The Quintessence

1962 studio album by Quincy Jones

The Quintessence

Studio album by

Quincy Jones

Released

February 1962^[1]

Recorded

November 29, December 18 and 22, 1961

Studio

Capitol Studios, New York City

Genre

Jazz

Length

30:58

Label

Impulse!

Producer

Bob Thiele

Quincy Jones chronology

The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones: Live!
(1961)

The Quintessence
(1962)

Big Band Bossa Nova
(1962)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
DownBeat	^[2]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[4]

The Quintessence is an album by Quincy Jones and his orchestra. It was released in 1962 and was his only album for Impulse! One critic called it "the sound of the modern, progressive big band at its pinnacle."^[3]

Jones's band was an outgrowth of the orchestra used in the Broadway show Free and Easy and featured some of the personnel that Jones assembled in New York for the show's European dates.^[5]

Contributors

The core band consists of Phil Woods, Melba Liston, Julius Watkins, and bassist Milt Hinton and pianist Patricia Bown on two sessions, with bassist Buddy Catlett and pianist Bobby Scott on another. The trumpet chairs are held alternately by players like Freddie Hubbard, Clark Terry, Thad Jones, and Snooky Young. Oliver Nelson, Frank Wess and Curtis Fuller also contributed.^[3]

Track listing

The Quintessence (Quincy Jones) - 4:21
Robot Portrait (Billy Byers) - 5:25
Little Karen (Benny Golson) - 3:44
Straight, No Chaser (Thelonious Monk) - 2:26
For Lena and Lennie (Jones) - 4:17
Hard Sock Dance (Jones) - 3:20
Invitation (Bronisław Kaper, Paul Francis Webster) - 3:35
The Twitch (Byers) - 3:50

Tracks 5, 8 recorded on November 29, 1961; #2-3, 6 on December 18; 1, 4, 7 on December 22, 1961.

Personnel

Tracks 1, 4, 7

Phil Woods, Oliver Nelson, Jerome Richardson - saxophone
Billy Byers, Curtis Fuller, Thomas Mitchell - trombone
Ernie Royal, Snooky Young, Joe Newman, Thad Jones - trumpet
Julius Watkins, James Buffington, Earl Chapin, Ray Alonge - French horn
Harvey Phillips - tuba
Gloria Agostini - harp
Patricia Bown - piano
Milt Hinton - bass
James Johnson - drums

Tracks 2, 3, 6

Eric Dixon, Frank Wess, Phil Woods, Oliver Nelson - saxophone
Freddie Hubbard, Al Derisi, Snooky Young, Thad Jones - trumpet
Melba Liston, Billy Byers, Paul Faulise, Rodney Levitt - trombone
Julius Watkins - French horn
Patricia Bown - piano
Milt Hinton - bass
Bill English - drums

Tracks 5, 8

Phil Woods, Eric Dixon, Jerome Richardson - saxophone
Jerome Kail, Clyde Reasinger, Clark Terry, Joe Newman - trumpet
Billy Byers, Paul Faulise, Melba Liston - trombone
Julius Watkins - French horn
Bobby Scott - piano
George Catlett - bass
Stu Martin - drums

Production

Bob Thiele - producer
Frank Abbey - engineer
Pete Turner - cover photograph

References

^ Billboard Feb 17, 1962
^ DownBeat: May 10, 1962 vol. 29, no. 10
^ ^a ^b ^c Jurek, Thom. "The Quintessence". AllMusic. Retrieved 13 September 2018.
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 797. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.
^ Gladu, Martin (10 March 2008). "Quincy Jones And His Orchestra: The Quintessence". All About Jazz. Retrieved 13 September 2018.

