Quincy Jones was part of the fabric of 20th century pop culture. He was a force for multiple decades and in multiple mediums. He produced Michael Jackson's most successful albums including Thriller, which remains the best-selling musical release of all time.
Jones died on November 4, at the age of 91. He'd long since achieved legend status, but casual fans may not realize the extent to which he impacted the world. Fortunately, Jones' daughter, and actress, Rashida Jones, documented this impact in the 2018 film Quincy. And you can watch it right now.
Quincy is streaming on Netflix
Quincy is now streaming on Netflix. The documentary provides a detailed account of the musician's life, from his early years as a jazz conductor to his critical and commercial breakthroughs in the 60s. Jones was the first African American to be nominated for an Academy Award for Best Original Song, and his nomination for Best Original Score made him the first African American to be nominated for two Oscars in the same year, 1967.
Jones recounts these achievements with candor and flippany that's wildly entertaining. It helps that the film's director is his daughter, and can somewhat keep him on track, but their closeness also has the effect of making Quincy feel less rigid than most documentaries.
The doc is directed by Jones' daughter Rashida
There's obviously a solid chunk of the film dedicated to Jones' relationship with Michael Jackson, and the culture-shifting work they did between 1979 and 1987. The pair rewrote the rulebook of popular music, and they also raised funds for famine victims in Ethiopia with their song "We Are the World."
Quincy does a fine job of balancing the well-known moments in Jones' life with the lesser-known, especially with regards to the musician's personal life and the various struggles he went through behind the scenes. Rashida Jones' affable presence manages to cast her father in a different light, while at the same time recontextualizing her own persona at a sitcom star.
If you've seen Quincy, it's a great time to revisit it, and if you haven't, there's no better time than now to give it a try. RIP to the film's eponymous star.