Quincy Jones: Facing Adversity - Essay Example

?Michael Good Rob Tannenbaum Record Producer as Creative Artist April 29. Quincy Jones: Facing Adversity Introduction From gigging as a trumpeter with Lionel Hampton in 1951, to producing Michael Jackson’s album Thriller, to scoring 50 Cent’s autobiographical film Get Rich or Die Tryin’, Quincy Jones has demonstrated he has no creative boundaries. Few producers can bridge generational gaps; they tend to stick the style they first developed. He has the ability to go out of his jazz roots and remain a contemporary influence. His 27 Grammy awards, 79 Grammy nominations, and Grammy Legend Award indicate that the world recognizes his greatness. Quincy Jones has taken on many different titles in his lifetime. He’s been a record producer, television producer, an instrumentalist, an arranger, a composer, a conductor, and an entrepreneur. Phil Ek, producer of the Shins, Modest Mouse, and Fleet Foxes, said, “A producer is the person who creatively guides or directs the process of making a record, like a director would a movie.” Under this light, we can see that Jones’ other musical titles – instrumentalist, arranger, and composer – all are a part of the title “record producer.” For this reason, Jones is best classified as a producer entrepreneur. Quincy’s ability to creatively guide projects is what allows him to work in different types of projects. While one could argue that Quincy Jones’ jazz training is the reason for his success, Quincy Jones’ early childhood adversity inspired his passion for music, his zealous work habit, and his philanthropy; these qualities set him leagues a part from his peers, and, due to his impact on society, make him the greatest producer entrepreneur to have ever lived. Analysis Background and Personal Narrative One of the most significant distinctions between Quincy and his competitors is his love for music. While on a surface level, this may sound cliche; a look inside his early childhood reveals the depth of his attachment to music. Quincy and his brothers heard that there was food in a rec center, so they broke in, found the freezer where lemon meringue pie and ice cream was stored, and as they were stuffing their faces, Quincy saw a tiny stage in the room and on it was an old upright piano. Quincy went up there, paused, stared, and then played some notes. He says, “That’s where I began to find peace. I was eleven. I knew this was it for me. Forever.” Before this moment, he used to pull switchblades on white kids because they made racial remarks. With music, Quincy “found something real to trust, and began to learn how to hope and to cope.” Quincy continued to break in to the building to play piano every day. He says the search for just the right piano notes soothed him, healed him, and killed his fear. His real mother was gone, both physically and mentally, but with music Quincy “found another mother.” Jones’ intimate connection with music supplied his drive to continue pursuing music from that moment onward. From his father, Quincy learned discipline. “Once a task is just begun, never leave it till it’s done. Be the labor great or small, do it well or not at all,” Quincy’s father told him at a young age. This motto became ingrained in to Quincy’s memory, and clearly stuck with him throughout his career. His dad supported eight children with $55 and an occasional bond from the Navy. Quincy and his real brother were expected to help the household by working. Quincy’s love of music led him to working at a jook joint. However, father instructed that he couldn’t go inside the main level because unethical activities happened there; so, he worked underneath. He tried to not disobey his father, and succeeded for months. However, Quincy’s attraction to music was too strong. One day, a band was so “funkin’ so hard” that Quincy had to go check them out. Quincy didn’t take “no” for an answer, an attitude that persisted for his career, and continuously led him to success. Although his father caught Quincy in the jook joint, Quincy began to discover at an early age that listening to his inner voice would lead him to success and happiness. Quincy’s stepmother disliked him and whipped him regularly; however, one day, it went too far. Sarah Ann, Quincy’s childhood crush, knocked on the door to see Quincy for a play date for the first time and Alvera, Quincy’s stepmother, answered the door and told her, “Honey, I don’t know why you want to see him. That boy still pees the bed.” When Alvera whipped him a few weeks later for pouting, Quincy “knocked the shit out of her” and she never whipped him again. At age eleven, Quincy learned to stand up for himself. Future issues in the music industry were most likely not as problematic for Quincy, due to the fact that he became a man at such a young age. Historical Context Jones lived through the Great Depression, World War II, the Cold War, and the Counterculture Revolution; however, he is most influenced by the Great Depression. This era caused people to be conscientious about their spending, develop hard work ethics, and appreciate the small graces in life. These characteristics are noticeable in his personality. Four years after the stock market crash of 1929, Quincy was born in Chicago. The Great Depression continued until the early 1940s. To cope with America’s economic climate, people embraced new innovations in entertainment. The Delta Blues rose in popularity, due to Robert Johnson and Skip James; the “Golden Age of Hollywood” begun, with the arrival of talking pictures, also known as talkies; and, social realism, an art movement that generally portrayed imagery with socio-political meaning, became an important movement. In Quincy’s music, one can hear the influence of social realism, particularly in “We are the World,” Back on the Block, and Q: Soul Bossa Nostra. He was inspired by film from the Great Depression, as well. In addition to doing a number of film scores, in 1978, Quincy works on the score of an urban adaptation of the Wizard of Oz, one of the most notable films from this era. Jones’ sought love, safety, and therapy in his music because of his early childhood