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 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 1:13 PM   
 By:   WhoDat   (Member)

So as we all know, the internet is chatting about that crazy Quincy Jones interview. In part of the interview he talks about having a nervous breakdown due to writing almost two hours of score for The Color Purple. I have always loved the score to The Color Purple and still have the cassette to this day (no CD though...).

I always thought the score felt inspired by John Williams' more emotional works in its melodies and orchestration -- over the years I assumed this was Spielberg's influence. However I don't know anything at all about Quincy Jones' prior scores, and it's clear he's pretty full of himself as a big-name producer... does anyone know if he actually sat down and wrote the score as-is or did he have a bunch of "orchestrators" who did the bulk of it?

For what's it worth, I'd love to have an expanded/remastered someday!

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 1:16 PM   
 By:   Thor   (Member)

He had a bunch of orchestrators.

 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 1:16 PM   
 By:   'Lenny Bruce' Marshall   (Member)

Use the seatch engine........

 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 1:17 PM   
 By:   WagnerAlmighty   (Member)

I'm amazed Jones is spawning all these threads.

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 1:26 PM   
 By:   Thor   (Member)

Yeah, I don't understand why we need to have separate threads for each and every quote.

One thread on the interview itself would suffice.

 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 1:30 PM   
 By:   SchiffyM   (Member)

Jones's collaborators are identified on the album. Chris Boardman, Jorge Calendrelli, Andrae Crouch, Jack Hayes, Jerry Hey, James Ingram, Randy Kerber, Jeremy Lubbock, Lionel Richie, Joel Rosenbaum, Caiphus Semenya, Fred Steiner, and Rod Temperton all contributed music to the film.

Jones also only wrote a bit of music for "Roots," despite receiving a good deal of credit for it at the time. Gerald Fried wrote nearly all the underscore for that miniseries.

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 1:44 PM   
 By:   paul rossen   (Member)

He had a bunch of orchestrators.


He had a lot more than orchestrators. He used George's Delerue for "inspiration". Listen to Delerue's Our Mother's House. You be the judge. In Hollywood it was known as Purplegate.

 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 2:03 PM   
 By:   WagnerAlmighty   (Member)

Yeah, I don't understand why we need to have separate threads for each and every quote.

One thread on the interview itself would suffice.


Exactly. Especially for someone who...well, he really ISN'T that important in the film score scheme of things now, is he?

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 6:12 PM   
 By:   villagardens553   (Member)

Not that important in the scheme of things?

Explain.

I've seen threads devoted to almost literally every individual living or dead who ever had his/her name attached to the music credit of a film and you choose Quincy Jones to single out because he's not, what, scoring Marvel flicks, space operas, 50s tv sci-fi, or because he was not known for composing symphonic scores?

There is more originality in Quincy Jones's jazz/soul/pop influenced scores for In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, The Pawbroker, and The Deadly Affair than in dozens and dozens of scores that get released, released again in expanded form, released again in complete form, endlessly praised, and so on.

For a brief time, from the mid-sixties into the early-seventies, Quincy Jones was one of the most important composers in film music. He chose not to stick with it, so he did not have that multi-decade career that the greats did, but while he was there, he was something else. So leave him the hell alone.

 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 6:20 PM   
 By:   WagnerAlmighty   (Member)

Not that important in the scheme of things?

Explain.

I've seen threads devoted to almost literally every individual living or dead who ever had his/her name attached to the music credit of a film and you choose Quincy Jones to single out because he's not, what, scoring Marvel flicks, space operas, 50s tv sci-fi, or because he was not known for composing symphonic scores?

There is more originality in Quincy Jones's jazz/soul/pop influenced scores for In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, The Pawbroker, and The Deadly Affair than in dozens and dozens of scores that get released, released again in expanded form, released again in complete form, endlessly praised, and so on.

For a brief time, from the mid-sixties into the early-seventies, Quincy Jones was one of the most important composers in film music. He chose not to stick with it, so he did not have that multi-decade career that the greats did, but while he was there, he was something else. So leave him the hell alone.


No. And kiss my ass.

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 8:52 PM   
 By:   connorb93   (Member)

Not that important in the scheme of things?

Explain.

I've seen threads devoted to almost literally every individual living or dead who ever had his/her name attached to the music credit of a film and you choose Quincy Jones to single out because he's not, what, scoring Marvel flicks, space operas, 50s tv sci-fi, or because he was not known for composing symphonic scores?

