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Photo: Robert Hanashiro

November 9, 2010

Wrangling Usher, Amy Winehouse, Ludacris, Mary J. Blige and John Legend into extracurricular studio duty? A headache for most producers. A snap for the guy who herded scores of A-listers into the We Are the World choir — twice.

At 77, Quincy Jones remains the restless block-party host. After decades of collaborating with jazz icons, Jones kicked the genre across boundaries and generations on his 1989 all-star jazz/rap revue Back on the Block, then recruited another stellar cast for 1995's diverse Q's Jook Joint.

Now he's back as executive producer of Q: Soul Bossa Nostra, a headliner-packed tribute that celebrates his deep catalog with pop, R&B and hip-hop reinterpretations. In stores today, Q cannily updates Jones' jazzy compositions, again finding harmony at unlikely junctions.

Talib Kweli toasts Jones on the synth-soaked Ironside TV series theme. Snoop Dogg gets his paws on the Brothers Johnson disco hit Get the Funk Out of My Face. And on the title track, Ludacris rap-retools Soul Bossa Nova, Jones' 1962 swinging instrumental.

"Bebop and hip-hop, in so many ways, they're connected," Jones says, sipping white wine in the media room of his Bel Air manse. "A lot of rappers remind me so much of bebop guys in terms of improvisation, beats and rhymes. My dream is to see hip-hop incorporated in education. You've got the youth of the world in the palm of your hand."

The same could be said of Jones, who, after years of impressive triumphs in jazz and pop-soul, commands enormous respect in rap circles.

Timbaland proposed the Q tribute, and brand names quickly signed up: Akon, Jermaine Dupri, LL Cool J, Scott Storch, Q-Tip, Robin Thicke, Jamie Foxx, Wyclef Jean, T-Pain. When Jones called Jennifer Hudson in 2008 to console her after the murders of her mother, brother and nephew, she asked to join the roster.

"My sweet Jennifer told me, 'I need to be on your album,' " Jones recalls. "I said, 'I would never bother you for that.' She ended up singing You Put a Move on My Heart and tore it up."

Jones, no stranger to family upheaval, discovered music's healing powers early. Raised in Chicago's gang-riddled ghetto in the '30s, he was assaulted while strolling a rival street at age 7. Thugs nailed his hand to a fence with a switchblade and plunged an ice pick into his temple. At that time, his mother was suffering from dementia praecox, a psychotic disorder marked by rapid deterioration of mental functions.

"I watched them put her in a straitjacket and take her to a state mental hospital," Jones says. "I saw her years later, but I couldn't relate to her. We got a stepmother, but that didn't work out too well. You saw Precious, right?

"I honestly wanted to be a gangster until I was 11. That's all I saw in Chicago: dead bodies, Tommy guns, stogies and piles of money. It was a crazy life, a life with no childhood."

At 11, after the family moved to Bremerton, Wash., Jones ran across a piano during an armory break-in, and it forever changed his path. By 12, after picking up percussion and brass instruments, he felt destined to be an arranger and composer.

"Music became my mother," he says. "It never let me down."

At 14, Jones met Ray Charles, forging a bond that endured until the R&B legend died in 2004. As teens, they dreamed of musical stardom and vowed to defy the era's racial hurdles, adopting the pledge, "Not one drop of my self-worth depends on your acceptance of me."

"It was dangerous to let external forces determine who you were as a human being," Jones says. "Ray and I had very determined attitudes about where we wanted to go, but this country was in a different place. I have 100 pictures of us together, and in every one we're laughing our butts off. What a beautiful man."

Carving his own path

Jones left the Berklee College of Music in Boston to join Lionel Hampton's band, the start of a meteoric career that soon found him arranging and recording for Sarah Vaughan, Duke Ellington, Dinah Washington, Billy Eckstine and Cannonball Adderly.

He launched Lesley Gore, producing It's My Party and 17 subsequent singles. In 1963, he won the first of his 27 Grammys, a record haul for a living artist, for his Count Basie arrangement of I Can't Stop Loving You. Jones, who has been nominated a staggering 79 times, eyes the trophies in the foyer cases with a wink. "Remember," he says, "I lost 52 times."