adversity; this is consistent with the hedonistic music consumption model. His blues influence comes from artists such as Washboard Sam, Earl Hines, and Jelly Roll Morton. These songs demonstrate that music can be therapeutic by singing about negative emotions. Count Basie, Cab Calloway, Duke Ellington, and Thelonius Monk taught Quincy about song composition and arrangement, and established that music can be therapeutic by focusing on the positive feelings. One can hear these influences in Quincy’s compositions and arrangements. It is easy for one to assume that Quincy’s extensive jazz training is the sole the reason for his success, but it’s not. In fact, the jazz training is the result of his ability to construct “an environment filled with love.” He used this ability to take lessons from Clark Terry, to collaborate and learn from Ray Charles, and to make connections with myriad of high profile people. Positivity brings out the best in possible and this exponentially increased his networking skills. Business & Entrepreneurial Skills & Traits The adversity Quincy faced early in his life created a zealous ambition inside of him and a desire to fill the hole in his heart due to his absent mother. Alvera regularly told Quincy that his real mother “would return from the mental hospital and kill them one day.” As Quincy had no real role models in his life, besides his father, he needed to seek out role models to teach him about how to succeed in the music industry. His discovery of the piano and the work ethic his father instilled in him led Quincy to seek out his heroes for lessons. Quincy approached Clark Terry, a trumpeter, at Palomar Theater and asked to take lessons from him. He agreed, but the lessons had to occur at 5 or 6 AM, due to scheduling conflicts. Quincy’s dedication to take music lessons at five and six in the morning is anomalous for a child his age, and combined with learning from the very best in the industry, Quincy was on his way to becoming a superstar before he hit puberty. Terry said he agreed to teach Quincy because “music is all about giving back, tradition, life, love, and perpetuation of the craft. “Alan Bergman, a writer who collaborated with Quincy multiple times, noted that Quincy always creates an environment of love and he brings out the best in people this way. One could infer that he learned this characteristic from Clark Terry. His networking skills and ambition are customary traits of a business entrepreneur, but the degree of his talent in these areas are not; additionally, his open mindedness and capacity to take risk are atypical, as well. These traits stem from the problems of his childhood, especially his mother. Having a mentally ill mother must be very hard, and in order to get the sort of love one receives from a mother, you must be willing to open yourself up to other people. Quincy didn’t just open himself up to other people though; he opened himself up to new ideas, new genres of music, and new ways of thinking. For many people, self-improvement means reading a book in your spare time, taking a class, or going to the gym. For Quincy, “to wipe out darkness with light was my process of survival,” he says. Lacking money, food, and love led Quincy to want to be on his own. He heard about someone two years older than he who was already an independent musician, and he was blind. The blind guy “showed up at the Elks Club on Madison Street one night and tore the place up with his playing and singing.” Quincy went to see the guy play and loved him. Ray Charles was sixteen years old and Quincy was fourteen years old. Quincy says, “What I liked about him as much as his music was that he was on his own.” At the time, Quincy had no real role models in his life. His dad taught him some good values, but Quincy sought musician role models. At sixteen years old, Ray Charles was a man. The two teamed up to play club and wedding gigs, and remained close friends until Charles’ death in 2004. Ray, who didn’t even use a cane or dog to cross the street, taught Quincy to be as independent and fearless as he. Quincy learned the importance of helping others from the adversity he faced growing up. In 2004, Glocal Forum and Quincy Jones produced “We are the future.” It was broadcasted to 167 countries. He created the Quincy Jones Listen Up Foundation to break the cycle of poverty and violence by connecting children with education, technology, culture, and music. In Cambodia, Jones’ foundation launched the Q Prize, a leadership prize, honoring young visionaries. He became a major supporter of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s Operation Breadbasket, served on the board of Rev. Jesse Jackson’s PUSH organization and furthered appreciation of African-American music and culture by helping establish the Institute of Black American Music. Breaking down barriers is a habit for Jones. He sees no boundaries in music and in life. He broke down musical genre barriers when he released an album in 1989 called Back on the Block that brought together Ice-T, Melle Mel, Big Daddy Kane, and Kool Moe Dee with singer Tevin Campbell, gospel’s Andrae Crouch, jazz man Josef Zawinul and Jones’ own son, QD3. The album won seven Grammy Awards. In 2010, he brought together Akon, Ludacris, Usher, Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Talib Kweli, Three 6 Mafia, and Jermaine Dupri for his album Q: Soul Bossa Nostra. It’s a strange and diverse line up that only Quincy Jones could look at and see homogeny. He molds a diverse array of talent into masterpieces. Having experienced such strong adversity as a child, Quincy knows the secret to success in life is having a positive outlook and believing in yourself and in your work. Jones is a master at composition, arrangement, and production, and when you look at the trajectory of his life, it makes sense why he is so talented; he put in the time and the effort. Major Accomplishments He was only twenty-five. In 1963, Quincy produced “It’s My Party,” his first of many number one singles. Using the networking skills he developed as a child, he gathered the support of Henry Mancini and Benny Carter to break down the color