Jones got his first break as a trumpeter for the Lionel Hampton Orchestra in 1951. Throughout the 1950s, he became a skilled arranger and led many small bands.
In 1957, he began a career as a record producer at Barclay Records and worked in France.
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2 1970s 3 Other accomplishments |
1960s
In 1960, he was hired by Mercury Records as the first black vice president of a major record label. When jazz became less popular, he was asked to produce some pop singles; his first was the hit It's My Party by Leslie Gore.
In 1962 he wrote Soul Bossa Nova, a tune which became famous decades later as the "Austin Powers Theme".
He moved to Los Angeles in the mid-1960s where he began writing film scores. Jones scored many films, including In Cold Blood, "The Pawnbroker", "In the Eyes of Love", and "Mirage".
He has also composed several television theme songs, for shows such as Ironside (which featured the early use of a synthesizer), and Sanford and Son.
In 1969, he recorded Walking In Space, an early Jazz fusion record.
1970s
During the 1970s Quincy began producing more pop and less jazz. This drew criticism that he was selling out.
In 1977, Sidney Lumet asked Jones to score The Wiz, an updated Wizard of Oz. It was there that he met Michael Jackson and they soon agreed that Jones would produce Jackson's solo albums.
In 1989 Jones produced "Back On The Block" which included stars Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis, George Benson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Sarah Vaughan, as well as Big Daddy Kane and other rap and hip-hop stars.
TV production credits include The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.
Film production credits include The Color Purple.
Jones has won 26 Grammy Awards and received Kennedy Center Honors in 2001.Other accomplishments
Jones also produced the We Are The World single in the mid 1980s.