At 85 years old, #QuincyJones is one of the most influential people in the history of recorded music, yet I would guess that, in 2018, many casual music fans would be hard-pressed to explain what exactly he actually did. Jones’ name has been legendary in music circles for more than half a century, but much of his résumé consists of terms and vocations that are now obsolete, at least as far as mainstream pop is concerned. He was a trumpet prodigy who befriended Ray Charles and joined Lionel Hampton’s band while still a teenager. Before turning 30, he’d become one of the most in-demand arrangers in the biz and the musical consigliere to Frank Sinatra. By the 1970s, he was the quintessential superproducer and “record man,” an indefatigable hit-maker and general entertainment-industry Svengali. He did all this even before he began a collaboration with ex-Motown star Michael Jackson that would reach its apex in 1982 with Thriller , the most commercially successful album ever made. And