Colman Domingo, Michael Caine and Victoria Monét were among the prominent Hollywood figures to pay tribute to Quincy Jones following news of his death early Monday morning.
Jones died Sunday night at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, surrounded by his family.
A giant of the music industry, Jones' phenomenal career has spanned more than 60 years. He produced Michael Jackson's best-selling albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad; directed the historic recording sessions for the 1985 charity single “We Are the World,” the best-selling single of all time; and produced Lesley Gore's 1963 hit “It's My Party.”
Jones received the Motion Picture Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award in 1995, an honorary Oscar in 2024, and the Grammy Legend Award in 1991 and earned 28 Grammy nominations among the top 80 of all time.
Oscar-winning actor Michael Caine, Jones' longtime friend and “celestial twin,” tweeted: “My celestial twin Quincy was a titan in the music world. He was a wonderful and unique human being, lucky to have known him.”
Grammy-winning singer-songwriter Victoria Monét tweeted: “💔💔💔💔💔 to one of my biggest inspirations! Quincy, I love you so much!!! Your legacy will live on forever and ever 😢 Heaven has definitely gotten an upgrade with you.
Actor Colman Domingo tweeted: “He asked, where are you from? Philly I replied, his eyes shining and he was talking about the Uptown Theatre. I was so excited to meet Mr. American Music himself. I literally got down on my knees because he was a king. Thank you Mr. Quincy Jones for providing us with all the sound.
English musician Billy Bragg tweeted: “Quincy Jones has produced so much amazing music during his long career, but I never knew he was responsible for the soundtrack to The Italian Job! Here is a great example of his ingenious production and arrangement. Goodbye, sir.
Playwright and actor Jeremy O. Harris tweeted: “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 doesn't exist. His contributions to American culture were limitless. First black man nominated for an Oscar for best soundtrack. First black person nominated later twice in the same year. The producer of arguably the greatest albums of the 20th century. An EGOT. Father to some incredibly talented children and godfather to musicians around the world. RIP QUINCY. This drives me crazy. I wish I could have told him how much reading about him meant to me when I was a teenager in Virginia. I heard stories from people like Makoto Ozone, a Japanese jazz musician when I was in Tokyo, about his mentorship. He was the model of how to experience art.”
Jazz critic and music historian Ted Goia tweeted: “RIP Quincy Jones, leaving us at age 91. No musician of his generation moved so easily and brilliantly between styles and environments, collaborating with everyone from Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson to Miles Davis. What an amazing career!”
South African singer-songwriter Lady Zamar tweeted: “Quincy Jones is one of the most prolific musicians of our time, a pioneer and a savant. he produced my favorite album of all time, the Thriller – such an amazing work… a man we can now celebrate in this sad time.”
Broadcaster Skip Bayless tweeted: “RIP Quincy Jones, genius of the stars.”
Dolemite is my name screenwriter Larry Karaszewski tweeted: “RIP Quincy Jones. The GOAT – So many great soundtracks, albums and songs. My son's middle name is Quincy – he was born the night Q produced the Oscars.
Actor Colin Salmon tweeted: “Quincy Jones was a true musical Don, from Ray Charles, Sinatra, Michael Jackson; more recently he has supported Jacob Collier and beyond. As a child his biggest influence on me was the soundtrack to The Italian Job. Yes, Self Preservation Society was written by him. Thank you Master, you changed the world. RIP”
Hootie and Blowfish frontman Darius Rucker tweeted: “We lost one of the greatest of all time. The world will miss Quincy Jones. Rest my friend.”
Journalist Roland Martin tweeted: “Peace and love to one of the greatest of all time. Quincy Jones is now an ancestor.
Legendary French singer Line Renaud tweeted: “Quincy, my dear Quincy, you too have joined the stars and this morning my heart is heavy. With you life oscillated, came alive, you were joy and rhythm, you were a genius!”
Ghanaian-American singer Amaarae tweeted: “I thought Quincy Jones would live forever 💔. What an incredible loss. RIP to the greatest to ever do it! 🕊️”