Stevie Wonder, Oprah Winfrey, Paul McCartney and more pay tribute to Quincy Jones

Stars including Will Smith, Oprah Winfrey and Stevie Wonder have paid tribute to Quincy Jones, who died this week aged 91.

Following a career as a producer, multi-instrumentalist, conductor as well as a film producer, in 1990 Jones produced the sitcom The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, which gave Smith his first ever acting role. Jones brokered the casting in an impromptu audition by Smith – then known purely as a rapper – to NBC executive Brandon Tartikoff at a party at Jones’s home, with a contract drawn up that night.

“Quincy Jones is the true definition of a mentor, a father and a friend,” Smith wrote on Instagram. “He pointed me toward the greatest parts of myself. He defended me. He nurtured me. He encouraged me. He inspired me. He checked me when he needed to. He let me use his wings until mine were strong enough to fly.”

Source: Ben Beaumont-Thomas/theguardian.com

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