Our people's history is in our music, and when our music is mentioned, no name towers over that of Quincy Jones. His career has spanned generations,genres, occupations, numerous honors. For this edition of the River City Examiner, we will humbly try to do it justice.

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. was March 14, 1933 His mother Sarah was institutionalized when Jones was 7. My mother was a very brilliant lady,≤ Jones remembers. ≥She went through Boston University in the '20s and '30s, [knew] ten or twelve languages, written and spoken. But she had dementia breakouts that probably could have been cured by vitamin B, but they didn't know that then, and for black ladies, nobody cared," His father Quincy, Sr. was a carpenter who instilled a work ethic in young Quincy and his younger brother Lloyd, always saying "Once a task has just begun, never leave it till it's done, be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all."

The brothers would need that encouragement when dealing with everyday life in the windy city. " We saw this every day---people blown away, guys hanging

on telephone poles with ice picks in their necks. They pinned my hand to a wooden fence with a switchblade when I was seven years old." says Jones, in one of the many insightful moments to be found in the 2008 book ≥The Complete Quincy Jones: My Journey and Passions≤--essential reading for music enthusiasts, everywhere. That was everyday life in Chicago! Your biggest challenge everyday was getting home alive."

Due to limited opportunities for blacks, Quincy, Sr. was forced to work for black gangsters The family eventually had to leave Chicago, when the gangsters were run out of Chicago by Al Capone. The Jones took a bus to Bremerton, Washington and hiked up a hill to live in Sinclair Heights, where all the black people were put.

The youngster had taken an interest in music, and Seattle was hot area, during World War II, due to its proximity to Imo Jima  and Japan.  ≥I was still just singing and playing piano and alto sax, when the big bands started coming through Count Basie, Woody Herman, the Duke [Ellington]-I'd be at every one.,≤he says,  ≥And I said, 'This is where I want to live for the rest of my life. And I want to be an arranger and a composer.≤

Soon, at the age of 14, he would meet a kindred spirit in a blind singer, two years his senior: Ray Charles. ≥He's cook chicken in his kitchen with all the lights off and the shades down. We'd eat, and he'd sit at the piano and show me what he knew, and I

ate it all up, everything, his fried chicken, his knowledge, his friendship. He even taught me in Braille. Ray was a role model at a time when I had few. He understood the world in ways I didn't.≤

At this time, Jones learned a valuable skill: how to play various styles of music.

≥We'd do comedy, dance, we'd play rhythm and blues, we'd have to play scottishes, Sousa, Debussy...and bar mitzvahs. We did it all, man. And I was happy about that.≤ He had to be sure, however, to respect the styles he studied. ≥We used to try to make the schottishes sound like bebop, and Ray Charles always says, 'Let the music have its own soul.' Those are great words of advice. Don't try to enforce your attitude on another soul. And I feel that way about different countries--and life--now, too.≤

Charles would bestow upon him one gift that would last a lifetime. ≥I was trying to unlock that magic door to what orchestration was all about. How do you get four trombones and four trumpets and five saxes playing the same song? And he explained how you key them. I had such a thirsty mind. I wanted to learn everything.≤

Another crucial figure in Jonesπs life would take him under his wing, when Q was 13. The legendary band leader Count Basie would provide lessons both in music and show business ettiquette., the latter of which could be painful in the short term. ≥One time, Basie  saw that I was struggling with my band. He had too many gigs one night, and he let me have one of the jobs up in Connecticut at a dance hall,≤ he remembers. ≥We went there and played, and the capacity was probably about 1,700 people. Only about seven or eight hundred people showed up. So when the man was paying [us] the money, Basie said, 'Give that man half the money back right now' I said, 'What? Are you kidding? We have to pay these guys.' He said, 'Give him half the money back. He put your name up there for the best reasons, and you didn't draw. Don't punish him.' There are

terms of ethics and fairness and so forth as a human being. Most people

won't tell you the truth about that stuff."