There is more originality in Quincy Jones's jazz/soul/pop influenced scores for In Cold Blood, In the Heat of the Night, The Pawbroker, and The Deadly Affair than in dozens and dozens of scores that get released, released again in expanded form, released again in complete form, endlessly praised, and so on.

For a brief time, from the mid-sixties into the early-seventies, Quincy Jones was one of the most important composers in film music. He chose not to stick with it, so he did not have that multi-decade career that the greats did, but while he was there, he was something else. So leave him the hell alone.


No. And kiss my ass.


Wow you're really mad about this lol

Anyway, no matter who wrote it, it's a wonderful score. At least the contributors got their credit finally. Apparently Alexander Courage also wrote a cue. I'm amazed that a producer like Zimmer can get sole credit and an oscar nomination despite his crew of "composers"...

 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 9:00 PM   
 By:   'Lenny Bruce' Marshall   (Member)

[start

No. And kiss my ass.

Wow you're really mad about this lol

...
..

....I'm amazed that a producer like Zimmer can get sole credit and an oscar nomination despite his crew of "composers"...


.....and you can kiss MY Ass!

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 9:58 PM   
 By:   jb1234   (Member)

I watched the movie a month ago and aside from the pretty opening cue, I'm struggling to remember anything else from it. Great film though.

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 11:15 PM   
 By:   townerbarry   (Member)

When Quincy Jones got SOLE Screen Credit for Composer...The Other 11 Composers were not happy. lol

It seems that The Color Purple was Temp'd with Georges Delurue's Our Mother's House...George got a whole lot of Cash and Scoring for Amazing Stories (Five Episodes) including the excellent Dorthy and Ben.

Quincy Jones wanted a Jazz score. And Spielberg wanted a sweeping melodies score.

 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 11:26 PM   
 By:   Octoberman   (Member)

When Quincy Jones got SOLE Screen Credit for Composer...The Other 11 Composers were not happy. lol
It seems that The Color Purple was Temp'd with Georges Delurue's Our Mother's House...George got a whole lot of Cash and Scoring for Amazing Stories (Five Episodes) including the excellent Dorthy and Ben.
Quincy Jones wanted a Jazz score. And Spielberg wanted a sweeping melodies score.



Then I don't understand why Spielberg didn't go with a more obvious choice of composer.
Weird.

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 8, 2018 - 11:48 PM   
 By:   townerbarry   (Member)

When Quincy Jones got SOLE Screen Credit for Composer...The Other 11 Composers were not happy. lol
It seems that The Color Purple was Temp'd with Georges Delurue's Our Mother's House...George got a whole lot of Cash and Scoring for Amazing Stories (Five Episodes) including the excellent Dorthy and Ben.
Quincy Jones wanted a Jazz score. And Spielberg wanted a sweeping melodies score.



Then I don't understand why Spielberg didn't go with a more obvious choice of composer.
Weird.


Because...Quincy Jones was already the Producer and Composer of The Color Purple before Spielberg came on board.

 
 Posted:   Feb 9, 2018 - 12:06 AM   
 By:   Octoberman   (Member)

Because...Quincy Jones was already the Producer and Composer of The Color Purple before Spielberg came on board.


Hmm. I did not know that.
Well, then it would just make more sense if Quincy had hired a director more in tune with his vision.
Just as weird, I guess, but in reverse.

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 9, 2018 - 12:24 AM   
 By:   townerbarry   (Member)

Because...Quincy Jones was already the Producer and Composer of The Color Purple before Spielberg came on board.


Hmm. I did not know that.
Well, then it would just make more sense if Quincy had hired a director more in tune with his vision.
Just as weird, I guess, but in reverse.


I believe if my notes are right..that Quincy Jones and Alice Walker had to be convinced to allow Spielberg to Direct The Color Purple.

 
 
 Posted:   Feb 9, 2018 - 12:26 AM   
 By:   CĂ©dricD   (Member)

Yeah, I don't understand why we need to have separate threads for each and every quote.

One thread on the interview itself would suffice.


Exactly. Especially for someone who...well, he really ISN'T that important in the film score scheme of things now, is he?


You apparently have no clue about the history of film music.

 
 Posted:   Feb 9, 2018 - 1:06 AM   
 By:   Octoberman   (Member)

I believe if my notes are right..that Quincy Jones and Alice Walker had to be convinced to allow Spielberg to Direct The Color Purple.


That's interesting.
Did Jones and Walker already have another director in mind earlier in the film's development?

 
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