Quincy Jones in 5 cult films: the one-man band of cinema

A brilliant musician, the man who notably produced and arranged Thriller by Michael Jackson, has died at the age of 91. In the cinema, he composed legendary scores. Selection.

Q is dead. Not the gadget handyman from James Bond, no, Mister Q. aka Quincy Jonesone of whose greatest achievements is to have shaped Michael Jackson into the king of pop at the dawn of the eighties. Producer and arranger of genius, we owe him the brilliant triptych Off the Wall, Thriller And Bad (to which we could add the humanitarian anthem We Are the World) , but also the languorous and unstoppable swing of Fly Me to the Moon by Frank Sinatra and a slew of albums in his own name: The Quintessence (1962), Big Bang Bossa Nova (1962) including the hit Soul Bossa Nova will be immortalized by the franchise Austin Powers, The Dude (1981) or even Back on the Block (1989) fusion of jazz and full-on hip hop.

Born in 1933 into a poor family in the suburbs of Chicago, a precocious genius, he extricated himself from poverty and a chaotic life through music. Starting out as a young trumpeter, he was a sideman for Lionel Hampton's orchestra before flourishing behind the consoles, making each of his productions silky and timeless jewels. Trained in France in the 1950s by Nadia Boulanger, a sort of Paula Strasberg of the musical world, Q notably worked for Eddie Barclay and therefore with Aznavour, Brel and Salvador… Back in the United States, he will definitely put his foot down and accumulate the awards (we are talking about 27 Grammys).

Will Smith pays tribute to Quincy Jones

What about cinema then? Jones had it in his blood as he explained to the Frenchman Stéphane Lerouge, publisher of the essential box set The Cinema of Quincy Jones at Universal in 2016. At twelve years old, he was roaming the small theaters of Seattle with an already well-honed critical sense: “ I was hooked to the point of being able in a few measures to recognize the musical identity of each studio: there was a “Twenty Century Fox sound” which was that of Alfred Newman, a “Paramount sound” associated with the writing of Victor Young… »

Among the multitude of film scores he composed, we have chosen five. 100% subjective selection which intends to reflect an exemplary journey on celluloid.

The pawnbrokerby Sidney Lumet (1965)

As an African American, film music seemed inaccessible territory for Quincy Jones. The conservative and ultra-regent universe of Hollywood imagined nothing other than a classic heritage perpetuated by Hermann, Steiner, Korngold… For his film The pawnbroker oppressive drama around the owner of a Harlem shop haunted by the death camps, Sidney Lumet dazzled by the album The Quintessence asks Quincy Jones to add music to the images of his film. And the jazz of penetrating the double-closed universe of the “pawnbroker” embodied by the massive Rod Steiger. In addition to the theme carried by the suave voice of Marc Allen at the opening and Sarah Vaughan at the close, the four minutes of quasi-solo piano The Naked Truth is anthological. Jones and Lumet will meet again several times, notably for the musical The Wiz (1978) on which Quincy Jones will meet a certain Michael Jackson.

In the heat of the nightby Norman Jewison (1967)

Quincy JonesRay Charles and Sidney Poitier have known each other since the 1950s, sharing dreams that were apparently too big for them in a segregationist America. Here they are brought together in this five Oscar-winning film which denounces racism. The action takes place in the Deep South and sees a black cop (Poitier) leading a criminal investigation among a hostile population. Ray Charles immediately immortalizes the film with his deep voice on the title song In the Heat of the Night composed by Jones. The rest of the score with the seemingly irrelevant use of a cimbalom, a 14th century instrument from the confines of Europe and its complex orchestrations, oozes unease everywhere. “ The metallic tone of the cimbalum catches your earexplains Jones to Lerouge, hits you emotionally and conveys the idea of ​​uprooting. Unconsciously the instrument makes you understand that Sidney Poitier is far from home, that he is evolving in an environment that is not his own. » And to conclude: “ So here are the three ingredients of this score: tension, humidity, the grease of the South. »

In cold bloodby Richard Brooks (1967)

The story goes that Truman Capote, the author of this investigative story surrounding the murder of a Kansas family by two losers at the end of the fifties, tried to dissuade Richard Brooks from entrusting the soundtrack to a black musician. “ Why a Negro composer on a story without any characters of color? » Capote would have bluntly told him. Listening to the score, the writer would have come groveling at Jones' feet to apologize. And in fact, the music which borrows as much from jazz as from twelve-tone music is incredibly rich. It brilliantly captures the disturbed psyche of the two heroes. It was the favorite score of Quincy Jones. Jones will reunite with Brooks For Dollars (1971) The Eruptive Title Money Is sung by Little Richard who opens hostilities is absolutely crazy.

Ambushby Sam Peckinpah (1972)

After a test screening, Steve McQueen was not satisfied with the music written by Sam Peckinpah faithful Jerry Fielding. The actor therefore engages Quincy Jones. The musician, who is moderately motivated by exercise, carries out the order with the help of legendary harmonica player Toots Thielemans. In addition to its syrupy love theme, the rest of the very jazzy score is supposed to support the energy of this heist film. The tempestuous Sam Peckinpah, upset at having been dispossessed of the music for his film, took out a full page in Variety to thank his friend Jerry Fielding. In the end, Quincy Jones will never have met the filmmaker he worked for. Mixed memories then.

The Color Purpleby Steven Spielberg (1985)

With this great historical drama adapted from Alice Walker's Pulitzer Prize, Quincy Jones becomes a film producer. It is he who approaches the director ofAND. to direct the poignant story of Celie Harris and who convinces him that he is legitimate to film this story about racism in the southern states. For the first time, Spielberg is unfaithful to John Williams. Quincy Jones composed the film's music himself, combining elements of jazz, blues and gospel, including the song “Miss Celie's Blues” and thus garnered three Oscar nominations.