Quincy Jones Albums (37)
'Quincy Jones + Harry Arnold + Big Band = Jazz!'
Release Date 10/16/2006
Tracks 19
Label Gambit
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'Original Jam Sessions 1969'
Release Date 6/22/2004
Tracks 11
Label Concord Jazz
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What The Critics Say
The groove is loose and deep on these studio sessions recorded as backing music for the original Bill Cosby Show sitcom in 1969. Despite the title, Bill Cosby appears on only one track here, the vocal version of "Hikky-Burr," where he improvised his entire part. Quincy Jones directed these sessions with bassist Ray Brown acting as bandleader on all but one cut (the Cosby selection). Other players came from a revolving cast that included Joe Sample on Fender Rhodes; pianists Les McCann, Clare Fischer, and Monty Alexander; drummers Paul Humphries and John Guerin; bassist Carol Kaye; guitarist Arthur Adams; vibists Milt Jackson and Victor Feldman; saxophonists Eddie Harris, Ernie Watts, and Tom Scott; and assorted others. Jimmy Smith makes a brief impromptu appearance playing an organ solo as well. These are, true to title, jam sessions; the feel is everything, and whether it's funky ("Groovy Gravy," "Oh Happy Day,") bluesy hard bop ("Toe Jam"), or down-and-dirty soul-jazz ("Hikky-Burr," "Jive Den"), the intention is the same: to grease up the proceedings for maximum groove quotient. These are not terribly adventurous sessions, and the transferred sound isn't perfect either, since these were rehearsals and never intended for release. But then, they are what they are, relaxed yet lively, full of delight and surprise. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
'Basie and Beyond'
Release Date 10/3/2000
Tracks 12
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
"Labor of love" is the inevitable phrase to describe this album on which composer/conductor/arrangers Quincy Jones and Sammy Nestico, both of whom wrote for Count Basie and His Orchestra, assemble a top-flight big band to perform some of their vintage charts. Despite the use of the bandleader's name in the title and the pictures of him with the two principals on the front and back of the album, the music is more "beyond" than "Basie." It is true that both Jones and Nestico are steeped in the Basie band's light, rhythmic approach to playing and their music is imbued with that style. But both are better understood as graduates of the Basie school than true adherents, people who have spent the better parts of their careers applying their knowledge of swing to other endeavors, notably film scores. As a result, you will hear music that is more "jazzy" than "jazz." Nevertheless, it is exhilarating to listen to a big band recorded with modern fidelity; the rhythm section especially stands out, and, of course, rhythm was everything in Basie's sound. The wealth of talent meant the album had to be recorded quickly, in a couple of days, but it also seems to have inspired the players to do their best. Basie & Beyond is almost a fantasy project, a major-label release of a high-quality jazz date with practically no chance of significant sales. In that sense, the other inevitable term to describe it is "throwback," but you can't help being glad Jones has the clout to indulge in this kind of thing now and then. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
A byproduct of the bossa nova fad that followed the success of "Desafinado" (and preceded the famous recording Getz/Gilberto), this set finds Quincy Jones utilizing and exploiting bossa nova rhythms in his arrangements for a big band. The personnel includes flügelhornist Clark Terry, altoist Phil Woods, pianist Lalo Schifrin, guitarist Jim Hall, and (on "Soul Bossa Nova") the remarkable Rahsaan Roland Kirk. However, since the selections are all quite brief, and some of the charts are a bit cheesy and inappropriate for the gentle rhythms, this disc (although pleasant enough) is of lesser interest. ~ Scott Yanow, All Music Guide
'Q Live in Paris Circa 1960'
Release Date 10/8/1996
Tracks 7
Label Qwest
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What The Critics Say
In late 1959, 26-year-old trumpeter/arranger Quincy Jones was engaged to conduct a jazz band for a musical called Free and Easy, the songs for which were written by Harold Arlen and Johnny Mercer. The unusual intention was to tour Europe before coming to Broadway, but the show never finished its engagement in Paris, closing down amid recriminations and stranding the cast and the orchestra. Though Arlen's biographer, Edward Jablonski, states that only Jones came out of the situation well, touring Europe successfully with the band, Jones remembers things differently, calling the experience one that brought him closer to contemplating suicide than any other. Eventually, Jones was forced to disband the group, but he first fulfilled the show's engagement at the Alhambra Theatre, and this album, originally issued as a bootleg disc, was recorded at the final performance. This is not the music from the abortive musical, but rather a set of Jones originals and jazz standards. The band, which features such notable figures as Clark Terry and Phil Woods, is accomplished, and the music is performed in the mold of the Ellington and Basie bands, albeit with the flair that Jones was even then showing as an arranger. This is not really the historic find Jones seems to think it is, but it isn't a vanity release either. It's a curio, with some fine blowing from a band that often seems directionless. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
