Quincy Jones with the Masters of Indiana Avenue Jazz

November 10, 2024

Listen to the music of Quincy Jones and the masters of Indiana Avenue jazz. Quincy Jones was a legendary producer, musician, composer, and arranger. He died earlier this month at the age of 91. 

Jones worked with many of the biggest stars in popular music, producing and arranging music for iconic performers, including Michael Jackson and Frank Sinatra. As a composer, Jones broke racial barriers in Hollywood, becoming one of the first Black musicians to score soundtracks for major films and television programs. During his historic career, Jones received many accolades, including 28 Grammys, an Emmy, a Tony, and seven Academy Award nominations.

During his early years in music, Jones worked extensively, with musician from Indiana Avenue, including the Montgomery Brothers, Freddie Hubbard, David Baker, Pookie Johnson, Virgil Jones, J.J. Johnson, Carl Perkins, Leroy Vinnegar, and more.

It’s possible Jones himself played on the Avenue. From 1951 to 1953, Jones toured with the Lionel Hampton band as a trumpet player and arranger. During that time, the band played at Indiana Avenue’s Sunset Terrace, on Thanksgiving Day of 1952. In the liner notes for the Wes Montgomery anthology “In the Beginning,” Jones recalled sleeping on Montgomery’s floor when the Hampton band toured through Indianapolis.