Live On Q's Cool Block

Back On The Block by Quincy Jones

Finding exceptionally talented people with big attitudes is common. Finding them with insufferable personalities is less rare. Quincy Jones, or Q as he tells people to call him, is one such person. At awards shows, the director is ready to cue the orchestra lest one of our most popular producers drone on about his impact like he did at one ill-fated Rock and Roll Hall of Fame dinner. The rare interview that makes it out on video highlights a man who many write is falsely modest and far too impressed with his own achievements.

Were those achievements my own, I might very well be just as bad.

Q started out in the music business in the 1950s and quickly became Lionel Hampton's trumpeter. That's pretty good right there, but the young man quickly became Hampton's arranger as well. Then he began working with others including Tommy Dorsey and Count Basie. The Count!

So he had chops, but he was an astute record exec as well and drifted through a series of A&R jobs before landing as a Vice President at Mercury Records. He was 31 years old at the time.

But performing and producing was in Q's blood and here's what he spent the next two decades or so doing:

1) Arranged and conducted orchestras for Tony Bennett's Movie Album - Q is and was a huge soundtrack man.
2) Did everything from production to liner notes for everything George Benson did.
3) Have I mentioned Michael Jackson yet? After the breakthrough Off The Wall album where Michael and Q rewrote the record book, they teamed up again to produce Thriller and Bad. That's 70 million or so albums with just one artist in less than a decade.
4) If Michael Jackson's not to your taste, how about Paul Simon? Q did all of the strings and arranging on all of Simon's work as soon as he became Garfunkel-less.
5) Frank Sinatra anyone? Q was his arranger for a very long time.

There are dozens more, but I think you get the gist. When you say the word "hitmaker", Jones and his closetful of Grammy Awards ranks at the top of the list.

As the 1980s drew to a close, Q had moved to A&M and ran his own imprint there called Qwest Records. He decided to do something radical. He merged his jazz roots with the sounds of the new dance music he had created for folks like Michael Jackson and dumped a generous helping of rap into the mix. The result was Back On The Block.

The music world eagerly anticipated this all-star collaboration the same way that a sports fan anticipates an All-Star game. When you think of the album in a sports context, it's easy to understand why. Let's make three teams: The Jazz, The Kids and The Studio Superstars, made up of the best studio musicians in the world. Okay, here are your lineups. Mind you, these are just the starting lineups. There are tons of cameos from Jesse Jackson narrating to Q's kid.

The Jazz: Miles Davis, George Benson, Ray Charles, Herbie Hancock, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella (one name only needed), Jennifer Holliday, James Moody, and Sarah Vaughan

The Kids: Tevin Campbell (who was still prepubescent), Take 6, James Ingram, Luther Vandross, Ice-T, Bobby McFerrin, Sheila E, Big Daddy Kane, James Ingram, Chaka Khan, and Kool Moe Dee.

The Studio Guys: (All have at least 50 album credits from BIG albums) Michael Boddicker (Michael Jackson's synth player on those three albums), Michael Landau (good enough to play guitar on George Benson and B.B. King albums), David Paich (ex-Toto member who also played keys for Steely Dan), Greg Phillinganes (his keyboard work lets him tour with folks like Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson), and Steve Porcaro (another Toto guy - remember they were all studio musicians - who has played with everyone from Christina Aguilera to Yes)

Those are just the main musicians! So batter up - let's see what this All-Star album has to offer:

Quincy's Rap - Right away you know that this is not going to be your father's jazz album, Lionel Hampton credits notwithstanding. Big Daddy Kane raps a quick intro that segues brilliantly into the title track.

Back On The Block - Okay, everyone cluster around a microphone. There are vocals here from a ton of people including the man himself. This is a very danceable cut with lovely synth work, a siren, and harmonizing rap. Yup, harmonized well too - I don't mean chanted, I mean harmonized according to the rules of music theory. The song also serves as introduction to the album's main vocalists.

I Don't Go For That - Ian Prince, another studio synth player, wrote this dance tune featuring terrific vocals and a nice, not overbearing musical bed. Think Supremes updated with all the diva-like behavior and cat fighting removed.