Jazz Abroad
This Is How I Feel About Jazz
Go West, Man!
Quincy's Home Again
The Birth of a Band!
The Great Wide World of Quincy Jones
I Dig Dancers
The Quintessence
Big Band Bossa Nova
Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits
Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini
Golden Boy
Quincy Plays for Pussycats
Quincy's Got a Brand New Bag
Walking In Space
Gula Matari
Smackwater Jack
You've Got It Bad Girl
Body Heat
Mellow Madness
I Heard That!!
Sounds...and Stuff Like That!!
The Dude
Back on the Block
Q's Jook Joint
The Original Jam Sessions 1969
Q: Soul Bossa Nostra

Compilations

From Q with Love

Live albums

Singles

"Soul Bossa Nova"
"Sanford and Son Theme (The Streetbeater)"
"Stuff Like That"
"Ai No Corrida"
"Just Once"
"One Hundred Ways"
"I'll Be Good to You"
"The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)"

Other works

With Michael Jackson	The Wiz Off the Wall E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Thriller Bad
With Frank Sinatra	It Might as Well Be Swing Sinatra at the Sands L.A. Is My Lady
Single collaborations	"It's My Party" with Lesley Gore "We Are the World" with USA for Africa "We Are the World 25 for Haiti" with Artists for Haiti

Films

The Color Purple (1985 film)
Quincy
The Color Purple (2023 film)

v t e Freddie Hubbard
Years given are for the recording(s), including the soundtrack albums, not first release.
Albums as leader or co-leader	Open Sesame (1960) Goin' Up (1960) Hub Cap (1961) Minor Mishap/Dedication! (Hubbard/Duke Pearson, 1961) Ready for Freddie (1961) The Artistry of Freddie Hubbard (1962) Hub-Tones (1962) Here to Stay (1962) The Body & the Soul (1963) Breaking Point! (1964) Jam Gems: Live at the Left Bank (with Jimmy Heath, 1965) The Night of the Cookers (1965) Blue Spirits (1965–66) Backlash (1966) High Blues Pressure (1967) A Soul Experiment (1968–69) The Black Angel (1969) The Hub of Hubbard (1970) Red Clay (1970) Straight Life (1970) Sing Me a Song of Songmy (with İlhan Mimaroğlu, 1970) First Light (1971) Polar AC (1971–73) Sky Dive (1972) Keep Your Soul Together (1973) Freddie Hubbard/Stanley Turrentine in Concert Volume One (1973) In Concert Volume Two (with Stanley Turrentine, 1974) High Energy (1974) Gleam (1975) Liquid Love (1975) Windjammer (1976) Bundle of Joy (1977) Super Blue (1978) The Love Connection (1979) Skagly (1979) Live at the North Sea Jazz Festival, 1980 (1980) The Alternate Blues (with Clark Terry, Dizzy Gillespie & Oscar Peterson, 1980) The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4 (with Terry, Gillespie & Peterson, 1980) Born to Be Blue (1981) Keystone Bop: Sunday Night (1981) Outpost (1981) Rollin' (1981) Splash (1981) Above & Beyond (1982) Back to Birdland (1982) Face to Face (with Oscar Peterson, 1982) Ride Like the Wind (1982) The Rose Tattoo (1983) Sweet Return (1983) Double Take (with Woody Shaw, 1985) Life Flight (1987) The Eternal Triangle (with Woody Shaw, 1987) Feel the Wind (with Art Blakey, 1988) Times Are Changing (1989) Topsy – Standard Book (1989) Bolivia (1990–91) At Jazz Jamboree Warszawa '91: A Tribute to Miles (1991) Live at Fat Tuesday's (1991) Blues for Miles (1992) MMTC: Monk, Miles, Trane & Cannon (1994–95) New Colors (2000) On the Real Side (2007)
With Art Blakey/The Jazz Messengers	Mosaic (1961) Buhaina's Delight (1961) Blues March (1961) Three Blind Mice (1961) Caravan (1962) Ugetsu (1963) Kyoto (1964) Free for All (1964) Golden Boy (1965) Soul Finger (1965)
With Dexter Gordon	Doin' Allright (1961) Clubhouse (1965) Generation (1973) The Other Side of Round Midnight (1986)
