Quincy Jones didn’t just shape the sound of the 20th century; he straight-up orchestrated it. From jazz and bossa nova to “It’s My Party” and “Thriller,” the man’s fingerprints are all over the DNA of modern music. So when Toronto’s Luminato Festival decided to kick off its weekend at Harbourfront Centre with a full-blown tribute to The Dude, they knew it had to be epic. Enter Larnell Lewis: Grammy-winning drummer, composer, certified jazz god, and the perfect artist to lead A Glimpse of Quincy, a night celebrating the legendary Quincy Jones.
Happening Friday, June 13th at 8:00 PM (doors at 7:00, okay) on the Harbourfront Centre Concert Stage, the show will spotlight tracks from Quincy’s albums The Dude, Back on the Block, and Q’s Jook Joint, plus classics he produced for Michael Jackson, Patti Austin, and The Brothers Johnson. And Larnell’s not going it alone, he’s joined by an all-star lineup including powerhouse vocalist Divine Brown, reggae dynamo Kirk Diamond, and steelpan virtuoso Joy Lapps (yes, Lewis’ very talented wife), among others. Tickets start at just $25, which is basically a steal for a night this iconic. We caught up with Larnell to talk about Q’s legacy, what he learned from working with the man and what audiences can expect from the tribute.
JG: Quincy Jones has been called a “sonic architect of the 20th century.” As a drummer and bandleader, how do you even begin to translate that kind of legacy into a live tribute performance?
Larnell Lewis: When it comes to attempting to capture Quincy’s catalogue, his legacy, you know, all that he has built within the music industry, it’s almost impossible to do it, within a year straight with all the music that he’s been a part of. As a musical director, you gotta make decisions, and I had to decide on a period to highlight. And I chose 1979 to 1989 with some outliers, of course. The idea is not only to capture the music he was a part of, but also to capture the essence of how he approached a project. It was really important to me to find not only incredible artists to perform, but people I wanted to collaborate with. And in the spirit of Quincy, understanding those with whom I’m collaborating and taking an opportunity to shape the music in a way that would allow them to shine the best.
JG: What was your process in choosing the tracks and weaving the story of that period of Quincy’s career together?
Larnell Lewis: When it came to selecting the music that we’re using for the set list for the show, I sat with a ton of music. I found as much as I could. I went through discographies. I listened to interviews. I read articles. I watched movies. I did everything I could to continue to build on my perspective of Quincy, outside of having a couple of opportunities to work alongside him. At TIFF, for example, I was the MD for his screening of Quincy. And I also went on tour with Quincy for a little bit.
Now, selecting the music meant, again, going through setlists, playlists, and albums, and identifying artists he had worked with, as well as finding music that meant something to me. So, really breaking it down and narrowing it down to as many things as I could. Another trick I did was I added a couple of medleys, just trying to combine music together and just really thinking about what I would love to see an audience sing, how I would want everyone to participate, almost like being a DJ.
JG: What was it like getting to tour with Quincy?
Larnell Lewis: It was great. We did three dates specifically with an orchestra, and one of those performances was the video that is on his Qwest TV subscription channel. Being able to be there with Quincy, having him direct one of the songs, getting a chance to talk to him mid-rehearsal was just an incredible experience. There’s so much about it that you kinda say to yourself, “Is this real?” And you realize, yeah, I’ve worked hard for this, but also let me just enjoy the moment.
JG: Quincy Jones was known not just for his sound but for his ability to elevate other artists, Michael Jackson, Patti Austin, and The Brothers Johnson. There are so many people. What have you learned from his approach to collaboration that you bring into your own work?
Larnell Lewis: What I’ve learned from Quincy in collaboration, at least his approach, and what I’ve brought into my work is to understand the artist that you’re working with and really shaping the situation in such a way that they are encouraged to buy in. And sometimes that also means just taking my hands off of whatever this is musically or off of a set of decisions, realizing that it’s an opportunity to allow someone else to shine in a particular way. It also helps the load to be a little bit lighter.
I really found that Quincy would study the people that he was pulling into projects and situations. He would get their albums. He would listen to them. I’m finding myself doing that, where I’m listening to and watching Kirk Diamond’s records, going through his discography, and going through his live footage. I’ve toured with Divine Brown for a while, so getting inside of her mind and her musical expression. Joy Lapps is my partner. She’s my wife, and we’ve made a lot of music together. So, really trying to find a way to shape the situation so that this individual can shine, but they can also be challenged to do something a little outside of their box.
JG: There’s a beautiful tension in Jones’ work, I find, between meticulous orchestration and the raw groove of it all. How do you approach balancing those elements in a live reinterpretation?
Larnell Lewis: That’s a great question. The music that Quincy has done is, dare I say, perfect. So it’s not a lot that you can do when you’re trying to showcase the arranger side of Quincy. Or if you think about Quincy the producer, how do you showcase that? In a lot of situations, you would play the music verbatim, which is what we did when we played that tour. We really wanted to showcase exactly the decisions that Quincy made musically.
