
Quincy Jones
Department: Sound
Biography
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys, and a Grammy Legend Award in 1992. Jones came to prominence in the 1950s as a jazz arranger and conductor before working on pop music and film scores. He moved easily between musical genres, producing Lesley Gore's major pop hits of the early 1960s (including "It's My Party") and serving as an arranger and conductor for several collaborations between the jazz artists Frank Sinatra and Count Basie in the same time period. In 1968, Jones became the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song for "The Eyes of Love" from the film Banning. Jones was also nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Score for his work on the 1967 film In Cold Blood, making him the first African American to be nominated twice in the same year. Jones produced three of popstar Michael Jackson's most successful albums: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). In 1985, Jones produced and conducted the charity song "We Are the World", which raised funds for victims of famine in Ethiopia. In 1971, Jones became the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards. In 1995, he was the first African American to receive the academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He is tied with sound designer Willie D. Burton as the second most Oscar-nominated African American, with seven nominations each. In 2013, Jones was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as the winner, alongside Lou Adler, of the Ahmet Ertegun Award. He was named one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century by Time.
Known For

Ronnie's
2020

Quincy Jones: In the Pocket
2001

Fantasia 2000
2000

The Weeknd: 103.5 Dawn FM
2022

Herb Alpert Is...
2020

Quincy Jones : 75th Birthday Celebration Live at Montreux
2008

Max Roach: The Drum Also Waltzes
2023

Ennio
2022

Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones
1990

The Jazz Baroness
2009

Tony Bennett: Forget Me Not
2022

Prince: Musical Portrait
1989

Davi's Way
2018

King: Man of Peace in a Time of War
2007

Genius. A Night for Ray Charles
2004

David Foster: Off the Record
2019

Miles Davis with Quincy Jones and the Gil Evans Orchestra Live at Montreux 1991
2013

Marvin Hamlisch: What He Did For Love
2013

I Love Quincy
1984

Jacob Collier: In the Room Where It Happens
2022

Lesley Gore: It's Her Party
2001

Live and Swingin': The Ultimate Rat Pack Collection
2003

Kylie Minogue V The Bee Gees
2022

Sidney
2022

Michael Jackson: Number Ones
2003

Diana
1981

The Greatest Night in Pop
2024

The Jackson Family Honors
1994

Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues
1988

Diane Warren: Relentless
2025

Quincy Jones...The First 50 Years
1998

Oprah & The Color Purple Journey
2023

Experience Montreux
2013

2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
2022

Thriller 40
2023

Miles Davis: Birth of the Cool
2019

The Unforgettable Nat King Cole
1989

Celia: The Queen
2008

We Are the World: The Story Behind the Song
1985

Sinatra 100: An All-Star Grammy Concert
2015

Don Lewis and The Live Electronic Orchestra
2024

I Go Back Home - Jimmy Scott
2016

Brando
2007

Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall
2016

They All Came Out to Montreux
2023

Jazz Icons - Quincy Jones Live in '60
2006

Anouk Aimée, la beauté du geste
2012

Richard Pryor: Omit the Logic
2013

New Order Story
1993

Score: A Film Music Documentary
2017

Jay Sebring… Cutting to the Truth
2020

King of Kings: Chasing Edward Jones
2024

Frank Sinatra Memorial
2000

Quincy Jones: 50 Years in Music - Live at Montreux
1996

An Evening with Quincy Jones
2008

Sandy Wexler
2017

Q: The Man
2009

The Distortion of Sound
2014

Feel Rich: Health Is the New Wealth
2017

Kareem: Minority of One
2015

Looney Tunes 50th Anniversary
1986

Quincy
2018

Iceberg Slim: Portrait of a Pimp
2012

Rising Above the Blues: The Story of Jimmy Scott
2012

The Jazz Ambassadors
2018

Oscar Peterson: Music in the Key of Oscar
1995

Survivor's Guide to Prison
2018

The World of Nat King Cole
2004

It Must Schwing: The Blue Note Story
2018

Austin Powers in Goldmember
2002

The Wiz
1978

ReMastered: The Two Killings of Sam Cooke
2019

Quincy Jones: Breaking New Sound
2008

Wiz on Down the Road
1978

The Black Godfather
2019

It's Black Entertainment
2002

Montreux Jazz Festival 2013 - Remember Claude Nobs
2019

Quincy Jones: A Musical Celebration in Paris
2019

Jazz Open Stuttgart 2017 - Festival of World Stars and Child Prodigies
2017

Quincy Jones & Friends - Live at Jazz Open Stuttgart
2017

Q85: A Musical Celebration for Quincy Jones
2018

Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration
2001

Letter to the President
2005

Unbanned: The Legend of AJ1
2018

More Than Jazz
2016

Frank Sinatra Spectacular
1965

Count Basie: Through His Own Eyes
2020

The Phil Collins Big Band - Live at Montreux 1996
1996

The N Word
2006

Michael Jackson: The One
2004

Sammy Davis, Jr.: I've Gotta Be Me
2017

You Don't Own Me
2021

Intimate Portrait: Natalie Cole
1999

Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000

Wayne Shorter: Live at Montreux 1996
1996

Sergio Mendes in the Key of Joy
2021

A Great Day in Harlem
1994

Paul Simon: Under African Skies
2012

Dionne Warwick: Don't Make Me Over
2021

The Cosby Show: A Look Back
2002

The Earth Day Special
1990

Once Upon a Time Michel Legrand
2024

We Are Universal
1971

Wheedle's Groove
2009

Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres
2021

Quincy Jones | Music Man
2025

The Real Malcolm X
1992

Lady Be Good: Instrumental Women In Jazz
2008

Devil's Pie: D'Angelo
2019

Creating Ragtime
1998

Michael Jackson: A Life in Music
2026

The Groove Under the Groove
2026

Best Week Ever
2004

Jimmy Kimmel Live!
2003

The One Show
2006

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
1990

The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer
2005

The Boondocks
2005

The Colbert Report
2005

MADtv
1995

Ironside
1967

Life Goes On
1989

The Oscars
1953

The Kennedy Center Honors
1978

Saturday Night Live
1975

Quincy Jones: The Many Lives of Q
2008

America Beyond the Color Line
2004

Carpool Karaoke: The Series
2017

Legends
2006

Classic Albums
1997

Empreintes
2007

The Ellen DeGeneres Show
2003

Sherman's Showcase
2019

Great Performances
1971

Sacrée Soirée
1987

Science Fiction Film Awards
—

Big World Cafe
1989

Soundbreaking
2016