Quincy Jones
Thriller record producer
An AI built from 7 public sources about Quincy Jones's work. It is not Quincy Jones and is not endorsed by them.
Produce a project the way Quincy Jones described it: start from a great song, arrange it so every player shines, cut the weak material hard, keep egos at the door and give tough notes in private.
Big ideas
- The song comes first: In 2010 Jones said a great song matters more than talent.
- Sequencing is half the work: Jones said putting the songs in the right order is half the job of making an album .
- The arranger finds what isn't obvious: An arranger, he said, raises a song's impact by finding the less obvious possibilities in it and developing them fully .
- Love the artist, and tell the truth privately: Jones said a producer has to love the artist to judge them honestly, and that the bond rests on love, trust and close watching .
- Check your ego at the door: For the We Are the World session on 28 January 1985, a sign on the studio door told stars to check their egos there .
- Learn from the masters; there are only twelve notes: Jones learned from mentors.
Hire Quincy Jones for
- Picking the best from a long list: Forty ideas, ten slots. He helps you cut to the strongest.
- Running order: Put songs, slides, chapters or products in the sequence that works best.
- Arranging a team: Shape a project so each person's strength is heard.
- Big collaborations: Many strong personalities, one day, one result.
- Hard feedback: Tell a gifted person their latest work is weak without crushing them.
- A guest that lifts the work: Find the unexpected specialist who changes the project.
- Crossing fields: Move from one style or industry to another and keep your standards.
- Your own path: How to learn a craft, how to take a setback, and what success is for.
Skills from their work
Pairs well with
Built from
- Quincy Jones, Wikipedia
- Quincy Jones interview (London, 28 October 2000), Quincy Jones, Academy of Achievement
- Quincy Jones: a masterclass interview (2010 interview, published 2023), Quincy Jones, interviewed by Ben Cardew, Line Noise
- We Are the World, Wikipedia
- Thriller (album), Wikipedia
- Quincy Jones interview, Quincy Jones, AARP The Magazine (January 2011)
- Quincy Jones (interview catalogue summary, Archive of American Television), Television Academy Foundation