Maestro with a magic touch

Quincy Jones' CV reads like a list of the 20th century's most influential musicians, with very few missing Louis Armstrong to Donna Summer, Frank Sinatra to Snoop Dogg, Miles Davis to Michael Jackson - all benefited from the maestro's magic touch.

- CHRISTOPHER BUCKTIN

The producer, songwriter and musician, who has died aged 91, leaves a body of work like no other.

In particular, collaborations with Jackson on Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad changed the landscape of music and turned Jacko into the King of Pop.

Quincy became one of the first Black executives to achieve major success in Hollywood, amassing a musical legacy that has influenced generations.

His genius was not even confined to this planet, with Buzz Aldrin playing Frank Sinatra's Fly Me to the Moon arranged by Quincy-on Apollo 11.

Later on, he remembered his own tough childhood and used his fame to lift others working to fight HIV/Aids and helping underserved youth through his Listen Up! Foundation.

Quincy remained outspoken and had a way with words which almost matched his musical genius.

Aware of his legacy, he once said: "I'm probably the only one in the world that's worked with Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Ella, Duke, Miles, Dizzy, Ray Charles, Aretha, Michael Jackson.

"Sinatra. Paul Simon. Tony Bennett. I'm the only one."

He missed a few - names as famous and varied as Barbra Streisand, Whoopi Goldberg and Will Smith.

But with so many collaborations over a 70-year career, it must be hard keeping track of them all.

He was also an advocate of music's power to heal pain, which goes some way to explaining how it first got hold of him.

Quincy was born in Chicago on March 14, 1933, to Quincy Sr, a carpenter who worked for local gangsters, and Sarah Wells, a musically talented Boston University graduate.

At one point in the late 1930s, he and his brother Lloyd were separated from their mum, who had developed a schizophrenic disorder. They were taken by their father to Louisville, Kentucky, where they were put in the care of their grandma, a former enslaved worker.