He scored big in the mid-'80s with three Grammys each for producing 1982's Thriller, the world's top-selling album, and 1985's We Are the World, history's best-selling single. In February, Jones oversaw a 25th-anniversary remake to benefit victims of Haiti's earthquake.

"It was difficult because there were a lot of political bumps, but everyone jumped in and gave it their best," he says, noting that the new version's star power couldn't compensate for the glaring absence of Michael Jackson.

Shortly before Jackson died in June 2009, he and Jones crossed paths in London. Jackson wanted to swing by with his children, but Jones was booked for dinner with billionaire Mohamed Al-Fayed.

"I told Michael I'd see him when I got back to L.A., but I never saw him again," says Jones, who heard the news after taking a flight to Luxembourg. "It was like somebody blew a shotgun off in my cranium. It was surrealistic. I couldn't get my arms around it. I still can't."

He won't speculate on Jackson's condition in recent years except to say: "It's complicated, and who knows what can happen to someone who starts in show business at 5 years old? He made the biggest album in history and never stopped working. We had some very precious moments together."

Because his personality was shaped by sacrifice, struggle and a deep love for his late brother Lloyd, empathy is vital to Jones' work ethic. Hundreds of collaborations later, he has rarely encountered arrogance or hostility.

"Leave it outside," he says. "That's not the way we roll. There's so much love, my team can turn anyone around."

Jones "pulls the best out of people," says producer/engineer Bill Gibson. "On Off the Wall and Thriller, he pulled that music out of Michael Jackson's soul. Other producers can be tyrants. Quincy lets the performance live."

Gibson and Jones co-authored the new Q on Producing, a lavish book with companion DVD, the first in a series of production tutorials. It embodies Jones' history, anecdotes and secrets of working with jazz and pop greats.

"His techniques are as much about people as they are about musicianship," Gibson says. "He started young and was mentored by some of the best people in the business. People tell me consistently, when Quincy walks in the studio, the bar raises. He's driven by passion, and he has a lot of horsepower."

Godfather to all

Gospel singer Bebe Winans instantly accepted Jones' invitation to contribute to Q, even though he had qualms about singing Everything Must Change, the Benard Ighner tune on 1974's Body Heatsoundtrack produced by Jones.

"I couldn't stand the song," Winans says. "I was almost angry. I went in kicking and screaming because Quincy was not movable. After I finished, I loved it. It was meant for me. I understood Quincy a little more because he heard past everything I didn't want to hear. He knows these matches will work, and people who would never be in the playground together do so because he invites us.

"He's always been like a godfather to me," he says. "He has an ease, a warmth that brings you in. But it goes deeper. It's spiritual. He has a concern about people in general, and music has been a doorway connecting him to people all over the world. I see him more in China than I do in L.A."

When not globe-trotting, Jones, a thrice-divorced father of seven children ages 17 to 57, tends to lavish time on family and friends.

While he describes his efforts to add Mandarin and Arabic to the handful of languages he has learned, youngest daughter Kenya (Mom is actress Nastassja Kinski) strolls in and greets him with a hug. She's bubbling with joy that Dad procured a batch of tickets and backstage passes for an upcoming Drake concert.

Kenya leaves to make tea, and company arrives: old friends and neighbors Robert Wagner and Jill St. John, visiting from Aspen, Colo. Jones, composer of 33 movie scores, scans the walls of posters —In Cold Blood, The Getaway, In the Heat of the Night— and singles out 1967's Banning, co-starring the couple. The three reminisce about Cary Grant, Jack Nicholson and Frank Sinatra, who gave Jones the Sicilian-crest gold ring he never takes off.

"I haven't been to Aspen since Michael Douglas got married," Jones says wistfully. "Too busy."

But mention retirement and he snorts, "I'm not tired! I'm working my booty off and I love it."

He devotes most of his energy to humanitarian activities, many connected to his foundation's efforts to aid children in conflict areas. His consortium supports music education. He's not applying for the job, thank you, but Jones continues to lobby loudly for President Obama to appoint a U.S. minister of culture. He's hoping to produce a Broadway show on the history of music.

