Mark Rosen remembers Quincy Jones in touching tribute

Mark Ronson is honoring legendary producer Quincy Jones.

In a moving article shared with The Guardian on Thursday (December 26), Ronson reflected on his personal experience working with Jones – who died in November aged 91 – and the The musical icon had a profound impact on his life and career.

“Losing Quincy was like a black hole swallowing up part of the musical universe,” Rosen wrote. “But his work will live on forever, and so will his lessons. Keep striving for deeper knowledge. Always make room for something bigger than yourself. Because sometimes, when we get out of trouble, miracles will happen.

Ronson opened his tribute with a passage from Jones’s 2001 autobiography: askin which the legendary musician describes giving up a successful career to travel to Paris to study music theory and composition.

“Imagine reaching the pinnacle of success, especially as a young black musician in segregated America in the 1950s, and I’m grateful, but for chords and harmony, I’m starting over,” Long said Sen wrote. “I fancied I had such courage.”

“But that’s the danger of using Quincy as a yardstick,” he continued. “He was an impossible standard. For a producer and arranger like me, he not only raised the bar, he raised the bar. He hid it where no one could reach it.

Ronson also reflected on the years he spent with Jones, especially when he was engaged to the legendary producer’s daughter Rashida Jones in the early 2000s. The two producers also collaborated on the song “Keep Reachin'” starring Chaka Khan for the 2018 Netflix documentary quincydirected by Rashida Jones.

“He would send me kind texts over the years – he was particularly fond of Amy [Winehouse] —We hung out a lot whenever I played at the Montreux Jazz Festival, which was his favorite place,” Rosen wrote. “Seeing him stage right, sitting in the director’s chair—looking every bit the debonair godfather of music and smiling at you—triggered a wild emotion.”

He added: “It’s so scary to have the greatest producer and arranger of all time, watching your every move. But he just shows generosity. All he wants is for you to win and shine. He’s already Having achieved the unimaginable, he now exists as a rare and beautiful being—a benevolent cheerleader for the wonders of music itself.

Jones died on November 3 at his home in Los Angeles. A 28-time Grammy Award winner, Jones is revered for his groundbreaking work as a producer and arranger on iconic albums such as Michael Jackson’s. off the wall (1979), thriller (1982) and bad (1987).

Jones was also the guiding force behind the 1985 recording of the all-star charity single “We Are the World,” which hit No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and featured a stellar line-up that included Jackson and Cyndi. Dylan, Ray Charles, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen, Tina Turner and Kenny Rogers.