14 Quotes & Sayings By Quincy Jones

Quincy Delight Jones, Jr. is a talent manager, musician, and record producer. He has been credited as being one of the most influential record producers in the history of popular music. As a musician Jones developed a jazz-rock fusion sound which was inspired by African music Read more

Jones also established a successful career as a singer-songwriter and producer for a variety of genres including pop, soul and funk, and was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. As a manager, Jones is credited with discovering Michael Jackson and Tina Turner among many others, and also brought to prominence artists such as Peter Gabriel, Herbie Hancock, and Barbra Streisand. Jones was named one of Time Magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the 20th century In 2002 he received from President Bill Clinton the National Medal of Arts.

1
The only justification for looking down on anyone, is that you're going to stop and pick them up. Quincy Jones
2
I think the attraction of 'American Idol' is about the basic human nature attitude that is, 'We can put you up there. But we can take you down.' Quincy Jones
3
To me it's no accident that all the symphony orchestras around the world tune up to the note A. And A is 440 cycles, except in Germany where it's 444. But the universe is 450 cycles. So what I'm trying to say is, I think it's God's voice, melody especially. Counterpoint, retrograde inversion, harmony... that's the science and the craft. Quincy Jones
4
If architecture is frozen music then music must be liquid architecture. Quincy Jones
5
It's amazing how much trouble you can get in when you don't have anything else to do. Quincy Jones
6
I tell my kids and I tell proteges, always have humility when you create and grace when you succeed, because it's not about you. You are a terminal for a higher power. As soon as you accept that, you can do it forever. Quincy Jones
7
Young people should travel, and they don't. You can't know if you don't go. Quincy Jones
8
I travel like a maniac. I travel more than anyone I know. I love learning the languages. Quincy Jones
9
Music in movies is all about dissonance and consonance, tension and release. Quincy Jones
10
Imagine what a harmonious world it could be if every single person, both young and old shared a little of what he is good at doing. Quincy Jones
11
Bebop and hip-hop, in so many ways, they're connected. A lot of rappers remind me so much of bebop guys in terms of improvisation, beats and rhymes. My dream is to see hip-hop incorporated in education. You've got the youth of the world in the palm of your hand. Quincy Jones
12
I was raised in Chicago and I guess that was one of the special breeding grounds for gangsters of all colors. That was the Detroit of the gangster world. The car industry was thugs. Quincy Jones
13
Few rappers realize the genre sprang from West African griots through Delta slave songs to jazz poetry and the comedic trash talk of 'the dozens.' Quincy Jones