Quincy Jones: whats so great about this?

[ValerieB]

lolz, even then-- i guess hes kind of like a fatter billy eckstine, but thats really going out on a limb

he was not fat at all when he was a young man.

[JSngry]

[crisp]

Quincy got his name on the album for the same reason Stan Kenton, Count Basie, Woody Herman & a bunch of other people got their names on album covers for doing little more than getting/keeping the players together and rehearsing/conducting/etc other people's charts. They didn't create any of the music, but they did provision it, and the record date got made under their province and would not have taken the form that it did otherwise.

For me, the big difference between Jones and those other bandleaders is that the others maintain their own style and put performers together appropriately. Jones albums always sound like compilations: the arrangement style shifts from track to track and the artists rarely have much in common, other than that they are big names.

He's also rotten at putting songs together: compare his Sinatra/Basie album with Neal Hefti's; Basie presumably sees to it that it sounds like the same band throughout (unlike Jones's other Sinatra album, LA is my Lady, which is a mess), but the songs have nothing in common other than that many are other people's hits.

I think it was smart of him to become an executive. As a musician he's very mediocre but as a businessman he's brilliant.

[JSngry]

He's also rotten at putting songs together: compare his Sinatra/Basie album with Neal Hefti's; Basie presumably sees to it that it sounds like the same band throughout (unlike Jones's other Sinatra album, LA is my Lady, which is a mess), but the songs have nothing in common other than that many are other people's hits.

It was usually Marshall Royal, not Basie, who rehearsed the band. Marshall Roya ran that band musically.

It Might As Well Be Swing...that the songs were all "hits of the day" done in a swinging style, that was the idea behind the whole album, the concept. So it was that way by design.

I actually like L.A. Is My Lady, although it's a minor work to be sure. Variable material, but a damn good band, good charts (whoever's they are), and Sinatra's in better voice than She Shot Me Down, which is another one I like in spite of itself.. I have a VHS of the LAIML "project", and it's fun too watch the band rehearsals and runthroughs with Sinatra. The clebrety drop-bys are not fun, but that's what fast-forward is for.

[crisp]

Fair enough, I like both of Jones's albums with Sinatra as well, but track by track rather than as albums, if that makes sense. On the Sinatra/Basie that Hefti did the material is also all over the place, but it sounds like an album. Jones's doesn't.

I love She Shot Me Down. It has its faults, but it's so great that Sinatra did a traditional ballad album with Gordon Jenkins at this point in his career instead of another duff Old Blue Eyes is Back type of project.

Edited February 3, 2012 by crisp

[Larry Kart]

It was usually Marshall Royal, not Basie, who rehearsed the band. Marshall Roya ran that band musically.

Basie edited the charts, sometimes considerably, and set the tempos.

[JSngry]

Remember that it was Royal who turned "Lil Darlin'" from a flagwaver into a belly-rubber.

[JSngry]

On the Sinatra/Basie that Hefti did the material is also all over the place, but it sounds like an album.

That one was a lost opportunity to be a truly grreat album. Sinatra was not in the best of voice, and there were a lot of in-studio distractions. Listening to the studio reels on that one is not a pleasure.

I'm not a fan of the Sands album either, although I'm in the minority on that one, it sees. It Might As Well Be Swing is the only one that captures both the singer and the band in top form, at least to my ears. A few cuts don't really make it for me, but the ones that do, hey, I'll gladly take 'em!

[Big Beat Steve]

Remember that it was Royal who turned "Lil Darlin'" from a flagwaver into a belly-rubber.

When can one hear the flagwaver version?

[JSngry]

It was never recorded. Royal called for it while it was still in rehearsal stage.

But think about it -it works just fine at a fast tempo. Plenty of room for flashy drum fills and all that, not unlike "Cute".

[paul secor]

New news on the quincy front

[JSngry]

OOPS!

[Ted O'Reilly]

Did he download it from Napster?

[king ubu]

Nah, he found it in Billy Byers' legacy

[Larry Kart]

Did we take note of his comment on W. Houston's death?:

"Legendary music producer Quincy Jones said in a written statement: 'I am absolutely heartbroken at the news of Whitney's passing. I always regretted not having had the opportunity to work with her. She was a true original and a talent beyond compare. I will miss her terribly.'" (My emphasis)

[JSngry]

What's weird about that? Whitney was an exceptional talent, and Jones has worked with many exceptional talents.

