Quincy Jones Paid Generation-Spanning, Genre-Crossing Tribute With All-Star Grammys Performance

The Grammys made sure to pay proper tribute to one of the most important figures in 20th century popular music — the late Quincy Jones — with a star-studded tribute performance recognizing the producer, composer and instrumentalist’s varied musical achievements throughout the decades.

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The performance was introduced by Will Smith, who acknowledged his career would not be what it is without the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air executive producer and composer (later calling him “a mentor, friend, father figure”). The musical portion of the tribute to Jones began with legendary jazz pianist Herbie Hancock playing Jones’ classic ’60s instrumental “Killer Joe.” Hancock was then joined by vocal powerhouse Cynthia Erivo for a show-stopping performance of “Fly Me to the Moon,” which became a signature song for Frank Sinatra with Jones arranging his performance.

The duo were then replaced by country star Lainey Wilson and do-everything artist (and Jones protégé) Jacob Collier on piano for a rollicking performance of Jones’ ’90s rave-up “Let the Good Times Roll.” After that, Hancock was welcomed back to the keys, along with all-time great Stevie Wonder on harmonica for a rendition of Jones’ version of jazz staple “Bluesette.” Wonder then capped the tribute by introducing (and leading the crowd in a singalong of) “We Are the World,” the all-star USA for Africa charity single that Jones produced 40 years earlier in 1985.

But there was still more to come — after Will Smith returned to tell an anecdote of Jones teaching him about taking responsibility for his crew on the set of Fresh Prince, Smith introduced Janelle Monáe as the final performer of the tribute. Monáe paid homage to Jones’ incredible run of collaboration with Michael Jackson with a performance of their first Billboard Hot 100 No. 1 together, “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough,” complete with an “I (Heart) QJ” t-shirt that she unveiled while dancing on the tables in the Crypto.com Arena crowd.

Quincy Jones is one of the most decorated figures in the history of the Grammys, winning 28 awards over the course of his generation-spanning career — including two album of the year wins for Jackson’s Thriller (1984) and his own Back on the Block (1991).