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Musical titan Quincy Jones, the composer and producer who added his refined touch to recordings by everyone from Ray Charles to Frank Sinatra to Michael Jackson, has died, according to his representatives. He was 91 years old.

Jones died Sunday evening at his home in Bel Air, California, surrounded by his children, siblings and other family members, his publicist told CNN in a statement.

“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of the passing of our father and brother Quincy Jones,” the Jones family said in the 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.” He is truly one of a kind and will be greatly missed; we are comforted and immensely proud to know that the love and joy, which were the essence of his being, were shared with the world through all that he created. Thanks to his music and his boundless love, Quincy Jones’ heart will beat for eternity. »

A renowned jazz and pop musician, Jones was also a prolific arranger across all genres, a bandleader, record label executive, and civil rights advocate. His talent and drive have led him to an almost unprecedented career in entertainment.

His long and varied list of credits includes composing the score for the Oscar-winning film “In the Heat of the Night,” producing Michael Jackson’s hit album “Thriller,” and bringing together dozens of pop and rock to record the 1985 charity single “We Are the World.”

Born in Chicago to a carpenter father and a mentally ill mother, Jones developed a love of music early on and took up the piano.

His family eventually moved to Seattle, Washington, and Jones began taking lessons from famed horn player Clark Terry.

He also met and became close friends with a then-unknown pianist named Ray Charles. The couple would maintain a friendship that would last a lifetime.

As a teenager, Jones began performing in jazz groups and his talent for composing and arranging music caught the attention of bandleader Lionel Hampton.

Jones was only 15 when Hampton invited him to tour with the band, which Hampton’s wife, Gladys, immediately put a stop to.

“I immediately got on the group bus, and Gladys got on and said, ‘Hamp, what is that kid doing on the bus?’ Jones recalled in an interview with the National Endowment for the Arts. “And I was so upset. And she said, “Take him down from here.” Get him back to school. We’ll call him later when he finishes his studies.

Jones heeded his advice, completed his studies, and earned a scholarship to Schillinger House (now known as Berklee College of Music) in Boston, from which he graduated in 1951.

After graduating, he toured with Hampton and his band.

Thus began a storied career in which Jones was soon arranging and recording for legends such as Count Basie, Duke Ellington, Sarah Vaughan and his friend Ray Charles. Bandleader Lionel Hampton, trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie and other giants also called on the young Jones for their European tours.

In 1961, Jones was hired by Mercury Records as director of artists and repertoire. He made history three years later when he was promoted to vice president, making him the first African-American man to hold such a position at a white-owned label.

He had his first pop hit with Leslie Gore’s 1963 single “It’s My Party”, which reached number one. Jones also worked with Frank Sinatra and Peggy Lee during his tenure with the label.

That same year, he won what would be the first of many Grammys, the first being for his arrangement of the Count Basie Band song “I Can’t Stop Loving You.”

In the 1960s, Jones also began composing music soundtracks, including “In The Heat of the Night” and “In Cold Blood.”

He worked with A&M Records from 1969 to 1981 and started his own label, Qwest.

In 1982, Jones had one of his most famous collaborations when he produced Michael Jackson’s hit album, “Thriller.”

Three years later, he tapped Jackson and a host of other stars for the charity single “We Are the World.” The same year, he achieved success on the big screen by producing the film directed by Steven Spielberg “The Color Purple”.

Jones also had success on the small screen with the television series “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air,” which starred his mentee Will Smith.

Jones entered the publishing business in 1993 when he founded the music and culture magazine Vibe, which he sold in 2006.

A brain aneurysm in 1974 caused Jones to temporarily lighten his workload and focus on spending time with his family.

Over the years, he had three marriages and seven children with five different women.

Jones was married to his high school sweetheart, Jeri Caldwell, from 1957 to 1966, and the couple had a daughter, Jolie.

In 1967, he married Swedish model Ulla Andersson and they had two children, Martina and Quincy Jones III, before divorcing in 1974.

That same year, Jones married actress Peggy Lipton, a union that lasted until 1990, and had two daughters, actresses Rashida Jones and Kidada Jones.

He also had a daughter, Rachel, with dancer Carol Reynolds, and a daughter – model Kenya Kinski-Jones – with actress Nastassja Kinski.

Jones hasn’t slowed down personally or professionally in his later years. In 2014, he produced the documentary “Keep on Keepin’ On” about his mentor, jazz trumpeter Clark Terry.

Reflecting on his own career that year, Jones told Rolling Stone: “I never thought about it until I was 80, but I’ve been lucky enough to work with all the big stars in music of American history, including Louie Armstrong.”

“You can’t plan that,” Jones said. “You can’t say, ‘Mr. Sinatra, I want to work with you. No, you have to wait for him to call you.

This is a developing story and will be updated.