Quincy Jones

The protean musician and impresario Quincy Jones has been dubbed "a master inventor of musical hybrids," shuffling pop, soul, hip-hop, jazz, classical, African and Brazilian music into unique and extraordinary musical syntheses. He began his career as a young trumpeter with the Lionel Hampton and Dizzy Gillespie bands, at the end of the swing era, and has continued to create and thrive in the era of digital technology in music, film and television worlds. He has won international recognition as a stage performer, composer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, actor, record producer, motion picture and television producer, record company executive, magazine publisher and social activist. Today he stands alone as the most nominated artist in the history of the Grammy Awards, with 76 nominations, and 26 awards. Quincy Jones has also received an Emmy Award, seven Oscar nominations, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award. He has composed over 50 major motion picture and television scores, produced of the historic "We Are The World" recording (the best-selling single of all time) as well as the best-selling album in the history of the recording industry, Michael Jackson's Thriller. After over 50 years in show business, Quincy Jones has reached the essence of many different artists, and in doing so he has reached the essence of art itself; the ability to touch people's feelings and emotions. In this podcast, recorded at the 2000 International Achievement Summit in London, England, he recalls his early struggles, growing up without a mother, his discovery of music, and how filled the void in his life with positives. He traces his own journey through the worlds of music and motion pictures, and his subsequent activities as an international philanthropist.