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“Quincy Jones, Grammy winning producer for Michael Jackson and film composer, dies at 91,” headlined Variety on Monday. As the obit makes clear, there was a lot more to Jones than Michael Jackson, “The Color Purple” and “The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air.” First and foremost, Quincy Jones was a musician.

A trumpeter from his youth, the Berklee School of Music alum played in the Lionel Hampton band in a section with Clifford Brown and Art Farmer. Here’s Quincy with Hampton’s band in 1951, coming in at 1.01. By 1953, Jones had formed an octet with drummer Roy Haynes, who played with Charlie Parker and this writing is still around at 99. As a leader, Jones had a keen eye for talent, tapping alto saxophonist Phil Woods during the 1960s.

Quincy Jones arranged for Duke Ellington trumpeter Clark Terry, and it would be easier to list the singers Jones has notworked with in some way. Jones met Ray Charles and arranged “The Genius of Ray Charles” and “Genius + Soul Jazz.” Jones’ arrangement of “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” bagged Jones his first Grammy in 1964.

In 1967 Jones tapped Charles for the title song on the In the Heat of the Night. The murder mystery includes “Foul Owl on the Prowl” for comic relief. The film won five Oscars, including best picture, Rod Steiger for best actor, and Sterling Silliphant’s script for best adaptation.

“I’m a police officer,” Virgil Tibbs (Sidney Poitier) calmly informs sheriff Bill Gillespie (Steiger). Later on Gillespie tells Tibbs “I have the motive which is money, I have the body which is dead!” It’s a great story, and as the credits run Ray sings, “must be an ending to it all.” Quincy Jones has reached his coda and joins Benny Golson and David Sanborn, great American musicians who passed away this year. Musicians, arrangers and producers have tough acts to follow.