Music, Jones insists, is culture's most essential art.

"It's the only one that engages the left and right brain simultaneously, the emotion and intellect. It's the voice of God.

"I tell my kids and I tell protégés, always have humility when you create and grace when you succeed, because it's not about you. You are a terminal for a higher power. As soon as you accept that, you can do it forever."

Jones certainly intends to.

http://www.usatoday.com/l...9_CV_N.htm

How many times is he gonna make this point? He's been saying this since the 80s.We get it,Q...you have a hard-on for hip hop and you won't be satisfied until you work with every rapper out there.He should just do a damn hip-hop album,get it out his system and move on!! Then after it flops, he could hire some REAL musicians and get back to the jazzy sounds that he used to make...you know,an album that would appeal to his core audience,most of whom don't even listen to hip-hop!

A damn near 80-year old man obsessing over rappers He has no dignity left.

...

[Edited 11/9/10 5:55am]

The new album sucks. There's about two or three good songs on there.

The rest are either straight-up, uninspired covers, or horrible covers.

Quincy said he didn't produce this, but if that's the case, it should be called "A Tribute To Q" or something like that, because the cover and material is misleading.

OK, Quincy, how about this? Since you love to suck rappers' dicks so much, do a full album with nobody BUT rappers and "rap singers". Yeah, put Akon, T-Pain and Precious P ("rap singers") in there with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Ludacris (who is on your album), Boosie, Lil Webbie or whatever his name is, Baby, P. Shitty, Nicki Minaj and 'em and then see what kind of response you get. This ain't 1990 and you're no longer the top producer that you was when you were working with the likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael, the Brothers Johnson, James Ingram and Patti Austin among others. In your world, there's not haters but people who are truly disappointed that you done sold your soul to the devil. You're not doing it for love, you're trying to get that shine now that one-half of your '80s dream team has gone on to Heaven. Keep drinking that kool-aid.

I heard the Amy Winehouse cover of "It's My Party" and it was real lazy compared to the Lesley Gore original and I like Amy but not this. And I heard Jennifer Hudson oversung on Tamia's "You Put a Move on My Heart" so whatever, you're not even worth a download. Fuck you, Q.

Superstition said:

The new album sucks. There's about two or three good songs on there.

The rest are either straight-up, uninspired covers, or horrible covers.

Quincy said he didn't produce this, but if that's the case, it should be called "A Tribute To Q" or something like that, because the cover and material is misleading.

And this is what has left me wondering what did he really produce? Did he not produce Q's Jook Joint? Did he not produce Back on the Block? Though he claimed he did both?

Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight.

Timmy84 said:

OK, Quincy, how about this? Since you love to suck rappers' dicks so much, do a full album with nobody BUT rappers and "rap singers". Yeah, put Akon, T-Pain and Precious P ("rap singers") in there with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Ludacris (who is on your album), Boosie, Lil Webbie or whatever his name is, Baby, P. Shitty, Nicki Minaj and 'em and then see what kind of response you get. This ain't 1990 and you're no longer the top producer that you was when you were working with the likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael, the Brothers Johnson, James Ingram and Patti Austin among others. In your world, there's not haters but people who are truly disappointed that you done sold your soul to the devil. You're not doing it for love, you're trying to get that shine now that one-half of your '80s dream team has gone on to Heaven. Keep drinking that kool-aid.

I heard the Amy Winehouse cover of "It's My Party" and it was real lazy compared to the Lesley Gore original and I like Amy but not this. And I heard Jennifer Hudson oversung on Tamia's "You Put a Move on My Heart" so whatever, you're not even worth a download. Fuck you, Q.

Well said!