barrier in the film scoring industry. In 1967, Jones scored the Sidney Pitier film “In the Heat of the Night,” which featured Ray Charles singing. This became a major milestone for Jones and also forged a long lasting professional and personal friendship with neighbors Marilyn and Alan Bergman, who wrote with him on the film. In 1993, he staged Bill Clinton’s 1993 inauguration concert. Afterward, he formed Quincy Jones/ David Salzman Entertainment with TV executive David Salzman. The two partnered with Time-Warner and launched ventures including hip-hop magazine Vibe and hit NBC-TV series “The Fresh Prince of Bel Air.” Quincy also set up Quincy Jones Music Publishing and Qwest Broadcasting. “He’s one of the few entertainment geniuses I’ve ever been exposed to,” Don Cornelius, “Soul Train” founder, said. “And it doesn’t in any way go to his head.” When Quincy Jones followed the yellow brick road and decided to work on the score for “The Wiz,” an urban readaptation of the Wizard of Oz, he met a young Michael Jackson for the first time. Michael wanted him to work on his new album, but he met opposition for the first time in his career. “Everyone at CBS didn’t want Quincy to do [Michael Jackson’s album] Off the Wall,” record industry veteran Clarence Avant recalls. “They thought he was too jazzy. But history was made.” This was the first time Quincy really stepped out of his jazz roots and proved to others that he can work in any type of genre; he just views and hears all genres as music. He finds solace in music because of his childhood adversity, and more specifically, his lack of maternal love. Relationship with Record Labels Despite CBS’ opposition regarding Quincy producing “Off The Wall,” Jones has had a healthy relationship with record labels. His networking skills that have allowed him to not just survive, but prosper, were used in creating relationships with Mercury Records and Warner Brothers. In 1960, he went in debt touring with the band he stole from the musical “Free and Easy” that he was musical director of. Irving Green helped Quincy and recruited him to do A&R for Mercury Records. The subsequent year he was promoted to VP – the first African American to be VP at a Caucasian-owned record company. In 1980, Jones created his own record label, Qwest, which was first distributed through Warner Brothers. The first release was George Benson’s album Give Me the Night. Another key Qwest release was Frank Sinatra’s album L.A. Is My Lady. Quincy Jones is recognized for his work with Frank Sinatra, but there were other arrangers also well known for their work with Sinatra, such as Nelson Riddle, Gordon Jenkins, Billy May, Sonny Burke and Don Costa. As Frank Sinatra was such a superstar, it must have been very competitive to be hired for an arrangement work for Sinatra, let alone sign him to a record label. Qwest was shut down in 2000, but Qwest is now distributed through Interscope Records. Competition & Followers Competition was very stiff for Quincy Jones in the film industry. John Wiliams, Jerry Goldsmith, and Lalo Schifrin were composing exceptional scores and their talents were in high demand. However, Quincy scored “In Cold Blood” in 1967 and “Banning” in 1968. He became the first African-American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song and the first African American to be nominated twice within the same year when he was nominated for Best Original Score for his music in In Cold Blood. In fact, he outworked many of competitors throughout his career. When Jones decided to produce “It’s My Party” for Lesley Gore, he almost missed their chance to make it a hit. After working late one night at Bell Sounds Studios, Jones went to Carnegie Hall for a Charles Azanavour concert and ran into Phil Spector who told him he was going to record one of the best songs he’d heard, “It’s My Party,” with the Crystals. After the concert, Quincy went back to the studio and finished the song in time to send it out the record Monday morning. QD3, Quincy Jone’s son, has been producing music and film for over twenty years now. He has over forty million albums sold to his name and has worked with artists such as Tupac, LL Cool J, Ice Cube, Snoop Dogg, and Dr. Dre. He is an entrepreneur, like his father, too. He launched QD3 entertainment in 1999, a multimedia company that focuses on documenting the culture of urban youth. Conclusion Without facing such adversity as a child, one can conclude that Quincy would not have been as motivated to accomplish so much in his lifetime and contribute so much back to society. His competitors such as Richard Perry, Giorgio Moroder, and Don Costa, didn’t accomplish achievements in the latter part of their life. It takes determination to be constantly creating and offering value to society. Quincy Jones’ first love is music and it shows in his work and in his accomplishments. Without the safety net of comfort and love from his mother, a trust fund, or a family member’s couch to sleep on, Quincy was forced to create his own life. Having lived through extreme poverty, Quincy realized that complacency creates failure. Throughout his career, he constantly worked harder than his competitors, like the time he got his first hit single “It’s My Party,” before Phil Spector. One could make the mistake that Quincy’s reason for success was his jazz training, but as mentioned before, it was his networking skills and ambition that got him the jazz lessons in the first place. His childhood adversity caused Quincy to become extremely ambitious, but it doesn’t mean that one has to go through traumatic experiences to become successful. Growing up in adverse circumstances caused Quincy to become self-sufficient and confident, and also realize that self-pity is a waste of time. His life is an example that anyone can be extremely successful, if one has the drive and puts in the necessary time. Malcolm Gladwell claims that it takes 10,000 hours to become a master of a certain skill in his book Outliers. While it’s impossible to calculate exactly how many hours Quincy has spent producing, arranging, and practicing instruments, it’s clear that he is a master. Read More