Tributes to music icon Quincy Jones has been flooding in after his passing aged 91, with Michael Caine paying tribute to his “celestial twin.”
Jones died yesterday evening aged 91 at his home in Bel Air, leading to an outpouring of grief on social media from across the screen entertainment and music worlds.
Actor Caine, who was born just minutes apart from Jones on March 14, 1933, wrote on X: “My celestial twin Quincy was a titan in the musical world. He was a wonderful and unique human being, lucky to have known him.”
Jones provided the musical score for 1969 movie The Italian Job, which starred Caine as a recently criminal, who forms a gang to steal gold bullion being transported through Italy in an armoured truck.
The Color Purple actor Colman Domingo was among others paying tribute, writing on social media: “He asked, where are you from? Philly I replied, his eyes twinkled and he talked about the Uptown Theater. I was so thrilled to meet Mr. American Music himself. I literally kneeled because he was a King. Thank you Mr. Quincy Jones for giving us all the sound.”
Domingo starred in 2023’s The Color Purple, the musical feature reboot of the 1985 film of the same name Jones produced with Steven Spielberg. Jones was a producer on the modern version alongside the likes of the first film’s star Oprah Winfrey.
Jones — a musician, composer, producer and songwriter whose oeuvre spanned seven decades — was behind everything from Michael Jackson’s Thriller to frequent collaborations with Frank Sinatra, producing the big-screen adaptation of The Color Purple and composing some of the most memorable film and TV music ever has died.
Playwright Jeremy O. Harris wrote: “What couldn’t he do? Quincy Jones, literally born when the limits on how big a black boy could dream were unfathomably high, taught us that the limit does not exist. His contributions to American culture were limitless. First black person nominated for an Oscar for best score. First black person nominated later twice in the same year. The producer of inarguably the biggest albums of the 20th century. An EGOT. Father to some of pretty incredibly talented children as well and godfather to musicians around the world. RIP QUINCY.”
Rapper and actor LL Cool J wrote: “You were a father and example at a time when I truly needed a father and example. Mentor. Role model. King. You gave me opportunities and shared wisdom. Music would not be music without you. My condolences to the entire family. I love you. Rest in the sweetest music eternally.”
Resident Evil and James Bond franchise actor Colin Salmon wrote: “Quincy Jones was a true musical Don, from Ray Charles, Sinatra, Michael Jackson; more recently championing Jacob Collier and beyond. As a kid his major influence for me was the soundtrack to the Italian Job. Yes The Self Preservation Society was penned by him. Thank you Maestro you changed the World. RIP.”
Jones won 28 Grammys during his career, with Michael Jackson’s album Thriller becoming a cultural milestone as it took home eight in the 1980s. He also produced two more of Jackson’s bestselling albums, Off the Wall and Bad.
In 1964, he arranged and conducted Sinatra’s second album with Count Basie titled It Might as Well Be Swing and then collaborated with with the crooner on the live album, Sinatra at the Sands. Jones later produced what was to become the singer’s final album, L.A. Is My Lady, in 1984.
Jones also produced We Are the World, the best-selling single of all time, and convinced Miles Davis to record what would be Davis’ final album, Miles & Quincy: Live at Montreux, three months before the jazz great’s death in 1991.
