Episode 7. Quincy Jones

When I rate a song 10/10, I mean that the song is perfect for what it is (and even if I don't state it, it's implied for nearly all songs on the blog). What it means is that the artist is completely honest, the story is clear, the music effectively elicits some appropriate feeling, and there's a little bit of magic. The music in today's episode goes beyond 10/10. All the way to Q/10 - the attention to detail, the clarity and precision of everything. This episode more than any other so far needs to be heard at high volume to pick up all of the detail. Closing your eyes would help too.

Quincy Jones, who is rightfully appealing to President Obama to be the cultural ambassador of the US, is among the most prolific musicians, producers, arrangers and composers of the modern era. Everybody's heard his name, but I don't think everyone appreciates his musical genius. He has a record 79 Grammy nominations with 27 wins. They can't all be flukes. Here I'll touch on the surface of Quincy's magic and the art of record production.

1.Quincy Jones - "Soul Bossa Nova" (1962)


Quincy started out in the 1950s doing jazz and bossa nova tunes. You've probably heard this song sampled in one of the Austin Powers movies. It's groovy, baby. And it's very intricate, like modern day classical music. Note all the horns and flutes and percussion (all the little rattles, taps, bells, etc.) he uses to keep it interesting, like a masterful painter putting a little here and a little there. That thing that sounds like someone having violent hiccups is called a cuica and it's very popular in Brazilian music. The production value is so high that it's easy to imagine looking around a big room and seeing the different instruments - pretty good for 1962. One big difference between music and fine arts is time. You can scan a painting as fast or as slow as you want, but in music, the artists choose how long you pay attention, so they really have to get inside the observer's head and anticipate their feelings at every moment. It's very difficult to make music this complex in the first place, but to get it to sound simple enough for anyone to enjoy is genius.

2. Michael Jackson - "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (1979)


This Grammy-winning song was written by Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones for the album Off The Wall in 1979. You can hear aspects of the style of "Soul Bossa Nova," with the tasteful percussion that sounds like tapping on a glass and strategic use of horns and synthesized strings (which sound like a computerized violin) to boost the energy and add drama. All of those quick little strings runs do a perfect job of complementing MJ's voice, which is in a very similar range (you can almost imagine his voice like it's a really fancy violin in this song). It's like watching someone dance. Michael's voice does the really impressive parts, and once in a while, the horns or the strings come in for a little booty-shake or a sexy glance over the shoulder. Quincy is the mastermind choreographer. Note that the relatively long length of the song fits the title - surely no coincidence. Also just notice how distinct all of the sounds are.

3. George Benson - "Give Me The Night" (1980)


He could do it with Michael Jackson's voice, and he could do it with George Benson's guitar. George hooks you immediately with the quick guitar slides. His guitar is brilliant in this song, but it's pretty subtle and mostly low in the mix (low volume compared to the bass and drums) except during the solo, which he scats on simultaneously, around 2:00. A more clear example of his jazz guitar mastery can be found in "Breezin'" (1976, not produced by QJ), where his guitar is higher in the mix throughout. In "Give Me The Night" Quincy helped him choose which guitar licks to use and when to repeat them, and he also added just the right amount of subtle detail, like he always does. Can you hear that Quincy Jones sound, with the horns, strings and backup vocals filling in the gaps just perfectly? Great producers are more than recording session managers - they're also artists and composers that add their own flavor and help artists reach their full potential. Quincy is one of the greatest.

4a. Quincy Jones - "Summer In The City" (1973)
4b. The Pharcyde - "Passin' Me By" (1992)


How far was his reach? This far at least. He wasn't directly involved but this classic hip-hop track would not exist without him. Pharcyde take a few seconds of his song, add some vinyl crackling, and loop it to fill out their beat. They're one of more jazzy, intellectual hip-hop groups out there. This is just a preview - I'll come back to hip-hop and The Pharcyde later.