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Title: Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones by Quincy Jones ISBN: 0-385-48896-3 Publisher: Doubleday Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.72 (18 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Not just a Count Basie Jones
Comment: I came of age in disco but cut my teeth on Count Basie and Duke Ellington and am blessed that not a week goes by that Basie does not "swing" me. Quincy was given a gift and he accepted that gift and touches every corner of the world with it. He touches the world through his music, his arrangements and his ability to love and hold on to others. He used that gift to light corners and to leave a legacy that will hold us in this world and in beyond. Q was able to put a little of his "gift" between two covers and to allow we readers to take a little sip. For that I am grateful.
Rating: 5
Summary: As masterful as Quincy Jones' arrangements: A classic
Comment: The autobiography of Quincy Jones is like one of his arrangements: masterful, engaging on several levels, and state-of the-art.
Jones' life story seems MADE for a highly dramatic, award-winning t.v. or big screen movie -- and I dearly hope it'll be made into one. Musician. Producer. Businessman. Composer. Arranger. Determination and incredible talent skyrocketing him over big obstacles. It's fitting that Jones' biggest passion is music because this outstanding autobiography truly SINGS.
From the first pages, you're thrust into the drama -- and challenge -- of Jones' life. Born into a poor family, throughout most of his life (well into his adult years) Jones struggled with how to cope-with and at times how to distance himself from a mother who suffered from severe mental illness. Music became his savior and Jones embraced it like the stable motherly love which he sought and he lacked as a child. He embraced Mother Music, letting it's beauty embrace, comfort and sustain him.
There are several things that sets this book apart from other show biz bios and makes it such sheer JOY for readers of ALL ages (old fogies like me who grew up with his music as well as young folks interested in music, interested in biographies or interested in show business and the arts in general):
1.PANORAMIC STYLE. There is so much in it that we can only list a little here, such as the poignant vignette of a young, arts-smitten Jones, just discovering his musical "chops" and bonding with a blind teenage musician named Ray Charles who basically mentored and inspired him; his later associations with greats such as Sammy Davis Jr, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson and many many more.
Jackson, he writes, "wanted to be the best of everything" so he "went to the top model in each (show biz) category to create an act and a persona that would be unequalled." But "somehow later on the line between the reality and the fantasy got blurred." In the end, Jones writes, Jackson became "a total sponge, a chamelon." Jackson practiced hours and hours to perfect every single move, gesture and facial expression.
I am haunted by Jones' portrait of Sinatra. For all the tough-guy accounts elsewhere, Sinatra comes across as a noble and principled human being -- cooking Jones breakfast when he learned that Jones stayed up all night working; insisting that African-American musicians for his Vegas concert be allowed to play and get good rooms at a casino and telling his security to do significant bodily harm to any racists who harrassed them, even the slightest bit.
2)SECOND VOICES. Not all chapters are written by Jones. He also let others write their accounts about parts of his life, and not all of this material is complimentary. This adds a documentary feel and a sense of balance that most show business autobiographies lack.
3)USEFUL OBSERVATIONS. In his chapter on Michael Jackon's rise to the top of the music heap he notes that writes that he learned that "Nobody stays at the top. Nobody." Success, he writes, is "about preparation, then finding the right
opportunity" -- and that he learned that "being chronically underestimated can be a gift."
Jone's autobiography takes you through the 20th century's top musical and show business eras, and gifts you an incredible cast of famous well-etched cameos. The depth, ease, and detail of this panoramic journey is paralleled only by his private trek -- from poverty to aspiration to success, all amid personal family tragedies. In the end, we see a man (and artist) who constantly survived and triumphed due to his humanity -- and his unceasing personal growth.
Rating: 5
Summary: Fascinating book about a living legend
Comment: Quincy D. Jones is one of America's greatest treasures. His decades long career is a virtual who's who of every genre of music imaginable. When I heard he was in the midst of writing this book, it virtually went without saying that this was one book I would make time for. I was not in any way, shape or form disappointed. From an extraordinarily painful childhood, the first rose from concrete grew. We know Tupac Shakur is the second. His vision is limitless. In order to know how many lives he's really touched, it would probably be easier to name the people he hasn't worked with. I've been a fan since the Body Heat album,(yes, I said album) my dad would play over and over again. From everything I've read, he has to be one of the nicest people in the business. There wasn't any unkindness to any of the people he's met and worked with. He has something special to say about everyone. I particulary enjoyed the chapters that other people wrote about his influence on their lives. He loves everybody! His children are all beautiful and he's an incredibly blessed man. A musical genius. The legacy he's given us musically is matchless. Often I felt like I was right there in the moment with him. That is how vivid the imagery is. I thought this was a fantastic book. I truly enjoyed it!
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Title:Q: The Musical Biography of Quincy Jones ASIN: B00005Q3AD Publisher: Rhino Records Pub. Date: 16 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $59.98 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $59.98 |
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Title: The Measure of a Man : A Spiritual Autobiography by Sidney Poitier ISBN: 0062516086 Publisher: Harper SanFrancisco Pub. Date: 24 April, 2001 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Vernon Can Read!: A Memoir by Vernon E., Jr. Jordan, Annette Gordon-Reed, Vernon E. Jordan Jr. ISBN: 046503697X Publisher: BasicCivitas Books Pub. Date: 17 December, 2002 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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Title: Life and Def : Sex, Drugs, Money, and God by Russell Simmons ISBN: 0609807153 Publisher: Three Rivers Press Pub. Date: 24 September, 2002 List Price(USD): $13.00 |
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Title:Listen Up!: The Lives of Quincy Jones ASIN: 6302066905 Publisher: Warner Studios Pub. Date: 30 January, 1996 List Price(USD): $14.99 Comparison N/A, buy it from Amazon for $14.99 |
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