I think it's more weird that he didn't think to get the rights to a photograph. That's like OJ getting by with murder and then getting busted on some punkass thug shit. Just flat-out stupid.

[Larry Kart]

What's weird about that? Whitney was an exceptional talent, and Jones has worked with many exceptional talents.

Kinda foot in the door, or so it struck me.

[JSngry]

Dude - the guy produced the two biggest-selling pop/R&B albums of the 20th century. Michael Jackson will always be Pop Royalty because of them, and unless and until he takes a horrible fall, Quincy Jones will always be Industry Royalty.

The foot's past in the door.

And what pop/R&B producer would not have wanted to work with Whitney Houston? Not just commercially, but for a chance to work with that instrument? Assuming her functionality at the time, it would have been a pleasure and a privilege and a probability of a massive commercial triumph.

Truthfully, if Quincy could have gotten done what he did with Michael Jackson, that would have been A Very Good Thing. I don't know about you, but Off The Wall & Thriller both work for me very well.

Now, if you want to see something that should give you pause, shoot me an e-mail and I'll send you the program from Whitney's funeral (don't ask...I got friends who got friends, etc.).

[Larry Kart]

An ex-post facto foot in the door in the life of Houston, though he didn't have one otherwise, except that he admired her work?

[Christiern]

Jim, how do you know that Quincy really was responsible for Thriller and/or Off the Wall? The man has a long history of taking credit for the work of others (going back at least 50 years). I know that's difficult for you to recognize, but...

[JSngry]

An ex-post facto foot in the door in the life of Houston, though he didn't have one otherwise, except that he admired her work?

'I am absolutely heartbroken at the news of Whitney's passing. I always regretted not having had the opportunity to work with her. She was a true original and a talent beyond compare. I will miss her terribly.'"

Geez Mr. Morrison, get a grip.

[JSngry]

Jim, how do you know that Quincy really was responsible for Thriller and/or Off the Wall? The man has a long history of taking credit for the work of others (going back at least 50 years). I know that's difficult for you to recognize, but...

Mr. Morrison Sr., I know it's difficult for you to recognize it (although it shouldn't be) that what Jones did on Jackson's albums was coordinate and provide direction. It's no secret that others handled a lot the specifics, but once it was on the floor, Quincy directed traffic and guided everything home . It's not like those albums involved just driving into town, renting a studio, and hiring old folks to play for a few hours. These kinds of albums are like making a movie, and you know how many people there are on a move crew. Hell, the director doesn't direct everything you see on screen. There's a lot of input from a lot of people (how much can be measured by the abdominable lengths that credits run now...). But the director has the final say, and the director can rightfully take the credit (or blame).

If you don't think that Quincy Jones riding herd over those sessions and those albums made a difference, you only need to look at what happened with Bad (and beyond). Or do you not even care about Michael Jackson albums and just want to get pissy about Quincy Jones?

Sometimes I feel this stuff devolves into the talks I used to have with my older relative who swore to never buy a Japanese-made TV because of Pearl Harbor. Yep, those sneaky Japs, they bombed us, can't trust 'em, no Japanese TVs for me, no sir!

In the 2000s, none of that shit matter but to people who just won't move on and get over it. Carry it to their grave they will, and think that they're teh only ones who know what the deal is.

Yeah, whatever. Tempis Fugit.

[chewy-chew-chew-bean-benitez]

Jim, how do you know that Quincy really was responsible for Thriller and/or Off the Wall? The man has a long history of taking credit for the work of others (going back at least 50 years). I know that's difficult for you to recognize, but...

re- Off the Wall:

George Duke, David Foster, Larry Carlton, Phil Upchurch, Greg Phillinganes, Wah Wah Watson....oh and Qunicy, lolz

[JSngry]

Greg Phillinganes, yes. Huge contributions.

[Bill Nelson]

Don't bother asking Q -- ask Rod Temperton. Check the composer creds for 'Off the Wall', 'Rock With You', and 'Thriller'. You'll see just one name: 'Temperton'.

Having previously written the hits for Heatwave, RT arrived with his copyright shit down pat. With RT's gift for providing Michael a string of platinum hits, Q may have played nice and only skimmed all he could as producer.