Quincy Jones

Thriller

Michael Jackson · 1982

Baby Be Mine

Michael Jackson · 1982

When Quincy JonesQuincy Jonesクインシー・ジョーンズ offered to produce Michael JacksonMichael Jacksonマイケル・ジャクソン, Epic Records rejected him — 'Quincy's too jazzy.' That was exactly Jones's intent. In a 2018 interview he said: ''Baby Be Mine' is pure Coltrane — it's got pop lyrics and a beat, but the essence is Coltrane. Getting the young kids to hear bebop is what I'm talking about.' A man who studied under Nadia Boulanger in Paris, played trumpet in Dizzy Gillespie's big band, and arranged for Sinatra-Basie smuggled bebop into the best-selling album of all time.

— Quincy Jones talks Coltrane and Kendrick — Vulture / WhoSampled

Bad

Michael Jackson · 1987

Bad

Michael Jackson · 1987

Jazz organ titan Jimmy Smith was invited by Quincy JonesQuincy Jonesクインシー・ジョーンズ to play Hammond B3 on Michael JacksonMichael Jacksonマイケル・ジャクソン's 'Bad.' Smith recorded a 20-minute organ solo in the studio, which was then edited down to just over one minute and 'electronically altered through 10 other keyboards and synthesizers.' The greatest jazz organist in history, distilled into a pop-funk track.

— Jimmy Smith organ solo on Bad — AllSolos

Thriller

Michael Jackson · 1982

Thriller

Michael Jackson · 1982

Rock with You

Michael Jackson · 1979

Rod TempertonRod Tempertonロッド・テンパートン — who wrote 'Thriller,' 'Rock with You,' and 'Off the Wall' — was a former fish filleter from Cleethorpes, England, and keyboardist of funk band Heatwave. When Quincy JonesQuincy Jonesクインシー・ジョーンズ called him, he hung up thinking it was a prank. 'Thriller' was originally titled 'Starlight,' but Jones said it wasn't strong enough for an album title. Temperton wrote 200–300 alternatives in his hotel room before landing on 'Thriller.' He composed Vincent Price's spoken-word script in a taxi on the way to the studio — Price recorded it in two takes.

— How Heatwave's Rod Temperton ended up writing songs for Michael Jackson — MusicRadar

Off the Wall

Michael Jackson · 1979

Thriller

Michael Jackson · 1982

Bad

Michael Jackson · 1987

The brass sound threading through Michael JacksonMichael Jacksonマイケル・ジャクソン's three albums was created by members of Seawind, a jazz-fusion band from Hawaii. Trumpeter Jerry HeyJerry Heyジェリー・ヘイ was discovered by Quincy JonesQuincy Jonesクインシー・ジョーンズ at The Baked Potato, an LA jazz club, and became Jones's 'first call' horn arranger. Hey, Larry Williams (sax), Kim Hutchcroft (sax), Bill Reichenbach (trombone), and Gary Grant (trumpet) played the horn section on Off the Wall, Thriller, and Bad — defining MJ's sonic signature.

— Jerry Hey — Hip-Bone Music

The Dude

Quincy Jones · 1981

Thriller

Michael Jackson · 1982

Quincy JonesQuincy Jonesクインシー・ジョーンズ's jazz album The Dude (1981) and Michael JacksonMichael Jacksonマイケル・ジャクソン's Thriller (1982) were recorded just a year apart with nearly the same rhythm section — Greg PhillinganesGreg Phillinganesグレッグ・フィリンゲインズ (keys), JR Robinson (drums), Louis JohnsonLouis Johnsonルイス・ジョンソン (bass), Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da Costaパウリーニョ・ダ・コスタ (percussion), Steve LukatherSteve Lukatherスティーヴ・ルカサー (guitar), Rod TempertonRod Tempertonロッド・テンパートン (songwriter). The Dude was essentially the jazz-side rehearsal for Thriller.

— The Dude — Sessiondays.com

Off the Wall

Michael Jackson · 1979

Give Me the Night

George Benson · 1980

Jazz guitarist George BensonGeorge Bensonジョージ・ベンソン heard Michael JacksonMichael Jacksonマイケル・ジャクソン's Off the Wall (1979) and decided to join Quincy JonesQuincy Jonesクインシー・ジョーンズ's Qwest Records. Jones assembled the same team — Rod TempertonRod Tempertonロッド・テンパートン (songwriter), Paulinho Da CostaPaulinho Da Costaパウリーニョ・ダ・コスタ (percussion), Jerry Hey (horn arrangements) — to produce Benson's 'Give Me the Night' (1980), which hit #1 on both the jazz and soul charts. The same crew that made MJ's pop worked just as well for a jazz guitarist.

— Time Capsule: George Benson's Give Me the Night — Paste Magazine