My brother Howard just alerted me to the death of Quincy Jones, age 91. He was a giant in the music business as a producer, arranger, and composer. He was the producer of what was then (is it still?) the best-selling album ever, Michael Jackson's Thriller. My favorite Michael Jackson song was from the album he and Jones did before, Off the Wall.
This song has my favorite moment in an arrangement in any pop song. In the refrain he sings "I'm gonna rock with you." The word "rock" happens on the downbeat, on beat one. On beat four of each measure during the refrain you hear hand claps. I am INCAPABLE of hearing that song without clapping my hands on beat four during the refrain. I'm not sure it was Quincy Jones's idea but as the producer, he gets the credit. Thank you, Quincy.
My friend Nicola and I went to a concert by the New York Pops at Carnegie Hall a few years ago. The guest artists were James Monroe Iglehart and Capathia Jenkins. Miss Jenkins sang "Rock With You." I saw this coming up on the program and said to Nicola, during intermission, how much that hand clap moment thrills me and how badly I needed them to do it in the concert. I was on pins and needles at the start of the song. The refrain started and all of the guys in the horn section (who had nothing to play in that number) not only clapped their hands on four but did it with their arms above their heads, to make a point of it. I was convulsed in sobs. I had the same reaction to a killer tap number when the two of us saw Shuffle Along on Broadway. Nicola looked at me with a mixture of curiosity and alarm. The expression on her face clearly said, "Girlfriend, pull it together. This isn't Steel Magnolias. It's a tap number."
OK back to Quincy Jones. My favorite composition of his is "Soul Bossa Nova." I discovered it through Austin Powers and fell in love with it. Some enterprising YouTuber took "Soul Bossa Nova" and put it to a couple of Bob Fosse dances in the movie Sweet Charity. It works really well. And jeez, that girl knows how to swing her wig.
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