Music fans around the world are mourning the death of Quincy Jones.

Symbol. Musical genius. Exceptional producer. All of these titles can be used to describe Quincy Jones. The musician and composer died today, November 4th, at the age of 91.

His musical roots were planted here in the Emerald City.

Quincy Jones graduated from Garfield in 1950 and returned when the auditorium at Garfield was named after him in 2008.

The Quincy Jones Performing Arts Center is a lasting tribute to a man who influenced music around the world.

Quincy Jones began his musical career playing jazz trumpet, like Thomas Marriott, a graduate of Garfield High School.

Add to the quintessential Quincy Jones album Thriller, which is over 40 years old and helped make Michael Jackson the biggest pop star in the world. It cemented Jones' reputation as a musical genius in whatever genre he chose, without really leaving jazz behind.

“I think his real gift was making things hip,” Marriott said, smiling. “And I think when you listen to those Michael Jackson records, there's a lot of high IQ things going on musically, you know, and it's not just funky, you know. It’s a winning combination.”

And he had the hardware to prove it. Twenty-eight Grammy Awards, a Tony and seven Oscar nominations before winning the Academy's Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award.

Quincy Jones, known as “Q” by his friend and colleague Frank Sinatra, was born in Chicago. His family moved to Bremerton and then to Seattle during World War II.

His musical talent took root and blossomed in the Emerald City, eventually taking him all over the world.

In 2021, Jones received the Museum of Pop Culture's Founders Award, a testament to his influence across all genres of music.

“I think he was able to look at music that wasn't compartmentalized by genre or audience or race,” said Jacob McMurray, MoPop chief collections & exhibition officer, “but really think about all of these different things.”

And his legacy continues. With the Seattle Jazz Fellowship, Thomas Marriott is leading the effort to make jazz an institution here in Seattle, like the ballet, the opera and the symphony.

I assume Quincy Jones would be proud.