Stars including Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder have paid tribute to Quincy Jones, who died this week aged 91.
Following a career as a producer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor as well as a film producer, in 1990 Jones produced the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which gave Smith his first ever acting role. Jones brokered the casting in an impromptu audition by Smith – then known purely as a rapper – to NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff at a party at Jones’s home, with a contract drawn up that night.
“Quincy Jones is the true definition of a mentor, a father and a friend,” Smith wrote on Instagram. “He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself. He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”
The sitcom was a huge success, running for 148 episodes across six seasons until 1996. It was a launchpad for Smith as a leading man in Hollywood, ahead of hit films such as Independence Day, Men in Black and Hitch.
Winfrey also acknowledged Jones’s hand in her career, after he recommended her for her first acting role in The Color Purple, which he co-produced and wrote the music for. “My life changed forever for the better after meeting him,” she wrote. “I had never experienced, nor have since, anyone whose heart was so filled with love. He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the Light. No shadows. He was love lived out loud in human form and he was the first person I ever loved unconditionally.”
In a long tribute speaking to Rolling Stone, Wonder said: “He’s touched every single genre. It brings tears to my heart to think about how and where he came from and to know that he was able to grow through all of it. When I look at life every day and I think about how ignorant and irresponsible that people who don’t get it can be, I’m motivated to continue to talk about life, sing about it, and write about it, because that’s what Quincy did. He connected with people who had those great talents, and he was able to bring out of them the best … Quincy should remembered as one of God’s greatest gifts to the world.”
Other stars adding their tributes to Jones include Paul McCartney, who worked with Jones on the Michael Jackson duet The Girl Is Mine, from Thriller. McCartney said Jones had “a twinkle in his eye and had a very positive, loving spirit which infected everyone who knew him … His long career stretches back to the early days when he was a trumpet player, then a band leader, then a producer of many great records. But it is as a friend I would like to remember him.”
The Weeknd simply described him as “The Reason”, with another post saying: “My fans know how important Quincy was to the fabric of my music … Let’s celebrate his life today.” Elton John wrote: “Nobody had a career as incredible as Quincy Jones. He played with the best and he produced the best. What a guy. Loved him.” Lenny Kravitz wrote: “What a life. What an expression of authenticity. What a teacher. I am humbled that I was given the gift of your openness and friendship.”
Earlier tributes came from the likes of Joe Biden, who called him a “musical genius who transformed the soul of America – one beat, one rhythm, and one rhyme at a time … Quincy Jones solidified Black culture as American culture”. Barack Obama also celebrated his life and work, additionally acknowledging how “Quincy paved the way for generations of Black executives to leave their mark on the entertainment business”.