Quincy Jones' legendary music career began in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood
Following the death of legendary music producer Quincy Jones, the native of the South Side of Chicago is being remembered for his impact on the city.
With an astonishing career that spanned seven decades, Jones was a force who reshaped the music industry. He was a titan who wore many hats as a bandleader, arranger, composer, producer, and winner of 27 Grammy awards.
Jones' peers and loved ones paid tribute to him after his death over the weekend at age 91. To those who knew him, they remember his ability to connect people in the industry.
"If he thought you had an advantage this way, or this could help you, or he could tweak you and could connect a, b, and c, he would do it," said Hermene Hartman, a friend of Jones.
Hartman is the founder of N'Digo and a media pioneer herself. She considered Jones a mentor.
"He was joy," she said. "he was love. He was creativity."
He was also always spreading the wealth. Just last year, he teamed up with fellow Chicagoans Jennifer Hudson and Chance the Rapper to reopen the Ramova Theater in Bridgeport to bring a world-class entertainment venue to residents on the South Side.
Jones' larger-than-life accomplishments included producing Michael Jackson's "Thriller," one of the biggest albums of all time, and the 1985 fundraiser "We Are the World." Still, he was a humble legend who never took anything for granted.
His journey began in Chicago's Bronzeville neighborhood, where he was first exposed to music. It was a neighbor there along Prairie Avenue who had a piano that a young Jones would play constantly.
That's when he wasn't getting into trouble.
In a documentary, Jones described how growing up during the Great Depression in the 1930s, he "wanted to be a gangsta until I was 11."
"Chicago is the home to gospel and blues and jazz, so his ear was planted in Chicago," Hartford said.
With his ear to the ground, discovering talent and producing classics, Jones' legacy grew and he's remembered as one of the greatest who ever did it.
