Mark Ronson is remembering the late producer and legend, Quincy Jones. On Thursday, the eight-time Grammy winner shared a tribute for Jones through The Guardian, calling Jones a “benevolent cheerleader for the wonder of music.”
“Losing Quincy is like a black hole swallowing part of the musical universe,” Ronson wrote. “But his work will live forever, as will his lessons. Keep striving for that deeper knowledge. Always leave space for something bigger than yourself. Because sometimes, magic happens when we get out of the way.”
In his touching tribute, Ronson recalled reading Jones‘ autobiography, Q, and feeling connected to Jones’ story of walking away from his Ray Charles arrangement days to study music theory in Paris to focus on his craft.
“Imagine reaching the pinnacle of success, especially as a young Black musician in segregated 1950s America, and saying thanks, but I’m starting over for the sake of chords and harmony,” Ronson wrote. “I fantasize about having that kind of courage.”
“But that’s the peril of holding Quincy as a yardstick,” Ronson continued. “He’s an impossible standard. For producers and arrangers like me, he didn’t just raise the bar; he hid it where no one could reach.”
Ronson shared that he was “lucky enough” to spend time with Quincy while he was engaged to his daughter Rashida, whom he says he still “remains close to this day.”
“Over the years, he would send me kind notes – he had a particular fondness for Amy [Winehouse] – and we’d often hang out whenever I played the Montreux jazz festival, his beloved stomping ground,” Ronson wrote. “Seeing him there, stage right, seated in his director’s chair – looking every bit the debonair godfather of music, smiling back at you – elicited a wild mix of emotions.”
“The greatest producer and arranger of all time, watching your every move, was utterly terrifying. And yet he only radiated generosity. All he wanted was for you to win, to shine,” he added. “He had already achieved the unimaginable. Now he existed as something rare and beautiful – a benevolent cheerleader for the wonder of music itself.”
Jones died on Nov. 3 at his home in Los Angeles. Stars across disciplines, including Stevie Wonder, Colman Domingo, Nile Rodgers, The Weeknd, Victoria Monét, and Flea, shared sweet tributes to the late musician.
In an Instagram post shortly after his death, Jones’ daughter Rashida remembered the singer as a loving “icon.”
“My dad was nocturnal his whole adult life. He kept ‘jazz hours’ starting in high school and never looked back. When I was little, I would wake up in the middle of the night to search for him,” she wrote in early November. “Undoubtedly, he would be somewhere in the house, composing (old school, with a pen and sheet music). He would never send me back to bed. He would smile and bring me into his arms while he continued to work…there was no safer place in the world for me.”