Q

There will be mountains of words written in tribute to the late, great Quincy Jones, who passed away yesterday (November 3rd), so far be it for me to add any more unnecessarily.

All I will say is that the man's legacy, spanning over half a century, has a way of creeping up on you when you're not looking. It might be hearing a film score you didn’t realise was his, like Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice (1969) or The Pawnbroker (1964), or finding yourself snapping your fingers to his early work as an arranger for Count Basie and Frank Sinatra on their classic albums on Reprise Records, where he forged a lifelong friendship with Ol' Blue Eyes, whom he regarded as a brother.

Of course, his career reached its commercial apex through his creative partnership with Michael Jackson, producing iconic pop albums such as Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987); but for me, it's his sheer range across so many eclectic genres that astounds—Quincy was truly a link between the first and second halves of the 20th century, bridging classical, jazz, blues, bossa nova, soul, and disco.

And perhaps most importantly, he and I share the same birthday.