Quincy Jones made a lot of cool music. He also did a lot of schmaltzy stuff. I knew his name mostly from TV shows and the odd production credit, but never really paid much attention to him until his production credit for the "We Are the World" thing, a song that was written by Michael Jackson and lionel Ritche and performed by a bunch of eighties era music notables. I was not impressed. Then I heard Big Band Bossa Nova, his 1962 LP that really wasn't bossa nova all, or what you might think of as bossa nova. It was a kinda kooky take on the genre, the opening cut of which "Soul Bossa Nova" you might know from the first Austin Powers movie. The take away from that is that not all Quincy Jones shit was schmaltzy.
A few years later I heard "Hicky Burr" I recognized it straight away as a version of the theme from the first Bill Cosby show (pre-Cosby). It's a relatively funky theme, with Cosby uttering nonsensible non-words throughout. Okay, I thought, now we're getting somewhere. In the ensuing years, I've pegged my preference for Jones pre-1970s output. At any rate, I didn't rule him out, it was not all schmaltz.
He was really adept at soundtracks. The earlier stuff (that I've heard anyway) is kind of noir sounding, later stuff got funky, some cop TV show type stuff. The big lesson in all of this was that even though you don't like someone's current or later stuff, it's best not to dismiss their entire output. I mean, are you going to dismiss the Faces because Rod Stewart did "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"?
A few years later I heard "Hicky Burr" I recognized it straight away as a version of the theme from the first Bill Cosby show (pre-Cosby). It's a relatively funky theme, with Cosby uttering nonsensible non-words throughout. Okay, I thought, now we're getting somewhere. In the ensuing years, I've pegged my preference for Jones pre-1970s output. At any rate, I didn't rule him out, it was not all schmaltz.
He was really adept at soundtracks. The earlier stuff (that I've heard anyway) is kind of noir sounding, later stuff got funky, some cop TV show type stuff. The big lesson in all of this was that even though you don't like someone's current or later stuff, it's best not to dismiss their entire output. I mean, are you going to dismiss the Faces because Rod Stewart did "Do Ya Think I'm Sexy"?
~ NOTE: ALL MEDIA IS HOSTED BY THE BLOGS & SITES NAMED BELOW ~
Listen:Quincy Jones - Soul Bossa Nova (streaming) at YouTube
Quincy Jones - Hicky Burr mp3 at A Tumblr (?)
Quincy Jones - Hangin' Paper mp3 at Internet Archive
Quincy Jones - Boogie Stop Shuffle mp3 at Internet Archive
Quincy Jones - Blues In the Night mp3 at Sunrise Musics
Quincy Jones - Seduction mp3 at Internet Archive
Quincy Jones - I'll Have to Kill You mp3 at Internet Archive
Quincy Jones - No Witnesses mp3 at Internet Archive
Quincy Jones - In Cold Blood mp3 at Internet Archive
Quincy Jones - Ironside Theme (streaming) at YouTube
The initiation:
Quincy Jones - Big Band Bossa Nova (full LP) (streaming) at YouTube
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