Quincy Jones To Be Honored

[Steve Sidoruk]

Pop / Rock (2007-06-22)
Stars Turn Out To Perform At Starry Night Benefit Honoring Quincy Jones

WHO: Honoree: Quincy Jones, 27-time GRAMMY winner and the ambassador of The Recording Academy's 50th Celebration, will receive the GRAMMY Foundation's Leadership Award in recognition of a lifetime of commitment and dedication to social, cultural, economic and educational issues spanning the globe. Jones' work in the music industry has earned him a record 79 GRAMMY Award nominations, GRAMMY Awards, and the GRAMMY Legend Award in 1991. He has been a member of The Recording Academy for more than 40 years, and has written the foreword for The Academy's 50th Celebration coffee table book, which will be released in October. GRAMMY Foundation and Recording Academy President Neil Portnow will present the award to Jones at Starry Night, one of the first celebrations of The Recording Academy's 50th Anniversary milestone.

Performers: The star-studded event will feature performances by some of the most celebrated artists in the world and multi-GRAMMY Award-winning producer and GRAMMY Foundation Board member David Foster will serve as the evening's musical director. A varied and outstanding array of musical luminaries have committed to perform including multi-GRAMMY Award nominee Patti Austin, multi-GRAMMY-winning singer/songwriter Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds, Latin and multi-GRAMMY- winning artist Gloria Estefan, multi-GRAMMY nominee Anthony Hamilton, multi-GRAMMY- winning musician Herbie Hancock, multi-GRAMMY-winning vocalist James Ingram, R&B and multi-GRAMMY-winning songstress Patti LaBelle, multi-GRAMMY-winning soul man John Legend, multi-GRAMMY nominee Brian McKnight, multi-GRAMMY nominated legends James Moody and Clark Terry, newcomer Alice Smith, multi-GRAMMY-winning rap sensation Kanye West and multi-GRAMMY-winning artist Nancy Wilson. In addition, students from the 2007 GRAMMY Camp and members of the Gibson/Baldwin GRAMMY Jazz Ensembles will perform. Other special guests and performers will be announced.

Dinner Chairs and Honorary Chairs: A distinguished list of political and entertainment industry elite have agreed to lend their names in support of this event as Dinner and Honorary Chairs. Dinner Chairs include Herb Alpert, Clarence Avant, Marilyn and Alan Bergman, Clint Eastwood, Benny Medina, Jerry Moss and Mo Ostin; Honorary Chairs include Maya Angelou, Harry Belafonte, Tony Bennett, Bono, former President Bill Clinton, Robert De Niro, Jermaine Dupri, Gloria and Emilio Estefan, Whoopi Goldberg, Berry Gordy, Jimmy Jam, Rwandan President Paul Kagame, Sir Paul McCartney, Dick Parsons, General Colin Powell, Will Smith, Kanye West and will.i.am.

WHAT: The GRAMMY Foundation's annual signature gala Starry Night - presented by Gibson Foundation - will honor legendary composer, record producer, artist, film producer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, TV producer, record company executive, magazine founder, and multi-media entrepreneur Quincy Jones. This intimate dinner and concert will benefit the GRAMMY Foundation, which provides programs that foster future generations of music professionals and helps preserve our nation's musical heritage. Tickets range from sponsor tables at three levels with varying benefits - Celestial ($25,000), Constellation ($17,500), Polaris ($12,500) and Twlight ($7,500) - to individual tickets priced at $2,500, $1,750, $1,250 and $750. Other sponsors include Borders, Heineken, Patron, Rodnik Vodka, Tommy Bahama Rum, Classic Wines of California, Empire CLS, Icelandic Glacier and Madison & Mulholland.

WHERE: University of California Los Angeles
Straus Stadium
Los Angeles, Calif.

WHEN: Saturday, July 28, 2007

 

[jazzdre]

This absolutely GREAT!! I couldn't think of a person who deserves the recognition more than Q! He's just a genius; he's worked with everybody from Frank Sinatra to Barry White; from Lesley Gore to Michael Jackson(by the way; WHERE'S his name on the list?!!! I mean there was this little album called THRILLER which made him a household name, but didn't Q's production skills have something to do with making the album a success? Just a thought!)

Also, did you all know that Patti Austin is Quincy's goddaughter? Also, at the same, I am surprised that Colin Powell and Harry Belafonte will be at the same function together, let alone the same room! It's well known that Harry has been an outspoken critic of the Bush administration; particularly Powell's role in it, but if anybody can bring these two together ; particularly for this function, it's the great Q.

Also, it's great that Herb and Jerry honor one of their former artists(Q made Herb shine on 'Last Tango In Paris'); this shows me something about these two men: they believe in loyalty, and are loyal to artists who were on their label.Anyway, congrats again to the meritorious Quincy Jones!

 

[Mike Blakesley]

Michael Jackson(by the way; WHERE'S his name on the list?!!! I mean there was this little album called THRILLER which made him a household name, but didn't Q's production skills have something to do with making the album a success?

Absolutely, it was Q's production that put THRILLER over the top, but M. Jackson was household name long before that album.

My favorite Q album is THE DUDE, understandable since I'm more a pop-fan than a jazz-fan. I always wished he'd put another album out in that vein.

 

[Rudy]

IMHO, Q pushed Jackson from being a middling bubblegum-pop/funk performer into a superstar, through his work on "Off The Wall", "Thriller" and "Bad".