A 'beautiful soul': tributes pour in for Quincy Jones after his death aged 91

Quincy Jones, the titan of US entertainment who worked with stars from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson and Will Smith, has died aged 91.

- Ben Beaumont-Thomas

Jones's publicist, Arnold Robinson, said he died on Sunday night at his home in Bel Air, Los Angeles.

"Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones's passing," the family said in a statement. "Although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him."

Jones was arguably the most versatile pop cultural figure of the 20th century. He is perhaps best known for producing the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad for Michael Jackson in the 1970s and 80s, which made Jackson the biggest pop star of all time. Jones also produced music for Sinatra, Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer and many others.

Among the tributes to Jones was one from the actor Michael Caine, who was born on the same day as Jones: 14 March 1933. "My celestial twin Quincy was a titan in the musical world," Caine wrote. "He was a wonderful and unique human being, lucky to have known him."

The playwright and actor Jeremy O Harris paid tribute to Jones's "limitless" contribution to US culture, writing: "What couldn't he do? Quincy Jones, literally born when the limits on how big a black boy could dream were unfathomably high, taught us that the limit does not exist."

Nile Rodgers described Jones as a "leader, teacher, spirit and pioneer".

Apart from pop music, Jones also composed dozens of film scores, and had numerous chart hits under his own name. He was a bandleader in big-band jazz, an arranger for jazz stars including Count Basie and a multi-instrumentalist, most proficiently on trumpet and piano.