Acting is a minor part of Quincy Jones' resume. His musical career has spanned 6 decades and even more musical genres as he worked with a diverse array of artists including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson and Charles Aznavour. His interest in music developed early and by his teens he was playing trumpet and singing with a church choir. By the age of 17, he was writing arrangements for Lionel Hampton which led to working with stars like Dizzy Gillespie and Dinah Washington. In 1953, Hampton later hired Jones to play in his orchestra. He released his first album
How I Feel About Jazz in 1956 and became part of Dizzy Gillespie's band the same year.
He has scored over 30 films in his career including
In Cold Blood and
The Getaway. His busy multifaceted career as a musician, composer, producer, and arranger continued until a brain aneurysm in 1974 nearly ended his life. Although he recovered completely, he no longer plays the trumpet because the activity might be too stressful. Since then, Jones has pared down his busy schedule and taken things a little easier. He worked with Michael Jackson on
Thriller (1982) and
Bad (1987). In association with Jackson, he produced and directed the
We Are the World video and single which was written by Jackson and Lionel Richie to benefit Africa. In 1985, he moved from producing records and scoring films to producing films and television shows. He produced the screen version of Alice Walker's
The Color Purple which was directed by Steven Spielberg. In 1991, he produced
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air which starred Will Smith. Since then, he has been the force behind shows like
In The House and
Mad TV. He has also lent his voice to animated projects.
Jones has 26 Grammy Awards and received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award at the 1995 Academy Awards Ceremony.
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Acting is a minor part of Quincy Jones' resume. His musical career has spanned 6 decades and even more musical genres as he worked with a diverse array of artists including Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin, Paul Simon, Michael Jackson and Charles Aznavour. His interest in music developed early and by his teens he was playing trumpet and singing with a church choir. By the age of 17, he was writing arrangements for Lionel Hampton which led to working with stars like Dizzy Gillespie and Dinah Washington. In 1953, Hampton later hired Jones to play in his orchestra. He released his first album
How I Feel About Jazz in 1956 and became part of Dizzy Gillespie's band the same year.
He has scored over 30 films in his career including
In Cold Blood and
The Getaway. His busy multifaceted career as a musician, composer, producer, and arranger continued until a brain aneurysm in 1974 nearly ended his life. Although he recovered completely, he no longer plays the
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