Quincy Jones, the 28-time Grammy Award-winning music producer, has died at the age of 91.
Jones was renowned for his visionary work as a producer, songwriter, composer and arranger for artists such as Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, and countless jazz greats, including Dizzy Gillespie, Miles Davis and Ella Fitzgerald.
According to his publicist, Arnold Robinson, Jones "passed away peacefully" on Sunday night at his home in Bel Air.
His family issued a statement that reads, "Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing. And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
With his 75-year career, Jones was hailed as “one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th century” by Time magazine. But he reached a new level of fame when he began working with former Jackson 5 singer Michael Jackson on his fifth studio album, 1979’s Off the Wall.
Three years later, Jones and Jackson went on to record the best-selling album of all-time, Thriller, which earned the pair a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including Album of the Year.
They would continue to work together on Jackson’s next album, 1987’s Bad.
In 1985, he also served as producer and composer for “We Are The World,” featuring an all-star cast that included Jackson, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner, Bob Dylan, Cyndi Lauper and more. The song would go on to raise more than $80 million for humanitarian aid in Africa.
Jones also composed the original scores for more than 50 films and TV shows, including Roots, The Italian Job, The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, The Color Purple, In the Heat of the Night, and The Wiz.
Jones is survived by his seven children, including music producer Quincy Jones III and actress Rashida Jones.