Brooklyn’s Lawrence “Larry” Watson, Professor Emeritus, Berklee College of Music, remembers the art and soul of Quincy Jones

By Janine Fondon
Growing up in the 1960s, Lawrence Watson listened to music that he believed could change lives—and Quincy Jones’ music was no exception. Jones’ beloved reputation crossed genres, generations, and cultures with artistry and soul that transcended every score and respected every note and beat.

At 91, Quincy Jones will long be remembered and celebrated for his collaborations with Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, 28 Grammy Awards, 40 albums, and even the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama. Quincy Jones produced the successful “Thriller” by Michael Jackson (1982), now considered one of the best-selling albums ever. He composed numerous film scores, including The Pawnbroker (1965), In the Heat of the Night (1967), In Cold Blood (1967), The Italian Job (1969), The Wiz (1978), and The Color Purple (1985). He also produced The Color Purple (1985 film) and The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air (TV series 1990–96).

Quincy Jones will be remembered for the musical depictions and once-in-a-lifetime moments that changed our lives – like his contributions to the mural song highlighted in the TV adaptation of Alex Haley’s “Roots” (1977). Through music, he helped viewers feel the plight of the Middle Passage and the auction blocks like no other had done before. Jones, along with Gerald Fried, received the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Composition for a Series for the miniseries Roots. He united diverse musicians and genres to address famine in Ethiopia, through music and philanthropy, producing the iconic 1985 song “We Are the World” by the USA for Africa.

Lawrence “Larry” Watson, Emeritus Professor at Berklee College of Music and founder of Save Ourselves Productions ( www.saveourselvesproductions.com), has taught at Berklee for 23 years and was also a Resident Artist at the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute of Race and Justice at Harvard Law School for 15 years. He agrees that Quincy Jones was one of the most influential musicians of the last 20 years.

At age 18, Quincy Jones received a scholarship to the Berklee College of Music in Boston and did not graduate as expected in 1951 due to an invitation to play with Lionel Hampton. Jones did receive an honorary doctorate in 1983 with a respected body of work.

Watson noted, “Quincy was true to his music and the people who made that music—that is who Quincy Jones was. He knew everyone and in doing so, he was our historian on Black legends and the significant role Black musicians and entertainers who were often overlooked by the media. There are not many, if any, musicians or producers alive who bridged the gap between the Civil Rights pioneers, the Ray Charles/Aretha Franklin icon generations, the Michael Jackson billionaires, and the Hip Hop generation.”

“I witnessed this first hand as I met Mr. Quincy Jones when he spoke at Harvard University,” added Watson. “I waited in the long line with everyone else, thinking about getting his attention. As he glided down the hall with all his followers, I yelled, ‘Mr Quincy Jones –What about Dorothy Donegan?’ He stopped in his tracks, turned around, and said, ‘Who said that?’ I raised my hand. He exclaimed, ‘She was the greatest of all times! In the 1950s, Donegan, also from Chicago, was a musical maestro balancing jazz and classical music on piano as well as with her voice.’”

“Quincy Jones is one of Berklee’s most prestigious alums who has given generously to the college, music industry, and world community,” said Watson with a deep respect and pride. “He is the last of the Black musical giants who accurately chronicled the history and leaders of the blues, America’s classical music.”