Quincy Jones, the multi-talented music titan whose vast legacy ranged from producing Michael Jackson’s landmark “Thriller” album to writing award-winning film and television scores and working with Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and hundreds of other artists died at age 91. .

Jones’ publicist, Arnold Robinson, said he died Sunday evening at his home in the Bel Air neighborhood of Los Angeles, surrounded by family.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones,” the family said in a statement. “And while this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the beautiful life he lived and know there will never be another like him.

Jones rose from Chicago’s South Side gang to the heights of show business, becoming one of the first black executives to thrive in Hollywood and building an extraordinary musical catalog that includes some of the richest moments of rhythm and American song. For years, it was unlikely to find a music lover who didn’t own at least one record bearing his name, or a leader in the entertainment industry and beyond who didn’t have some connection to him.

Jones has kept company with presidents and foreign leaders, movie stars and musicians, philanthropists and business leaders. He toured with Count Basie and Lionel Hampton, arranged records for Sinatra and Ella Fitzgerald, composed the soundtracks for “Roots” and “In the Heat of the Night,” organized President Bill Clinton’s first inaugural celebration and oversaw the recording of the stars of “We Are the World,” the 1985 charity record for the fight against famine in Africa.

Lionel Richie, who co-wrote “We Are the World” and was among the featured vocalists, would call Jones “the master orchestrator.”

In a career that began when records were still played on 78-rpm vinyl, the highest honors probably go to his productions with Jackson: “Off the Wall,” “Thriller” and “Bad” were near-universal albums in their style and appeal. Jones’ versatility and imagination helped spark Jackson’s explosive talents as he went from child star to “King of Pop.” On classic tracks like “Billie Jean” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” Jones and Jackson crafted a global soundscape from disco, funk, rock, pop, R&B, jazz and African chants. For “Thriller,” some of the most memorable touches came from Jones, who recruited Eddie Van Halen for a guitar solo on the genre-bending “Beat It” and brought in Vincent Price for a macabre voiceover on the title song.

“Thriller” sold more than 20 million copies in 1983 alone and rivaled among others the Eagles’ “Greatest Hits 1971-1975” as the best-selling album of all time.

“If an album doesn’t do well, everyone says ‘it’s the producers’ fault’; so if everything goes well, it should also be your “fault,” Jones said in a Library of Congress interview in 2016. “Traces don’t appear all at once. The producer must have the skills, experience and ability to bring their vision to fruition.

The list of his honors and awards takes up 18 pages in his 2001 autobiography “Q,” including 27 Grammys at the time (now 28), an honorary Oscar (now two) and an Emmy for “Roots.” He also received the Legion of Honor from France, the Rudolph Valentino Prize from the Republic of Italy, and a tribute from the Kennedy Center for his contributions to American culture. He was the subject of a 1990 documentary, “Listen Up: The Lives of Quincy Jones” and a 2018 film by his daughter Rashida Jones. His memoirs made him a successful author.