Quincy Jones had such an impact on the culture that it’s impossible to summarize. His discography is amazing. I feel so lucky to have met him in 2012 when I was much earlier in my career, and he didn’t have any reason to give me time, but he treated everyone as if they were important. We talked a lot about his Count Basie and Frank Sinatra days. If you’re unfamiliar with him, the Quincy documentary on Netflix is a good start. His musical fingerprints are everywhere, including the super-catchy theme songs for Sanford and Sons and Austin Powers.

He passed away last week, on November 3^rd. As a tribute, here are ten albums he was involved in from the jazz side that have been big parts of my life. I’ll link to Spotify, but find them wherever you can:

1. Sinatra at the Sands, Quincy arranges and directs the Count Basie band. This live album is great to listen to, you also get Frank doing stand-up comedy.
2. It Might As Well Be Swing, Frank Sinatra.
3. Julian “Cannonball” Adderley.
4. Sonny Stitt Plays Arrangements from the Pen of Quincy Jones.
5. Ella and Basie.
6. The Genius of Ray Charles.
7. For Those in Love, Dinah Washington.
8. Dizzy and Strings, Dizzy Gillespie.
9. Quincy Here We Come, Benny Bailey. (The track Meet Benny Bailey has an excellent tribute on Manhattan Transfer’s Vocalese.)
10. Social Call, Betty Carter.

I put all ten into one Spotify playlist if you want to check them all out.