The multi-talented Quincy Jones has excelled at idiomatic combinations in his albums since the '60s, when his mix-and-match soundtracks for television and films alerted everyone that he'd switched from a pure jazz mode to a populist trend. Q's Jook Joint blends the latest in hip-hop-flavored productions with sleek urban ballads, vintage standards, and derivative pieces; everything's superbly crafted, though few songs are as exciting in their performance or daring in their conception as past Jones epics like Gula Matari or the score from Roots. Still, you can't fault Jones for his choice of musical collaborators: everyone from newcomer Tamia to longtime stars like Ray Charles, rappers, instrumentalists, male and female vocalists, percussionists, and toasters. The CD really conveys the seamless quality one gets from attending a juke joint, though it lacks the dirt-floor grit or blues fervor of traditional Southern and chitlin circuit hangouts. But no one's more knowledgeable about the spectrum of African-American music, nor better able to communicate it via disc, than Quincy Jones. ~ Ron Wynn, All Music Guide
'Quincy Plays for Pussycats'
Release Date 10/18/1994
Tracks 12
Label Phono
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What The Critics Say
At the time, Body Heat was a breathtaking leap for Quincy Jones, right into the very heart of mainstream commercial soul -- and it turned out to be very lucrative, rising to number six on the pop album charts. Jazz per se has been left far behind but the same musical sensibility, the same brilliant production skills, and the same knack for what will appeal to a wider audience are still at work, and the result is a surprisingly pleasing album. Amazingly, Jones still draws a constellation of jazz stars into his studio bands (Herbie Hancock, Frank Rosolino, Hubert Laws, Jerome Richardson, Grady Tate, Bob James), plus soul names like Billy Preston, Bernard Purdie and the soon-to-be-ubiquitous guitarist Wah Wah Watson. The emphasis, though, is first on the honeyed soul vocals from a variety of newcomers, and second on the funky grooves laced with the buzz of now-prized analogue synthesizers and wah-wah guitars. There is one reminder of Jones' big-band days, a busy electronic retro-fitting of his classic chart of Benny Golson's "Along Came Betty," where one can hear Laws blow at some length. Otherwise, to paraphrase Jones himself, if you check your jazz boots at the door, you might enjoy this. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Having let eight years pass since his last A&M album, Quincy Jones made his debut on his own label with his most extravagant, most star-studded, most brilliantly sequenced pop album to date -- which could have only been assembled by the man who put together "We Are the World." Jones was one of the first establishment musicians to embrace rap, and one of the first to link rap with his jazz heritage; it's hard not to be moved by the likes of Miles Davis, Dizzy Gillespie, James Moody, Ella Fitzgerald, Joe Zawinul, Sarah Vaughan, and George Benson electronically appearing on "Birdland" and trading brief licks with the likes of Kool Moe Dee and Big Daddy Kane on "Jazz Corner of the World." Later, jazz buffs would vilify Jones for not taking fuller advantage of this one-time constellation of jazz stars, but at the time, it seemed like a marvelous dialogue between the old and the new. Of course, as he well knew, celebrating jazz history is not the surest route to a blockbuster hit record, so there are plenty of radio-friendly urban pop productions here, with Herbie Hancock and George Duke on keyboards, and Siedah Garrett and 12-year-old Tevin Campbell on vocals. Despite the presence of an enthused Ray Charles, Chaka Khan, and the Brothers Johnson, the overly busy techno remake of "I'll Be Good to You" doesn't cut the Johnsons' original -- nor does "Tomorrow." Ultimately the most popular track would be the most tedious for the jazz listener, "The Secret Garden," with a parade of smooth soul balladeers producing make-out music at length. Yet Back on the Block remains a strikingly durable piece of entertainment, and in hindsight, a poignant signpost of the changing of the guard. ~ Richard S. Ginell, All Music Guide