Jones would have the ability to put some of this knowledge to use when he received the break of a lifetime. Renowned vibraphonist/bandleader Lionel Hampton allowed Jones to tour with his band in 1953. (Jones had his first song credit as a composer, arranger, and soloist with Hampton in 1951 with ≥Kingfish.≤)

The experience on the road with Hampton was exhausting, but rewarding. ≥Hampton was relentless,≤ Jones says, ≥He would not stop until he got that audience almost in a frenzy. Every night...there were no limitations at all. The year and a half

on the road with Hampton was worth ten years in experience," he continued,

to Downbeat Magazine. ≥I did a lot of watching, and I

learned a lot." (Around this time, he learned to publish his own music.)

Further enlightenment would come for Q in 1956, as director of Dizzy Gillespie's band. The band was touring Europe as part of a good will mission requested by Adam Clayton Powell. Jones was surprised that the band got a better reception abroad than they did at home, at one point having 3,000 people waiting for them, at the airport.

Jones later moved to Europe, serving as musical director, arranger, conductor for record label Barclay Disques and being exposed to the work of Stravinsky and Ravel as a student of noted teacher Nadia Boulanger.

During this time, a matter seemed unresolved in his professional life. "I always felt that the orchestra itself was my instrument. I had to make a commitment at some point, and I was more fearless with an arrangement than a horn. Trumpeter Clifford Brown, who used to occasionally dabble in arranging, and I jokingly made a deal, one night in Malmo, Sweden—he said "I'll play, and you write."  Jones use of chordal fourths in arrangements for Brown, along with his ability to write music for every instrument in an orchestra, would become trademarks of his compositions.

Eager to take the reign of his own destiny, Quincy soon got his own band together to accompany the musical production ≥Free and Easy≤ and took the band on a tour of Europe in 1960. The band became the most popular band in Europe, but Jones soon learned a harsh reality of the business side of the music business: he found it difficult to support the band, and the family members some of them had in tow, when there were no gigs to play. "I've lost $145, 000 here in Europe," he said, in the midst of the struggle. "I've had to sacrifice royalties, and borrow, and do without so many things, to keep the whole thing going and pay everyone."

Jones eventually sold the publishing he had accumulated (later buying it back, later, at a much larger price) and borrowed money from a friend. This same friend, Irving Green, would also offer him an opportunity that would lead to the next phase of his career: a position as musical director at Mercury Records.  Jones was eventually promoted to Vice President, making him the first black to hold such a position at a label.

Although he pushed projects that were true to his big band roots, he adhered another lesson that he learned from Brother Ray: don't be afraid to try something different and be ahead of the curve.  In that vein, he found a song with a catchy chorus, and he felt that he had found the perfect voice to sing it, the voice belonging to a 16 year-old white girl. Some people scoffed at his idea, but ≥It's My Party≤ (with the hook ≥It My Party, and I 'll Cry If I Want To."), performed by Leslie Gore, became a major hit in 1963.  Says Jones of Gore "She had a mellow, distinctive voice  and sang in tune, which a lot of grown-up rock 'n' roll singers couldn't do."  The success of the song, along with other hits Jones had at Mercury, put him in a comfortable position, once the popularity of Big Band and Jazz began to wane. (Another one of Jonesπs songs, released a year before, has also endured. Aside from being used in various television shows and commercials, ≥Soul Bossa Nova,≤  which features stellar work from multi-instrumentalist Rashaan Roland Kirk (the guy on the Vintage Vinyl bumper sticker), is known to younger generations as the theme from the Austin Powers movies, and, subsequently, as the backdrop for rapper Ludacrisπs Powers-inspired hit, ≥Number One Spot.≤ )

A year before his success with Gore, Jones received a call from superstar Frank Sinatra. (Four years before, while living in Paris, Jones's had played a benefit concert for

Sinatra in Monoco.) Sinatra wanted to cover Bart Howard's "In Other Words," a piece known more famously as "Fly Me to the Moon," wanting to use Jones's version of

the song, which broke away from the waltz of the original to use a 4/4 time signature.

