Quincy Jones was perhaps best known for his work in pop and R&B music, but the composer, producer and arranger also left an indelible mark on film music with innovative and genre-defying scores.
Honoring his groundbreaking contributions to cinema and song at the 2025 Oscars were Oprah Winfrey, Whoopi Goldberg and Queen Latifah.
Of Jones, who died in November at the age of 91, Winfrey said: “One’s first thought is musical genius and for good reason.”
She cited Frank Sinatra, Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles as artists with whom Jones worked “and the driving force behind ‘We Are The World.’ … But the man, our beloved Q, had an equally important impact on film.”
“When we talk about Black excellence, we talk about Quincy,” added Goldberg from the Oscars stage.
Winfrey credited Jones for launching her own acting career. “He actually discovered me for The Color Purple which was my first film,” she said.
“Quincy was love — he lived out loud in human form and poured that love into others and to his work.”
Jones’ credit appears on a number of Oscar-winning films, starting in 1967 with his first nomination.
Among them: The Wiz, which Queen Latifah honored with a gold and glistening performance of “Ease on Down the Road.”
Other films with scores by Jones include In Cold Blood, The Getaway, The Italian Job and The Color Purple, for which he composed and produced the music.
The film, directed by Steven Spielberg, earned 11 Academy Award nominations, including best original score, highlighting Jones’ deep emotional storytelling through music.
Yahoo Entertainment