

Before diving into the pop and R&B that made him a superstar, Quincy Jones was a jazzman. The conductor/arranger’s ’50s and ’60s big bands excelled at playing rich, bluesy rambles punctuated by emphatic brass (“G’won Train”), hypnotic, tuneful orchestrations that lean on hard bop’s funky groove (“Moanin’”), and cool-flavored ballads with leisurely vibes, muted trumpets, and intoxicated atmospheres (“Evening in Paris”).