Sinatra had another request: that Jones do an album with him and Count Basie. The result was "It Might As Well Be Swing," an album that had the novel approach of recording then-recent songs as if they were swing compositions. The album was widely praised as

being more energetic than Sinatra and Basie's 1962 eponymous debut. The next album the trio worked on [1966's ≥Sinatra At The Sands≤--a live recording of a concert at the Sands Hotel in Las Vegas] would go on to be viewed by many, including Sinatra himself, as Sinatra's definitive statement.

[Washington University Merle Kling Professor of Modern letters, and noted cultural critic, Gerald Early believes that Jones's work with Basie is the definitive work of Jones's career. "The albums that he did with Ray Charles [1960's "Genius + Soul =Jazz"] and Sammy Davis Jr. [1965's "Our Shining Hour"] with the Basie Band were among the

best albums those singers ever did," Early writes, via e-mail correspondence, "With Sinatra, Jones was returning him to his roots as a big band singer.  (Sinatra had come of age as a singer with Tommy Dorsey.) With Charles and Davis, Jones, in effect, made them big band singers, when he had them sing with Basie, and he brought out the jazz possibilities in both singers."]

In addition to his success with Sinatra, Jones fulfilled a lifelong dream by expanding his reach into scoring films, winning raves for his work on  ≥The Pawnbroker≤ and garnering an Oscar for his score for ≥In Cold Blood.≤

All professional concerns would fade, in 1974, when a more pressing one presented itself. Jones suffered an Anueurysm--an artery that brought blood to the right side of his brain was breaking apart. ≥I was in the process of dying then, he recalls, ≥I saw at one point white and gold light. It was sweet, it was blissful, I was so surprised...except for the

pain in my head.≤

His thoughts changed when, upon surviving the affliction, he was told that

there was a second anueurysm on the left side of his brain. "That's when I freaked out. I almost couldn't handle that because I was playing with some crazy odds." He made it through.  As a result of the two procedures, Jones has a clip on each side of his brain. Out of fear that the clips would be blown off of their settings, physicians advised Jones never to play the trumpet again.

"It taught be how to live," he says of the ordeal. "When I came out of that hospital, I tell you, the colors of every tree I saw looked totally different. They were more green, the most beautiful green I've ever seen in my life. And looking in people's eyes was like peering into the faces of truth. You just start to deal with things more honestly. It affected me a lot, it made me really appreciate life.≤

Life would soon get sweeter, thanks to a connection that would allow Jones to reinvent himself, once more. On the set on the Wizard of Oz update ≥The Wiz≤ ( a film he was doing the music for), Jones met singer Michael Jackson. Jones was impressed with the hand Jackson showed in guiding the recording of the Jackson's album ≥Destiny≤ and thought that the two would make a good team. The duo, along with Rod Temperton (of Heatwave fame) recorded ≥Off The Wall,≤ which provided Jackson the transition from band member to adult solo act. The 1979 release featured the joyous, enhanced

disco of the title track, "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Till You Get Enough," along with the heartbreaking "She's Out Of My Life" and the laidback chestnut "I Can't

Help It," a song sampled by so many artists (including Mary J. Blige and De La Soul) that you probably recognize it, even if you can't name the source material. The album went on to sell 20 million copies, worldwide.

The importance of  Jones/Jackson follow-up ≥Thriller,≤ released in December of 1982, cannot be overstated. This album reset the bar for what a successful album was.

Nearly every song had its own chance to shine as a single: the pop duet

"The Girl in Mine" (with Paul McCartney), the funky "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)", the aggressive "Beat It" (featuring a guitar-shredding solo from Eddie Van Halen), the edgy, pulsating "Billie Jean" and the yearning ballad "Human Nature."  The public's rapture over the release was only bolstered by an iconic video for the title track.

