Quincy Jones, music mastermind and 'Thriller' producer, dies at 91

Quincy Jones, whose decorated music career ran from the early 1950s through the best-known works of Michael Jackson and beyond, died Sunday. He was 91.

His death was confirmed by his publicist in a statement to NPR that did not mention the cause of death. The statement said that Jones died peacefully at his home in Bel Air, California, surrounded by his family.

"Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing," the family said in the statement provided by Jones' publicist, Arnold Robinson. "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."

In the 1980s, Jones helped oversee some of music's biggest and most widely loved moments: He produced or co-produced three of Michael Jackson's best-selling albums, including 1982's record-setting Thriller, and was heavily involved in crafting USA for Africa's 1985 charity single "We Are the World." But his career extended for decades in each direction. Jones long held the record for most Grammy nominations with 80, before Jay-Z and Beyoncé surpassed the total earlier this decade, and his 28 wins rank him third behind Beyoncé (32) and conductor Georg Solti (31).

Born Quincy Delight Jones in 1933, Jones got his start in jazz — at 19, he played trumpet in Lionel Hampton's band — and soon performed on stages with some of the world's best-known stars: Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley.

In 1957, Jones moved to Paris to study with legendary French teacher, composer and conductor Nadia Boulanger.

He wrote on Instagram in 2018: “Nadia Boulanger, my former teacher in Paris, used to tell me, ‘Quincy, there are only 12 notes, and until God gives us 13, I want you to know what everybody did with those 12.’ Bach, Beethoven, Bo Diddley, everybody ... it’s the same 12 notes! So, ever since then, I made it my goal to study theory like it was the back of my hand (check out Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales & Melodic Patterns if you haven't), and it makes my soul smile to see young kids doing the same.”

While living in Paris, he also studied with French composer Olivier Messiaen.

In the 1960s, Jones became a decorated film composer — he collected three of his seven career Academy Award nominations in 1968 and '69 — as well as a high-profile music-industry executive, arranger and producer. On albums like The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones and Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits, he was the headliner, but he also worked behind the scenes, producing (among many others) a string of bestselling hits for Lesley Gore.

In the '70s, Jones remained in the spotlight as a performer and executive, expanding his reach with high-profile projects such as the soundtrack to The Wiz. But the 1980s found his name attached to a remarkable string of successes, from "We Are the World" and Thriller to his first foray into film production: 1985's The Color Purple, which made movie stars of Oprah Winfrey and Whoopi Goldberg. Jones' star-packed Back on the Block, released in 1989, won the Grammy for album of the year in 1991.

Jones' successes extended well beyond music and film. Shortly after launching Quincy Jones Entertainment in 1990, he was presiding over long-running TV hits such as The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air and MADtv. His 2001 book Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones detailed his many intersections with music's biggest moments and stars, as well as his mental-health battles and rocky upbringing in Chicago. Jones' philanthropic works extended well beyond USA for Africa and benefited causes such as music preservation, arts education and aid for underprivileged youth.

Jones' tumultuous personal life included three marriages and seven children, including actresses Kidada and Rashida Jones — his daughters with actress Peggy Lipton — and Kenya Kinski-Jones, a fashion model whose mother is German actress and model Nastassja Kinski.

NPR's Ayana Archie and YourClassical MPR’s Randy Salas contributed reporting.

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