Music legend Quincy Jones had deep roots in the PNW

SEATTLE- Quincy Jones, the legendary and award-winning music producer who died Sunday evening at age 91, had deep roots in the Pacific Northwest.

Jones attended Coontz Junior High School in Bremerton after his family moved from Chicago when he was 10.

His family moved to Seattle in 1947 and Jones attended Garfield High School, the school where he learned the trumpet and became more involved in music.

“Garfield was the most diverse high school in America in the 1940s,” Jones said at the Upstream Fest and Summit in 2017. “Boy oh boy, what a school.”

At the Upstream Summit, Jones joked that the rain in Seattle prevented him from writing and making music.

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“Moving to Seattle forever changed me for the better,” Jones wrote in a 2017 Facebook post. “Finding music here showed me that I could be more than just a statistic.”

“My hope and prayer is that these kids know they can do it too…The only success that comes before work is in the dictionary, and that is the TRUTH!” said Jones. “So happy to be home!!!”

Seattle also held an important place in Jones' heart because it was here that he met Ray Charles, the legendary pianist and singer nicknamed “The Genius.”

“We met right after I moved to Seattle as a kid, and I quickly learned that he never let his boundaries be boundaries,” Jones said in a 2020 Instagram post. “He shared me that music is a gigantic gumbo that has to be moved,” not something that can be divided into different categories. Good music is GOOD music!”

Jones described Charles as “the best friend I could have ever dreamed of” and a “titan of a musician.”

According to the nonprofit educational organization Academy of Achievement, Jones was just 14 years old when 16-year-old Charles moved to Seattle.

“When I saw Ray's views, I realized that this is only possible if we stop limiting ourselves to the limitations that categories impose on our creativity,” Jones wrote. “We can fully harness the power of music in its purest form.”

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One night in Seattle, Charles and some friends broke into their boss's office as a joke.

“I saw a piano in the office,” Jones said. “I touched it and every cell in my body said, 'This is what you should do for the rest of your life.'”

In Garfield Jones also met the young Charlie Taylor. Jones said: “After becoming instant best friends over our love of music,” the two formed the Charlie Taylor Band.

“We took it seriously,” Jones said in a post on Facebook, recalling that he served as secretary-treasurer. “We got fined for drinking, for being late to rehearsal and even for not looking COOL! And if you didn’t look cool, you paid a big fine… I’m talking 25 cents!!”

Jones said the band only made $7 each at their first gig, but they didn't stop performing.

“And I'm glad we didn't because Bumps Blackwell happened to see us playing and later asked if we wanted to be our frontman! And so we became the Bumps Blackwell Junior Band,” Jones said. “As I always say: Never be underprepared for a great opportunity!”

Jones' late brother, Lloyd, worked at KOMO News from 1970 to 1997. Jones' half-brother Richard is a district judge in the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington and a former assistant district attorney in King County.

Jones credits the PNW with giving him more than just his love of music. He said he learned about confidence, trust and kindness in Bremerton and Seattle.

“I don’t take this life that I get to lead for granted,” Jones said in an Instagram post on his 91st birthday in March. “I am grateful to every person who lent me a shoulder to stand on.”

“To be honest, never underestimate the positive impact you can have on a child's life because it can simply be the difference between turning 19 and turning 91,” Jones wrote. “I pray that I can continue to pass on what the greats have given me!!”