 The duoπs final album together, ≥Bad,≤ was, like "Thriller," a hit machine, spawning the tender duet "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (with Siedah Garrett), the infectious "The Way You Make Me Feel," the introspective "Man In The Mirror",  and the romantic "Librarian Girl" Although its sales were well under those of "Thriller," "Bad," was by any estimation, a blockbuster.

As ≥Thriller≤ made its recordbreaking ascension, Jones had the opportunity to see Count Basie, at a 1984 gig at the Palladium in LA. It would be Jonesπs last time seeing him, alive. Qπs account of his feelings, during that meeting, as found in the 2001 Autobiography ≥Q,≤  is heartbreakingly poignant.

≥Looking down at him in that wheelchair was like looking down the long path of our thirty-seven-year relationship...To get a pat on the back from him was the highest

compliment in the world. Grammys, you win some, you lose some. Money is spent, earned, and spent again. But there will never, ever, be another Count Basie...A few of my jazz friends, they backed away from me as I became more famous...Basie's love was always unconditional. He was always proud of me...He was always true to what we believed in, which was all he knew. To him, music was love, pure and simple, even if it wasn't his music. He was a king.≤

 Jones would make his mentor proud, on January 28, 1985, when he helmed the recording of ≥We Are The World≤ a benefit single for relief for the organization USA for Africa. Taping a sign outside of the studio that read, ≥Check your ego at the door,≤ Jones presided over the biggest names in music and ended the session with a poetic, heart-tugging anthem that raised more than 60 million dollars, and, according to some people, forced the United States Government to pump hundreds of million of dollars into the cause as well.

 Jonesπs success with artists has lead people to ask how he does it. He has said that ≥You have to care about the person enough to love what they do and understand what they do.≤ He has also said that he comes to a session prepared, but flexible. ≥I can sit there and just write down every note and nail everything to the ground, and it gets that stiff, contrived sound...it's not real, you know. So I go into the studio with a vision of what I want it to sound like and still leave room, in case we get into a groove that's better. That's the nicest part of it all--that's when space is left for God to walk through the studio.≤

 Not wanting to limit himself to music, Jones has branched out, serving as co-producer of the film adaptation of Alice Walkerπs novel ≥The Color Purple,≤ creator of Vibe

Magazine (a cornerstone of urban music journalism), and executive producer of shows such as pop culture staples ≥The Fresh Prince of Bel Air≤ and ≥MadTV.≤

  Jones maintains that orchestration, the idea of working with different parts and combining them, touches everything he does. This reality is apropo for someone who started his career putting notes together and ended up orchestrating the soundtrack of a people.

Cutlines:

For Quincy conducting

AT HOME: Although he started off as a trumpet player, Jones was become more success as a conductor, producer, and arranger.

For Quincy with Michael Jackson

DYNAMIC DUO: Jones made magic with Michael Jackson, establishing Jackson as a solo megastar.

For Quincy with Frank Sinatra and Count Basie

THE PINNACLE: Both Quincy Jones and Frank Sinatra have  contended that the best work of their respective careers came when they worked together, along with Count Basie.

For Quincy with Ray Charles

FRIENDS FORVER: Q learned a lot from Ray Charles growing up. The two were inseparable, until Charlesπs death.

For Quincy and Count Basie

THE MENTOR: Q loved Count Basie due to all the guidance, both professional and personal, that the elder provided.

For Lesley Gore

TRANSITION: Lesley Goreπs 1963 ≥Itπ My Party≤ provided a more commercial component to Jonesπs arsenal.

For We Are The World

UNITED FOR A CAUSE: Q got the biggest stars in music to check their egos at the door, and he created an historic moment, as a result.

For Lionel Hampton

THE BIG BREAK: Legendary bandleader Lionel Hampton gave a young Q invaluable experience.

 For Vibe Cover

BRANCHING OUT: Not limiting himself to music, Q created the groundbreaking urban music publication Vibe.

For Quincy with Will Smith

AN EYE FOR TALENT: Q believes that God has blessed him with an eye for seeing talent in other people. This ability led him to cast Will Smith in ≥The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.≤