Quincy Jones is an icon, a man who needs no introduction from the likes of me. He’s worked with the best because he is the best – not just at composing music or creating trends, but at transcending them, and transcending culture itself. If you listen closely, this movie is about a man who consistently allows his talent to break down barriers. He’s accumulated a lot of “firsts” in his life (the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song – and the first African American to be nominated twice in one year as he was also named in the Best Score category; the first African American to hold the position of vice president of a white-owned record company; the first African American to be the musical director and conductor of the Academy Awards ceremony) but as far as I’m concerned, he’s also a man with a lot of “onlies” to his name – the first, and the only, because this man is a trail-blazer of incomparable talent and drive.
With his daughter Rashida Jones co-directing the film, they skate lightly over the more scandalous periods of his life and focus on his love of family and his impressive musical career. He composed for Frank Sinatra and for Sidney Lumet. He 
wrote movie scores and TV theme songs. He traveled the world making music, and he’s given back to the community by mentoring young musicians and passing the baton, literally, to new composers. He met Michael Jackson while working on The Wiz, and went on to produce Off The Wall, Thriller, and Bad with him. Oprah credits him for ‘discovering’ her for The Color Purple, which he scored and produced. He also composed the music to Will Smith’s Fresh Prince theme song – he was a show producer, and Will Smith auditioned for and signed a contract at Quincy’s 57th birthday party.
Between his art and philanthropy, there isn’t a corner of culture the man hasn’t marked and this documentary offers an excellent overview of his accomplishments while also providing insight to the life he lives at home. I love the many Quincy-isms up for grabs in this doc. There aren’t many topics where he doesn’t offer some bit of wisdom. But neither he nor his daughters (he’s got 6 – it’s almost biblical) believe him to be without flaws, but perhaps at the age of 85, we can afford to concentrate more on his activism and artistry, and the terrific impact he’s had on music and pop culture. You can check Quincy out right now on Netflix.
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Quincy Jones is awesome. The man is a trailblazer as he just seems to always be at the right place and at the right time.
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Such a giant talent.
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He is the best Quincy Jones. 🤗
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He’s a trailblazer, for sure. No doubt about it. I’d love to have seen a proper documentary about him, cause I don’t think a rose tinted one is what I’m looking for.
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Thank you very much for this interesting post about Quincy Jones, which I enjoyed reading!
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I’ll be watching this for sure. I grew up on music he either created or heavily influenced. Like J, though, I’d love to see one he and his family didn’t have a heavy hand in, but I’ll take it.
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This would be exactly my speed.
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I love Quincy! He’s lived long enough he can say whatever the hell he wants. I have chuckled at some of his comments lately.
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I listened to an interview with him and Rashida about this documentary on NPR last week.
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It’s impressive that he’s still kicking – he should have died so many times over.
You could make a drinking game just out of how many times he almost dies just making this film.
Which makes me feel that any promotion for this film he does is fraught. I worry!
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Great review! I laughed so hard when he was in the hospital and they asked him who the President was to gauge any mental damage and he joked “Sarah Palin.” I laughed for the rest of the night! https://jtolbertjr.com/2018/10/03/if-you-have-a-passion-watch-this-film/
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hi great post! thanks for sharing. huge fan of Jones. I would really appreciate it if you could check out my music and art blog whenever you get the chance itd mean a lot to me!
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