I'll Be Good To You - I love this cut. Chaka Khan and Ray Charles trade vocals over a tune penned by the Brothers Johnson. There's another all-star lineup of backing vocalists and that thumping bass that made all the BJ songs resonate.

The Verb To Be - What a strange, but fun cut! This is another spoken (if you can call it that) introduction that segues into the next song. All vocal tracks are run through harmonizers and various electronic gizmos until they sound as if they were spoken by aliens. There's some wonderfully witty lyrics about conjugating the verb "to be" with human beings. The aliens finally identify themselves as "The Human Be-In Band". Very slick.

Wee B. Dooinit - Well, what else would the Human Be-In band sing? I have never heard counterpoint and vocal harmonies on a dance song like this. Ever. Anywhere. The entire album is worth buying for this song alone. Check out the vocalists on this song subtitled Acapella Party: Ella, Al Jarreau, Bobby McFerrin, Take 6, Seidah Garrett, and um, Sarah Vaughan. That's enough vocal power to light up the solar system with smiles.

The Places You Find Love - A gorgeous ballad brings the album to its serious mode. Co-written by songwriter extraordinaire Glen Ballard, this song features backing vocals sung in Swahili and lead vocals from Seidah Garrett (who still sings in her Michael Jackson timbre) and Chaka Khan. Check out the Herbie Hancock solo for some perfect understated solo work that helps carry the song home.

Jazz Corner of the World - Kool Moe Dee and Big Daddy Kane rap a three minute slice of oral history. How wonderful to mix the generations! A few scratchy recordings talking about meeting greats like Miles Davis and Charlie Parker. The two young rappers then do a verse for each before introducing each of the following soloists: James Moody, Miles Davis, George Benson, Sarah Vaughan, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella, and Joe Zawinul who wrote this introductory song and its follow-up:

Birdland - A tribute to the famous club. The greats all get a solo again on top of a very tight synth and percussion bed laid down by Michael Boddicker and Rod Temperton. Want to get goosebumps? Try hearing Dizzy, Miles and Moody all play together play over a kicking track before giving way to Benson's muted and wonderfully melodic guitar work. And don't forget that you still have Ella and Sarah to come. This is 6 minutes of heaven.

Setembro: Brazilian Wedding song - Benson and Hancock work with the studio musicians to lay down the smoothest track on the album. Their counterpoint is enhanced by Take 6 and Sarah Vaughan sliding all over the instruments with their own - namely, a beautiful lyric-less series of harmonies.

One Man Woman - Q likes his lyricists in a certain range and Seidah Garrett doesn't disappoint in this cut which is dance oriented and over-the-top enough to have come off of Thriller. With all the vocalists here, Q for some reason decides to overdub Garrett, but the whole thing works. Listen for George Duke and Sheila E solos - they're dynamite!

Tomorrow (Better You, Better Me) - Tevin Campbell, the young Michael Jackson sound-a-like, fronts a children's chorus on this feel good tune written by the Brothers Johnson and Seidah Garrett. The effect might be a bit too syrupy for some, but Greg Phillinganes and Randy Kerber's keyboard work cuts through what could have degenerated into bubblegum. The tune also features a delightful Gerald Albright sax solo, which dissolves into supporting young Tevin's vocal. Q can arrange and just may be the best ever.

Prelude To The Garden - An introduction to the final cut that features Larry Williams on keyboards. The effect is pretty enough and serves to cleanse the sonic palette from the children's raucous hopes heard on the previous cut.

The Secret Garden - A slick R&B guitar from Steve Luthaker opens up the album's second make-out song. And then along comes Barry White to purr the intro before giving way to the sweet voices of El DeBarge, James Ingram and Al B. Sure. A very cool way to end the album's journey.

Critics first stated that you couldn't go wrong with this album's roster of talent, but they were wrong. You could over produce the artists or not let them express themselves across generations as so many of this album's songs do. Of course, Q's work with superstars on We Are The World helped him here, but the end result was that they mesh because of the arrangements and production which elevated good songs to great songs and great performances to a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Buy it. You have no excuse not to go around the block.