In the fall of 2024, many great jazz players have passed away. Especially when I heard the news of Quincy Jones’ death on November 3, I felt strongly about the death of an excellent star. He continued to create American music in the second half of the 20th century, not only in jazz but also in pop and film music. It is impossible to measure how much his work enriched the music of this era. I would like to reflect on his great achievements, listening to some of his albums.
#271 Hot Album that Conveys Passion for Big Bands
Quincy Jones And His Orchestra At Newport ’61
(Mercury ⇒ Universal Music UCCU-90135)
Quincy Jones, who gained recognition as a composer and arranger at a young age for his arrangements for Dizzy Gillespie and the Count Basie Orchestra, assembled an orchestra made up of all top-notch members in 1959 at the age of 26. He attracted a great deal of attention by writing eye-opening arrangements that made the most of the individuality of each band member. After recording “The Birth of a Band” and “The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones,” the band toured Europe. However, after spending a little over a year in Europe, the band was forced to disband due to financial problems, with the final performance at the Newport Jazz Festival in the summer of 1961.
This album features their performances at the Festival. Even though they were about to disband, the band’s performance was hot and truly awesome. The performance time of each number is extended for a live concert, and the band’s power as a whole is tremendous, allowing the audience to enjoy the performance thoroughly. The show opened with ＜Meet B.B.＞ featuring Joe Newman (tp), and continued with the groovy ＜The Boy In The Tree＞ with a shuffle beat. The performance then picked up steam, with the up-tempo ＜Air Mail Special＞ in between, followed by ＜Lester Leaps In＞ and the band’s signature number, ＜G’won Train.＞ Another highlight is Phil Woods’ lyrical alto solo in Quincy’s masterpiece ＜Evening in Paris,＞ which describes his impressions of Paris. This well-worth listening album conveys the young Quincy’s passion for big bands, who would later become a staff member at Mercury Records and release many hit albums.
#272 Enjoy Gorgeous and Stylish Quincy Magic
Walking In Space
(A&M ⇒ Universal Music UCCU-5914)
After leaving his position as vice president of Mercury Records in the mid-60s, Quincy Jones continued to stay busy, composing film scores such as “The Pawnbroker” and “In The Heat of The Night,” music for TV dramas such as “Ironside,” and arranging songs for Frank Sinatra. “Walking In Space,” released in 1969, was Quincy’s first full-fledged jazz album in several years. Creed Taylor, who was in charge of producing at A&M at the time, commissioned Quincy to make the album. Creed, who had long recognized Quincy’s talent, left everything from selecting the band members to the content of the album to him.
In response to Creed’s expectations, the session was held with a group of talented players, and it was filled with Quincy’s unique ideas, which made him more than just an arranger, resulting in a highly stylish work. The 12-minute title track is a number from the 1968 musical “Hair.” In this number, Bob James (elp), Roland Kirk (sax), and Eric Gale (g) all play unique solos interspersed with an impressive riff featuring a female chorus. Toots Thielemans’ harmonica featured in ＜I Never Told You＞ is also fantastical and beautiful. This album won the Grammy Award for Best Large Jazz Ensemble in 1970 . This was Quincy’s first Grammy win in a long time, as although he had been nominated for the award many times before, he had only managed to win one in the “Arrangement” category in 1964. This was an unforgettable and satisfying album for Quincy, who would become a regular at the Grammy Awards.
#273 Contemporary Sounds of 80’s with Pop Feeling
The Dude
(A&M ⇒ Universal Music UCCU-5807)
Now I feel nostalgic for ＜Ai No Corrida.＞ The song, with its disco-inspired beat, was initially written by Chas Jankel, guitarist for the Ian Dury Group, but Quincy’s meticulous arrangement made it a huge hit. From the 1970s onwards, Quincy Jones began to focus more on producing music, and by incorporating not only jazz but also R&B and pop music, he created cutting-edge black contemporary sounds.
This album is a perfect demonstration of his abilities as a sound creator. From this album released in 1981, not only ＜Ai No Corrida,＞ but also ＜Just Once,＞ ＜Betcha’ Wouldn’t Hurt Me,＞ and ＜Razzamatazz＞ were cut as singles, and all of them reached the hit charts. The singers participating in the album are also a stellar lineup, including James Ingram and Patti Austin. Ingram’s soft rendition of ＜Just Once＞ is also superb. From this album, the title track ＜The Dude＞ won the Grammy Award for “Best R&B Performance,” while ＜Ai No Corrida＞ and ＜Velas＞ won the Awards for “Best Arrangement.” In 1982, Quincy himself won the Award for “Producer of the Year.” In 1984, Michael Jackson’s ＜Thriller＞ and ＜Beat It＞ received the Awards. He went on to win Grammys with ＜We Are The World＞ in 1986, and this hit album makes you realize how outstanding Quincy’s talent was.
About the Author
Masamichi Okazaki
Surrounded by various kinds of music from his childhood, Masamichi Okazaki joined Waseda University Modern Jazz Club. He started contributing articles to music magazines when he was a student. He covers wide range of music not only trad, modern and contemporary jazz, but also from pops to classics. He writes liner notes for CDs and LPs, and is a regular contributor to “JAZZ JAPAN,” “STEREO,” and others. He joined a big band, “Shiny Stockings,” as a saxophone player. He is a director of The Music Pen Club Japan (MPCJ).
