BBC Four Presents: Quincy Jones - The Many Lives Of Q
Charting the life and career of the man from his Chicago beginnings and going on to cover everything from his well known composition of Thriller, Michael Jackson’s best selling album of all time, to lesser know details such as his production of the score for many great films, including The Italian Job.
Quincy also talks openly about the mistakes he made in his failed marriages as well as the brain aneurysm which not only threatened to halt his career, but his life.
The documentary charts Quincy's recovery from a brain anyeurism and looks at how he went on to produce the biggest selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller. He also produced and conducted 1985's We Are the World - the American music industry's response to the Ethiopian famine - which is still the biggest selling single of all time. That same year he ventured into new territory, turning Hollywood producer for The Color Purple.
Quincy returned to music with the iconic 1989 album Back on the Block, cross-fertilising the talents of 66 artists including Ray Charles, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis, Herbie Hancock, Patti Austin and six young rappers. The programme also looks at the launch of his television company, his conducting of Phil Collins's Big Band, his remixing of the iconic British dance hit Blue Monday, his humanitarian work in Africa and his mentoring younger musicians.
Contributors include Quincy himself, Lionel Richie, Phil Collins, Bob Geldof, Bernard Sumner, Patti Austin, the major players on Thriller - Rod Temperton (British songwriter), Bruce Swedien (recording engineer), Steve Lukather (guitarist) and daughter Kidada. There's also footage of 1980s Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald, Miles Davis and ex-partner actress Nastassja Kinski.
PART ONE
From the Jazz Age to Hollywood - 1933-1974
PART TWO
From the King of Pop to Hip Hop: 1975-2008