Timmy84 said:

OK, Quincy, how about this? Since you love to suck rappers' dicks so much, do a full album with nobody BUT rappers and "rap singers". Yeah, put Akon, T-Pain and Precious P ("rap singers") in there with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Ludacris (who is on your album), Boosie, Lil Webbie or whatever his name is, Baby, P. Shitty, Nicki Minaj and 'em and then see what kind of response you get. This ain't 1990 and you're no longer the top producer that you was when you were working with the likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael, the Brothers Johnson, James Ingram and Patti Austin among others. In your world, there's not haters but people who are truly disappointed that you done sold your soul to the devil. You're not doing it for love, you're trying to get that shine now that one-half of your '80s dream team has gone on to Heaven. Keep drinking that kool-aid.

I heard the Amy Winehouse cover of "It's My Party" and it was real lazy compared to the Lesley Gore original and I like Amy but not this. And I heard Jennifer Hudson oversung on Tamia's "You Put a Move on My Heart" so whatever, you're not even worth a download. Fuck you, Q.

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Timmy84 said:

OK, Quincy, how about this? Since you love to suck rappers' dicks so much, do a full album with nobody BUT rappers and "rap singers". Yeah, put Akon, T-Pain and Precious P ("rap singers") in there with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Ludacris (who is on your album), Boosie, Lil Webbie or whatever his name is, Baby, P. Shitty, Nicki Minaj and 'em and then see what kind of response you get. This ain't 1990 and you're no longer the top producer that you was when you were working with the likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael, the Brothers Johnson, James Ingram and Patti Austin among others. In your world, there's not haters but people who are truly disappointed that you done sold your soul to the devil. You're not doing it for love, you're trying to get that shine now that one-half of your '80s dream team has gone on to Heaven. Keep drinking that kool-aid.

I heard the Amy Winehouse cover of "It's My Party" and it was real lazy compared to the Lesley Gore original and I like Amy but not this. And I heard Jennifer Hudson oversung on Tamia's "You Put a Move on My Heart" so whatever, you're not even worth a download. Fuck you, Q.

Someone has been watching Professor Griff's lectures about Quincy.

TonyVanDam said:

Timmy84 said:

OK, Quincy, how about this? Since you love to suck rappers' dicks so much, do a full album with nobody BUT rappers and "rap singers". Yeah, put Akon, T-Pain and Precious P ("rap singers") in there with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Ludacris (who is on your album), Boosie, Lil Webbie or whatever his name is, Baby, P. Shitty, Nicki Minaj and 'em and then see what kind of response you get. This ain't 1990 and you're no longer the top producer that you was when you were working with the likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael, the Brothers Johnson, James Ingram and Patti Austin among others. In your world, there's not haters but people who are truly disappointed that you done sold your soul to the devil. You're not doing it for love, you're trying to get that shine now that one-half of your '80s dream team has gone on to Heaven. Keep drinking that kool-aid.

I heard the Amy Winehouse cover of "It's My Party" and it was real lazy compared to the Lesley Gore original and I like Amy but not this. And I heard Jennifer Hudson oversung on Tamia's "You Put a Move on My Heart" so whatever, you're not even worth a download. Fuck you, Q.

Someone has been watching Professor Griff's lectures about Quincy.

Yeah right. No I haven't. That's from my mouth.

bboy87 said:

Timmy84 said:

OK, Quincy, how about this? Since you love to suck rappers' dicks so much, do a full album with nobody BUT rappers and "rap singers". Yeah, put Akon, T-Pain and Precious P ("rap singers") in there with Rick Ross, Lil Wayne, Ludacris (who is on your album), Boosie, Lil Webbie or whatever his name is, Baby, P. Shitty, Nicki Minaj and 'em and then see what kind of response you get. This ain't 1990 and you're no longer the top producer that you was when you were working with the likes of Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Michael, the Brothers Johnson, James Ingram and Patti Austin among others. In your world, there's not haters but people who are truly disappointed that you done sold your soul to the devil. You're not doing it for love, you're trying to get that shine now that one-half of your '80s dream team has gone on to Heaven. Keep drinking that kool-aid.

I heard the Amy Winehouse cover of "It's My Party" and it was real lazy compared to the Lesley Gore original and I like Amy but not this. And I heard Jennifer Hudson oversung on Tamia's "You Put a Move on My Heart" so whatever, you're not even worth a download. Fuck you, Q.

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@ Quincy throwing up the Baphomet.