Black Music 2007 - Part II: Still The Dude

Still The Dude - Quincy Jones

As we continue with our current series for Black Music Month 2007, this time we want to focus on one man whose life and music has made, and is still making, a difference - Quincy Jones.

Quincy Jones has been many things to many people. He is a musician, producer, composer and mentor. He has not only kept pace with music's always changing face but carved a few paths of his own. What it all boils down to is he's still the dude.

Try as he might, but Quincy Jones just can't share the ferrets. They're the tenacious little varmints who seem to follow him wherever he goes. It's the ferrets of time that seem to haunt Q for most of his waking moments, and, as he admitted in a recent interview, "Time is the one thing I wish I had more of." But a quick look at his exceptional career illustrates that Jones has done pretty well with his time and his dreams.

While those in control were dishing out the dreams, Jones was preparing for his. Early in his career he began combining rhythm and melody in a style that looked forward instead of backward. One of his closest friends, trumpeter Miles Davis once said of Jones. "He's always got something shaking."

Perhaps without realizing it Quincy Jones has been shaking, swinging and preparing for a role - the role of "the Dude." Jones is a dude who's always been a hip fashion plate. He's always well-dressed, forever hip and often a trendsetter himself. The Dude has also been particularly adept at persuading tough audiences as well as tight-lipped corporate executives and fellow artists to open up and let the music in. Letting the music in and then putting it out is one of the things Jones does best. I remember Q saying that one of his greatest pleasures was discovering and nurturing fresh new talent.

It all began in Chicago back when zoot suits were the rage and ragtime was the music. Quincy studied trumpet as a youngster and was singing in a gospel quartet by the time he was 12.

His musical prowess did not go unrecognized. While studying at the prestigious Berklee College of Music in Boston, Quincy was offered the opportunity to tour with the legendary Lionel Hampton as a trumpeter, arranger and pianist. It didn't take long for a reputation as an arranger to develop. By the time he was in his early 20s, the upstart Jones was arranging and recording for the legends of jazz: including Sarah Vaughn, Ray Charles, Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Big Maybelle, Dinah Washington, Julian "Cannonball" Adderley and LaVern Baker.

But this dude Jones possessed a thirst for knowledge that would take him beyond the foot-tapping energy and soulful emotions of jazz. In 1957, Jones studied with Nadia Boulanger, who had schooled the legends of American musicals: Leonard Bernstein and Aaron Copeland. He traveled to Europe to receive Boulanger's tutelage and a love affair with European audiences began that still thrives today.

Quincy Jones blazed another new trail in 1964, becoming the first high-level African-American executive of an established record label when he signed on as vice-president at Mercury Records. In that same year Quincy Jones turned his baton to another musical area that had long been closed to blacks - the world of film scores. At the invitation of director Sidney Lumet, Q composed the music for "The Pawnbroker." That was the first of his 33 major motion picture scores.

Quincy Jones also made his talents and presence felt in television, scoring the themes for "Ironside," "Sanford and Son" and "The Bill Cosby Show."

From the years 1969 to 1981 Quincy Jones recorded a series of Grammy Award-winning albums. Some say the best was yet to come. It was in 1981 that he went back into the studio to produce Michael Jackson's first solo album, "Off The Wall." Then in 1982 Q and Jackson teamed up for "Thriller." It became the best-selling album of all time, selling over 30 million copies around the world and yielding an unprecedented six top 10 singles.

In 1985 Quincy Jones was directly involved in assembling one of the greatest groups of recording artists ever assembled for the "We Are The World" project. In response to the famine in Africa, a large group of legendary artists and newcomers alike banded together under his direction to lay down "We Are The World." The conglomeration recorded as USA For Africa and the song's proceeds helped to relieve the crisis in Ethiopia. Michael Jackson, Dionne Warwick, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles, Kenny Rogers, Lionel Richie and Bob Dylan were among those who participated in the recording. The song was written by Lionel Richie and Michael Jackson and featured 45 stars. The song helped set the stage for a slew of similar charity tracks and concerts later that year and in the future, including the trans-oceanic "Live Aid."

Quincy Jones' debut as a filmmaker came shortly after that, when along with Steven Spielberg, they created "The Color Purple."

Quincy Jones has been nominated for 79 Grammies. He has collected 27 Grammy awards and the Grammy Legend Award in 1991.

Next month, on Saturday, July 28, Quincy Jones will receive The Grammy Foundation's Leadership Award, which recognizes noteworthy humanitarians whose charitable works and contributions align with the Foundation's mission.

Throughout his life, Quincy has redefined excellence. His career as a composer, record producer, artist, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, television producer, record company executive, magazine founder, and multimedia entrepreneur spanned more than six decades. What a piece of black musical history he represents. And so in Black Music Month 2007, we recognize Quincy Jones.

Some may call him the man, but for me Q will always be "the Dude."

Word.