Quincy Jones, the songwriter, composer, arranger, record producer, and, most importantly, the “Giant of American Music,” died on November 3, age 91. Even if you weren’t clocking his name over the decades, it’s impossible to have missed his work. Jones produced Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall (1979); wrote the theme song for Austin Powers and arrangements for Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Dinah Washington, and Peggy Lee; scored movies from In Cold Blood to The Color Purple; composed the charity anthem We Are the World, which raised funds for Ethiopian famine victims; and produced pop records for Lesley Gore. Time called Jones one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century, and he won his fair share of awards: a Tony, a Primetime Emmy, and most recently, an Oscar. How did he do it all? (Not to mention having three wives and seven children.) He did it with inimitable grace and style. The 2018 documentary Quincy does a remarkable job of capturing the man’s extraordinary life and career.
—Elena Clavarino