[.ca] Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones (ISBN 0767905105)

From Amazon.com:
He reached an apogee of fame in the mid-1980s as the producer-arranger of Michael Jackson's blockbuster album Thriller and the charity single "We Are the World," but Quincy Jones has been a force in American music since he was a teenager. He swung hard enough to play with beboppers like Dizzy Gillespie; he studied composition with the legendary Nadia Boulanger; he scored dozens of films and TV shows; he arranged and/or produced albums for everyone from Frank Sinatra to Leslie Gore, and rappers like Melle Mel don't disdain the old man either. Looking back at age 68 in a good-natured autobiography supplemented with brief chapters by such friends as Ray Charles and ex-wife Peggy Lipton, Jones asserts, "I've been driven all my life by a spirit of adventure and a criminal level of optimism." Given his beginnings, growing up poor in Chicago and Seattle with a mentally ill mother lurking in the background, that's quite an achievement. Jones never stood still long enough to let sorrow catch him, and though his treatment of his personal life is standard Hollywood glib ("Though Nastassja \oKinski\c's and my relationship as a couple was not destined to last, she is a great friend"), his prose catches fire when it touches on music: Dinah Washington "could take the melody in her hand, hold it like an egg, crack it open, fry it, let it sizzle, reconstruct it, put the egg back in the box and back in the refrigerator, and you would've still understood every single syllable." His furious energy may have been fueled by personal demons, but his joyous sweep through a half century of American pop convinces you that Jones was right to keep moving: "Nothing is ever wrong if it's going someplace," he asserts. "Music is about ever-changing." --Wendy Smith

Not just a Count Basie Jones:
I came of age in disco but cut my teeth on Count Basie and Duke Ellington and am blessed that not a week goes by that Basie does not "swing" me. Quincy was given a gift and he accepted that gift and touches every corner of the world with it. He touches the world through his music, his arrangements and his ability to love and hold on to others. He used that gift to light corners and to leave a legacy that will hold us in this world and in beyond. Q was able to put a little of his "gift" between two covers and to allow we readers to take a little sip. For that I am grateful.

Just a Dynamic Personality and Life, Great Book:
This is a good story and an entertaining read. Once you start this book you cannot put it down. Here is the story of a modern African American Horatio Alger/talented artist. As a kid he was so poor he had to eat - can I say it - fried rats. His mother was sent to a terrible mental hospital and his father moved to Washington State with the children and started a new family - with a second wife and her problems in dealing with himself and his brother. He then describes how he discovered his love of music and where that led. From there his career starts a slow but successful upward path, up through the clubs on to Europe, back to America where he reaches the top. All quite breathtaking. As is common with many successful people, he overcomes adversity and deals with his own inner demons. A fascinating tale. The book includes many references to fellow artists and a nice selection of photographs. Jack in Toronto

His voice is mesmerizing!:
I just bought the audiotape version of Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones. I am only one cassette 3 (out of 4), but I highly recommend it!!! First off, listening to Quincy is like listening to music itself . . . his voice has a melodious pitch and is just infectious! Also, the audiotape (like the text version) features input from family members and friends. Some are famous (like Ray Charles) and others are not (family friends, former wives, etc.). Anyways, hearing their perspective on the same events really adds a lot of flavor to the story . . . and what a story it is! I swear, listening to his life is like listening to a history of 20th century America. He talks about his own experiences with segregation and discrimination as well as broader themes like poverty, mental illness, romance, and spirituality. It's also fascinating to hear behind-the-scenes stories of his close interactions with such musical greats as Lionel Parker, Frank Sinatra, Count Basie, etc., etc. Overall, this is an autobiography that no one shoudl miss!!!

Fascinating book about a living legend:
Quincy D. Jones is one of America's greatest treasures. His decades long career is a virtual who's who of every genre of music imaginable. When I heard he was in the midst of writing this book, it virtually went without saying that this was one book I would make time for. I was not in any way, shape or form disappointed. From an extraordinarily painful childhood, the first rose from concrete grew. We know Tupac Shakur is the second. His vision is limitless. In order to know how many lives he's really touched, it would probably be easier to name the people he hasn't worked with. I've been a fan since the Body Heat album,(yes, I said album) my dad would play over and over again. From everything I've read, he has to be one of the nicest people in the business. There wasn't any unkindness to any of the people he's met and worked with. He has something special to say about everyone. I particulary enjoyed the chapters that other people wrote about his influence on their lives. He loves everybody! His children are all beautiful and he's an incredibly blessed man. A musical genius. The legacy he's given us musically is matchless. Often I felt like I was right there in the moment with him. That is how vivid the imagery is. I thought this was a fantastic book. I truly enjoyed it!

As masterful as Quincy Jones' arrangements: A classic:
The autobiography of Quincy Jones is like one of his arrangements: masterful, engaging on several levels, and state-of the-art. Jones' life story seems MADE for a highly dramatic, award-winning t.v. or big screen movie -- and I dearly hope it'll be made into one. Musician. Producer. Businessman. Composer. Arranger. Determination and incredible talent skyrocketing him over big obstacles. It's fitting that Jones' biggest passion is music because this outstanding autobiography truly SINGS. From the first pages, you're thrust into the drama -- and challenge -- of Jones' life. Born into a poor family, throughout most of his life (well into his adult years) Jones struggled with how to cope-with and at times how to distance himself from a mother who suffered from severe mental illness. Music became his savior and Jones embraced it like the stable motherly love which he sought and he lacked as a child. He embraced Mother Music, letting it's beauty embrace, comfort and sustain him. There are several things that sets this book apart from other show biz bios and makes it such sheer JOY for readers of ALL ages (old fogies like me who grew up with his music as well as young folks interested in music, interested in biographies or interested in show business and the arts in general): 1.PANORAMIC STYLE. There is so much in it that we can only list a little here, such as the poignant vignette of a young, arts-smitten Jones, just discovering his musical "chops" and bonding with a blind teenage musician named Ray Charles who basically mentored and inspired him; his later associations with greats such as Sammy Davis Jr, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and many many more. Jackson, he writes, "wanted to be the best of everything" so he "went to the top model in each (show biz) category to create an act and a persona that would be unequalled." But "somehow later on the line between the reality and the fantasy got blurred." In the end, Jones writes, Jackson became "a total sponge, a chamelon." Jackson practiced hours and hours to perfect every single move, gesture and facial expression. I am haunted by Jones' portrait of Sinatra. For all the tough-guy accounts elsewhere, Sinatra comes across as a noble and principled human being -- cooking Jones breakfast when he learned that Jones stayed up all night working; insisting that African-American musicians for his Vegas concert be allowed to play and get good rooms at a casino and telling his security to do significant bodily harm to any racists who harrassed them, even the slightest bit. 2)SECOND VOICES. Not all chapters are written by Jones. He also let others write their accounts about parts of his life, and not all of this material is complimentary. This adds a documentary feel and a sense of balance that most show business autobiographies lack. 3)USEFUL OBSERVATIONS. In his chapter on Michael Jackon's rise to the top of the music heap he notes that writes that he learned that "Nobody stays at the top. Nobody." Success, he writes, is "about preparation, then finding the right opportunity" -- and that he learned that "being chronically underestimated can be a gift." Jone's autobiography takes you through the 20th century's top musical and show business eras, and gifts you an incredible cast of famous well-etched cameos. The depth, ease, and detail of this panoramic journey is paralleled only by his private trek -- from poverty to aspiration to success, all amid personal family tragedies. In the end, we see a man (and artist) who constantly survived and triumphed due to his humanity -- and his unceasing personal growth.