QUINCY JONES: Dead at 91

Quincy Jones, one of the most accomplished and influential figures in the music world for more than 50 years, died Sunday evening surrounded by family. He was 91 years old.

His family released a statement (quote) "Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”

• Born on March 14th, 1933 in Chicago, Illinois
• Music career which spanned over 50 years
• Nominated for 79 Grammys and won 27 of them for his work as a bandleader, composer and arranger
• Worked with multiple stars in the 50s and 60s including Frank Sinatra, Count Basie and Duke Ellington
• Also collaborated with Michael Jackson on the biggest-selling album of all time, Thriller
• One of the founders of The Institute For Black American Music
• Civil Rights activist and supporter of Martin Luther King Junior
• Jones was married three times and leaves behind seven children, including music producer Quincy Jones the Third and actresses Rashida and Kidada Jones

Jones’ career spanned five decades, and his work as a bandleader, composer and arranger would earn him a record 27 Grammys (out of 79 nominations). Over the course of his career, Jones worked with everyone from Tamia to Frank Sinatra.

Quincy Delight Jones Junior was born in Chicago on March 14th, 1933. In 1951, a scholarship to the Schillinger House (now Berklee College of Music) in Boston put him on the road to a professional career. He would go on to play trumpet with Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie, and arrange songs for the likes of Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Count Basie and Duke Ellington.

Jones enjoyed continued success in the 1960s, notably with 1962’s "Soul Bossa Nova.” The song was used as a theme for various projects, including the Mike Myers comedy Austin Powers.

In the ‘70s, Jones scored television show themes such as Sanford and Son and the soundtrack for the big screen film The Wiz, starring Diana Ross and Michael Jackson. He and the future King of Pop subsequently went to work on what would prove to be Jackson’s breakthrough solo album, Off The Wall. Their next collaboration, Jackson’s Thriller, would go down in music history as the biggest-selling album of all time.

In the ‘80s, Jones also created hits for James Ingram, Patti Austin and a host of others. He also scored more films, notably Stephen Spielberg’s The Color Purple. He continued making music into the 1990s and had major hits with his albums including Secret Garden and Q’s Juke Joint.

Jones was also an activist, beginning in the 1960s with his support of Martin Luther King Junior and as one of the founders of the Institute for Black American Music. He also founded the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation, a nonprofit that connects kids with technology, education, culture and music.