In this particular scenario, where we have an opportunity to honour many aspects of Quincy Jones, it’s really about highlighting interesting parts of the music where people might be playing air drums or maybe an air guitar. These iconic moments where we can capture them, but then also trying to make space for the ensemble that we have, because it’s a little bit different when you’re on tour with Quincy, touring with an orchestra versus trying to get an orchestra in Toronto to do the show. It’s not that easy. We do what we can to make the music feel big or to make it feel small. One thing that I really appreciate about Quincy was that he understood textures. He understood when something needed to feel dense versus sparse. That’s a thought process that I totally align with and is something that I use in my music constantly.
JG: This tribute is part of Luminato’s vision to transform the city through bold, global storytelling. What does it mean to you to reimagine Quincy’s work right here in Toronto, with this community of performers?
Larnell Lewis: To have the opportunity to reimagine Quincy’s work is incredible. It’s one of those things where I wish that we could give people their flowers while they’re here. I think it’s really important that we all take a step back to remember those who have paved the way and the shoulders that we stand on. Even though it’s the same weekend, and it’s not a part of the festival, Oscar Peterson is also being honoured with a centennial celebration. I find it touching, but also really eye-opening, that we are now taking a step back and asking who built the roads that we’re standing on? Who took the time to make a lot of these opportunities possible?
I think about people like Archie Alleyne, who was a drummer in Toronto and one of my mentors. Up until he died, he was very present in my life and really finding ways to not only be an advocate of music and jazz music in Toronto, but also for the rights of people who were disenfranchised or did not have an opportunity to do what others were able to do. To me, this is about taking an opportunity to put a light on those who stood for others, putting a light on those who paved the way, and also a light on those who were daring to be creative in difficult times. And that’s what I’m really most excited about with this project.
JG: As a modern jazz artist, you’re part of that lineage that Quincy Jones and Oscar Peterson helped shape. And, in your own way, you’re paving the way for those that come after you as well. Where do you see the influence of those greats in today’s music, and where do you think we’re heading next?
Larnell Lewis: That is a crazy question. I love it. I love it because it actually really challenges thought towards what kind of boulder we’re pushing forward or what kind of investment we have in the institutions of today that are supporting the legacies of those that have built up a lot of the structures that we use and don’t even know it.
I think in society, we often end up in a position where we don’t understand the history of some things and we use them, the items or the techniques, and build on them, but we don’t really know and understand what it took for those things to be in existence. Where we’re headed is to a place where we are reconnecting as a community. And I think that opportunities like this do bring community. They do bring a sense of understanding of how to honour those who came before us. And I think it also helps us understand the way that we put our mark on society.
We have an opportunity to be stewards of the land that we’re on, stewards of the music that we’re playing, and also to prepare the future musicians to be able to succeed and not to give them senseless challenges. I really believe that where we’re headed right now, we’re watching a rebirth of community in music, and it’s a beautiful thing.
JG: A bit of a fun question. There really is a Quincy Jones song or production for every mood or occasion. Have there been any particular albums or songs that you’ve rediscovered during this process that you’ve been going back to? Or do you have a go-to Quincy project for when you’re just hanging out or need something to pick you up?
Larnell Lewis: I go back to where it started for me, which was Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration. That album is something that I grew up on. While Quincy was more of an executive producer on that project, he had his hands on it and was able to make decisions and really pull and pick individuals who could help to push the idea and the thought and the concept of the project even further. And so I lean on that because the production is great. The storytelling through the arrangements is great. Even just in the first few moments, you’re going through so many genres.
That was one of the albums that, even without fully understanding the breadth of Quincy’s work, was like a blueprint for me of how I wanted to approach music. I play in a lot of different ensembles. I’ve played a lot of different genres. I’ve interacted with a lot of different people. A lesson I was taught by my dad was to always treat the music with respect and to learn it in such a way that people think that you studied there or that you’re from there. That kind of respect and that kind of space were always given by Quincy in the music. And so that album is key for me because it always reminds me of that concept.
JG: Quincy once said, “Your music can never be more or less than you are as a human being.” How does that idea show up in your own life and in this tribute performance?**
Larnell Lewis: The way that I interpret music being more or less is really about showing up as you are. While you can put on a face, the music will never lie. And while you could sometimes hide yourself and play yourself down a little bit, the music will always show where you’re at and who you are. What I look forward to with this show, through that quote and through that thought, is having people on stage being true to themselves and honouring the spirit of Quincy by being everything that they are already, which is why they were selected for the show.
I also put that to the audience. As you’re sitting in the audience and you’re watching this performance, it’s an opportunity. It’s not a demand. It’s an opportunity to let the music move you naturally, to let it just wash over you and that you allow yourself to float in the air as we create this bed of music for everyone to relax on and create this umbrella for everyone to just take shade under and to ultimately just allow us to celebrate an incredible mind who stood for a lot of things but was also very important to our music.
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Luminato Festival: A Glimpse of Quincy is happening June 13th at Harbourfront Centre Concert Stage. You can get tickets here.
