Do you know who you are man? | | | | American composer and music producer Quinicy Jones sits at his desk working on a music arrangement, August 9, 1959.
(Bob Parent/Hulton Archive/Getty Images) | | | | | | “Do you know who you are man?”
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| | rantnrave:// I spent Friday and Satruday with QUINCY JONES. Well, screening the NETFLIX documentary QUINCY. A 2-hour whirlwind on one of the most influential talents of our lifetime. Musician. Composer. Arranger. Producer. Mogul. Activist. Philanthropist. Son. Brother. Husband. Father. Friend. Survivor. One remarkable human being. Netflix's TED SARANDOS introduced the film at Friday's screening. The room was packed with lots of type-A personalities and many of Q's friends and family. Ted warned that after watching the film, all of us type-A's may have to rethink the breadth and depth of our accomplishments. Why? Because Quincy Jones' life and career are that extraordinary. 2900 songs recorded. 300 Albums. Awards? Let's start with his 27 Grammy Awards and 79 Grammy nominations. The first African American executive at a major record label. He grew up in a very rough part of CHICAGO in the 1930's. He wanted to be a gangster. That's all he saw. But then he discovered music. His father moved the family to SEATTLE for work and a fresh start. That's where 14-year old Q met his lifelong friend, a then 16-year-old RAY CHARLES. And that was the beginning of one of the most remarkable careers in the history of music. In a racially divided America, music offered him dignity and freedom. Some artists are introverts. Only showing themselves through their art. Not Quincy. He canvassed Seattle. Walking up to any and all musicians that he could learn from. And through that, lifelong friendships grew. He had swagger. He wasn't shy. He was driven by creativity and curiosity. And that curiosity is as much a reason for his success as his hard work and talent. As Jazz music moved around the world. Quincy got on the plane with it. Traveling all over and diving into the essence of regular people. He wanted to understand all cultures. It's a theme in his music and his life. Artists loved him. DINAH WASHINGTON told her label, EMARCY, to f*** off when they didn't want him to produce her first album. FRANK SINATRA thought him a genius. "One of the finest musicians I've ever known." DUKE ELLINGTON tasked him with the mission of making sure music was decategorized so that it could move forward. All music comes from the same place. Categories did the art a disservice. Duke was passing the baton. Sarandos pointed out that Quincy not only worked with the best artists but worked with them on their best work. Case in point: MICHAEL JACKSON. Not everyone was willing to take him seriously after THE JACKSON 5. With OFF THE WALL and THRILLER, Q and MJ changed popular culture. His discography is mind-blowing. Literally. F***ing. Mindblowing. The film covers his beginnings through the present. And all the life dust in between. His art. His loves. His family. His drive. His health. His struggles and pain. His mother was schizophrenic. Haunting memories of her dragged away in a straitjacket. That sadness shaped him. “When you get hung up and locked into the past you are robbing yourself of the present and definitely the future.” Many reflections on all those friends and collaborators he's lost in recent years. “When you realize the true essence of time, tell your friends you love them now, not tomorrow or next week.” Quincy wants to be ready for his end. And he has reflected. But he's not ready yet. The film is written and directed by his daughter RASHIDA JONES and ALAN HICKS (who directed another film on Q friend and idol CLARK TERRY). Often when children of remarkable talents work on docs on their parents it's a quest to find out a little more about them. Because time isn't infinite. And when you're successful in one area, you neglect others. Quincy was absent for a lot of the children's lives. He loves them without measure. And they love him. But that drive to create and succeed, a work-ethic he learned from his father, took him away. The result was failed marriages with women he loved. And children that loved and yearned for their father when he was absent. They wanted to understand him more. They wanted him to listen to them. Rashida's love for her father warms the screen. So much so, that even beyond Quincy's innate lovability, you want to jump up there and hug him, help him and wake him up to take better care of himself. And even with all those accolades and accomplishments, you get the sense by the end, his greatest creation is his children. 7 of them. 6 grandchildren. 1 great-grandchild. And during a holiday get-together. You see him reflect. And he gets it. And he tried to make up for it. And we love him for it. Rashida does us, him and history a great service with the film. In trying to understand and learn more about her father she's created a love letter that will outlast his life. One that shows his greatness and his vulnerabilities. She wants us to know how much she loves him. She wants us to know how much he meant to our culture. Is that not the greatest gift from a child? I'm a music fan. I love the history of it. And the history of American music has Quincy Jones all over it. So, I'm biased. I could have watched 10-12 hours of this documentary. On Saturday, I spent a few moments with co-director Hicks and he told me they worked from 2000 hours of archival footage and 800 hours of filming. That's how insanely deep and wide this story is. I get anxiety even trying to write this because there is so much. The film documents the art and loves he's given us and when he's gone, not soon I hope, Rashida's love letter will still be here so that no one forgets Q. As the man says, "You only live 26,000 days. I'm going to wear it all out." He's done it. I met him once. 2 seconds. But I love him. Premieres SEPTEMBER 21 on NETFLIX. Please see it. Warms the soul. And if you want to go deeper, Read this and this... Happy Birthday to AMANDA GIAMPORTONE SMITH, KRUTI PATEL GOYAL, MELINDA LEE, JODIE PLATT, HOWARD LINDZON, GLENN BRIFFA, FRANKLIN BINNS, and PATRICK FOARDE. Belated to ANDY SERWER, ERIC SCUDERI, JONATHAN MEDVED, OREN AVIV, ANDERS KLEMMER, and CHRIS ROOKE. | | | - Jason Hirschhorn, curator |
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