{"id":110129,"date":"2024-11-04T18:06:09","date_gmt":"2024-11-04T23:06:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2024\/11\/04\/keyboardist-greg-phillinganes-remembers-longtime-collaborator-quincy-jones-a-generous-human-being-2\/"},"modified":"2024-11-04T18:06:09","modified_gmt":"2024-11-04T23:06:09","slug":"keyboardist-greg-phillinganes-remembers-longtime-collaborator-quincy-jones-a-generous-human-being-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/2024\/11\/04\/keyboardist-greg-phillinganes-remembers-longtime-collaborator-quincy-jones-a-generous-human-being-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Keyboardist Greg Phillinganes Remembers Longtime Collaborator Quincy Jones: \u2018A Generous Human\u00a0Being\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

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\n\tGreg Phillinganes, a keyboardist from Detroit, was in Stevie Wonder<\/a>\u2018s Wonderlove band in the early \u201970s when prolific producer and composer Quincy Jones<\/a> invited him to play on a session with jazzman Billy Eckstine<\/a>. The collaboration led to a nearly 50-year relationship, in which Phillinganes appeared on \u201cQ\u201d-produced classics such as Michael Jackson<\/a>\u2018s <\/em>Off the Wall and <\/em>Thriller, plus albums by Patti Austin<\/a>, George Benson<\/a>, James Ingram<\/a> and Jones himself. By phone from New York, where he is working with Pink Floyd<\/a>\u2018s David Gilmour<\/a> on his <\/em>Luck and Strange tour, Phillinganes remembers Jones, his friend and mentor, who died Sunday<\/a> at 91.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n\tThe first time I met him, I was still in high school. I was 18, living in Detroit. Quincy was in town for a signing of his new album You\u2019ve Got It Bad Girl<\/em> [in 1973]. I left school early and I went downtown to Hudson\u2019s [department store] to meet him. I bought an album and stood in line. I remember shaking hands with him, we talked for a couple minutes and I told him I was a musician. I remember him asking me what I play, and I said keyboards, and he asked me if I had a Fender Rhodes. I told him, \u201cNo, but I get to use one in the band I play in.\u201d He was supportive and wonderful and encouraging.<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Quincy<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tQuincy Jones, Grammy-Winning Producer Behind Michael Jackson’s Biggest Hits, Dies at\u00a091\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tIt led to another meeting, which happened after I joined Stevie\u2019s band. He had me come down to A&M Studios to play on a little ditty that he was producing on Herb Alpert<\/a>. The name of the song was \u201cThe Best Thing,\u201d which was a single for this little artist named Billy Eckstine [the great jazz singer]. Not too long after that, I ended up on most everything [Jones] did. The thing about Quincy is, if he invites you in, it\u2019s assumed you are worthy of being there.<\/p>\n

\n\tHe has a gentle way. If he\u2019s sweating, he never lets you see it. He\u2019s always able to bring out not only the best in you, but qualities in you that you didn\u2019t even know you had. It\u2019s only after the fact that you realize you\u2019re a better musician than before you went in.<\/p>\n

\n\tThat was a wonderful surprise, to be called to participate in Michael Jackson\u2019s first solo record [Off the Wall<\/em>]. [Jones] asked me to arrange the song \u201cI Can\u2019t Help It\u201d that was written by Stevie. We got the demo, we\u2019re in the studio, we heard it. It was an up-tempo Latin feeling. Quincy gave me the responsibility of handling it. I thought, \u201cGreat, I\u2019m going to do the same kind of thing Stevie did, and really amp it up and make it jazzy.\u201d I did a demo. I had Sheila E.<\/a> playing on it and Michael sang on it. I played it for Quincy and he said, \u201cNo.\u201d Quincy said, \u201cNo, we have to slow it down and make it sexy.\u201d Quincy was trying to establish Michael as an adult. When I understood that assignment, I jumped all over it and put a beautiful Rhodes on it and sexy synth bass and these gorgeous lush synths and overdubs. That is the version that\u2019s on the record.<\/p>\n

\n\tI had a nickname that was not from Quincy. It originated from junior high school in Detroit. This guy started doling out nicknames to people, and I happened to be there. He got to me and said, \u201cWe\u2019re going to call you Mouse.\u201d From that day on, everybody called me that. When I got older, it got less cute to me. \u201cHang on, I\u2019m an adult, and I\u2019m already small in stature, I don\u2019t need to be reminded of it.\u201d I grew in popularity quite heavily in Detroit, and I was playing in bands around town, everybody knew me by that name and it just stuck. I moved to L.A. in June \u201975 and I felt this sense of freedom: \u201cI\u2019m starting a new life and nobody knows who I am \u2014 and more importantly, no one knows me by that dreaded nickname.\u201d But guess what? There was a buddy of mine, another musician who also played keyboards, who started working with Quincy before I did. He told Quincy about me, but he told him that name. So the second time I met Quincy, the first thing he said to me was, \u201cHow you doin\u2019, Mouse?\u201d I went, \u201cAAAAIEEEE! AAAAAGGGGHH!\u201d Not just him. He would introduce me to friends of his, like Arthur Ashe, Colin Powell \u2014 he would say the nickname. It\u2019s like, really, Quincy? Really?<\/p>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tRelated\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Quincy<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n

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\t\t\t\t\tLL Cool J, Elton John & More Remember Quincy Jones: \u2018Music Would Not Be Music Without\u00a0You\u2026\t\t<\/p>\n<\/h3><\/div>\n

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\n\tWhen he developed the talk show Vibe<\/em> [in 1997], he called me in his office and said, \u201cI want you to be the musical director of this show.\u201d I said, \u201cThis is incredible, I\u2019ve always wanted to have a band on a TV talk show.\u201d He paused and said, \u201cThere\u2019s this one thing. I want you to use that name.\u201d I said, \u201cAw, come on, man, you\u2019ve got to give me a break on that. People are going to spot me in the mall and go, \u201cHey, that\u2019s Mouse.\u201d He looked at me and said, \u201cThat\u2019s the idea.\u201d Well, you couldn\u2019t fight that. It got to the point where I accepted it from him, because his tone of voice, the way he called me that, it was just so endearing.<\/p>\n

\n\tThe last time I saw him was June 17. It took months of planning. I\u2019d been desperately trying to contact him and it was so tough because the family were really keeping things tightly monitored, and understandably so. It was finally arranged and we talked and reminisced. He said things like, \u201cLife is amazing, isn\u2019t it, Mouse?\u201d He was sitting in a chair and I stood behind him and he held my hand and kissed it. Just so beautiful and intimate, and I will never forget it.<\/p>\n

\n\tIt goes back to the directive that his mentor [French composition and orchestration teacher] Nadia Boulanger told him, and he has since told me, and I have since told every kid I meet: \u201cYou are never more of a musician than you are a human being.\u201d Quincy was one rare, loving, passionate, soulful, funny and generous human being.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u2014 As told to Steve Knopper<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Aller \u00e0 la source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Greg Phillinganes, a keyboardist from Detroit, was in Stevie Wonder\u2018s Wonderlove band in the early \u201970s when prolific producer and composer Quincy Jones invited him to play on a session with jazzman Billy Eckstine. The collaboration led to a nearly 50-year relationship, in which Phillinganes appeared on \u201cQ\u201d-produced classics such as Michael Jackson\u2018s Off the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110129","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-musique","et-doesnt-have-format-content","et_post_format-et-post-format-standard"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110129","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110129"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110129\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110129"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110129"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cyberlego.com\/web\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110129"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}