With Herbie Hancock	Takin' Off (1962) Empyrean Isles (1964) Maiden Voyage (1965) Blow-Up (soundtrack album, 1966) V.S.O.P. (1977) V.S.O.P.: The Quintet (1977) V.S.O.P. Tempest in the Colosseum (1977) V.S.O.P. Live Under the Sky (1977) Round Midnight (soundtrack album, 1985)
With Bobby Hutcherson	Dialogue (1965) Components (1965) Knucklebean (1977) Highway One (1978)
With Quincy Jones	I Dig Dancers (1960) The Quintessence (1962) Golden Boy (1964) I/We Had a Ball (1964–65) Walking in Space (1969) Gula Matari (1970)
With Wayne Shorter	Wayning Moments (1961) Speak No Evil (1964) The Soothsayer (1965) The All Seeing Eye (1965)
With others	The Soul of the City (Manny Albam, 1966) The Other Side of Abbey Road (George Benson, 1969) Out of This World (Walter Benton, 1960) True Blue (Tina Brooks, 1960) God Bless the Child (Kenny Burrell, 1971) Cables' Vision (George Cables, 1979) Droppin' Things (Betty Carter, 1990) Free Jazz (Ornette Coleman, 1960) Olé Coltrane (John Coltrane, 1961) Africa/Brass (John Coltrane, 1961) Ascension (John Coltrane, 1965) Muses for Richard Davis (1969) Outward Bound (Eric Dolphy, 1960) Out to Lunch! (Eric Dolphy, 1964) Undercurrent (Kenny Drew, 1960) Leaving This Planet (Charles Earland, 1973) Booker 'n' Brass (Booker Ervin, 1967) Interplay (Bill Evans, 1962) Sonic Text (Joe Farrell, 1979) Boss of the Soul-Stream Trombone (Curtis Fuller, 1960) Soul Trombone (Curtis Fuller, 1961) Cabin in the Sky (Curtis Fuller, 1962) Take a Number from 1 to 10 (Benny Golson, 1961) Pop + Jazz = Swing (Benny Golson, 1962) Slide Hampton and His Horn of Plenty (1959) Sister Salvation (Slide Hampton, 1960) Drum Suite (Slide Hampton, 1962) The Quota (Jimmy Heath, 1961) Triple Threat (Jimmy Heath, 1962) Big Band (Joe Henderson, 1996) Pax (Andrew Hill, 1965) Compulsion (Andrew Hill, 1965) Sunflower (Milt Jackson, 1972) Goodbye (Milt Jackson, 1973) 52nd Street (Billy Joel, 1978) Reg Strikes Back (Elton John, 1988) J.J. Inc. (J.J. Johnson, 1960) Echoes of an Era (Chaka Khan, 1982) Essence (John Lewis, 1960–62) Water Sign (Jeff Lorber, 1979) Doin' the Thang! (Ronnie Mathews, 1963) Bluesnik (Jackie McLean, 1961) MJQ & Friends: A 40th Anniversary Celebration (Modern Jazz Quartet, 1994) Fingerpickin' (Wes Montgomery, 1958) Roll Call (Hank Mobley, 1960) The Blues and the Abstract Truth (Oliver Nelson, 1961) Sweet Honey Bee (Duke Pearson, 1966) The Right Touch (Duke Pearson, 1967) Contours (Sam Rivers, 1965) Drums Unlimited (Max Roach, 1965) East Broadway Run Down (Sonny Rollins, 1966) Numbers (Rufus, 1978) Once a Thief and Other Themes (Lalo Schifrin, 1965) Giant Box (Don Sebesky, 1973) Sugar (Stanley Turrentine, 1970) Together (McCoy Tyner, 1978) Quartets 4 X 4 (McCoy Tyner, 1980) Soundscapes (Cedar Walton, 1980) Uhuru Afrika (Randy Weston, 1960) Blue Moses (Randy Weston, 1972)

v t e Oliver Nelson
Discography
Studio albums	Meet Oliver Nelson (1959) Taking Care of Business (1960) Screamin' the Blues (1960) Nocturne (1961) Soul Battle (1960) Straight Ahead (1961) The Blues and the Abstract Truth (1961) Afro/American Sketches (1962) Impressions of Phaedra (1962) Fantabulous (1964) More Blues and the Abstract Truth (1964) Happenings ( 1966) Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle (1966) Sound Pieces (1966) Encyclopedia of Jazz (1965–66) The Sound of Feeling (1966–67) Jazzhattan Suite (1967) The Spirit of '67 (1967) The Kennedy Dream (1967) Soulful Brass (1968) Black, Brown and Beautiful (1969) Oliver Edward Nelson in London with Oily Rags (1974) Skull Session (1975) Stolen Moments (1975)
Live albums	Live from Los Angeles (1967) Berlin Dialogue for Orchestra (1970) Leon Thomas in Berlin (1971) Swiss Suite (1972)

v t e Clark Terry
Years given are for the recording(s), not first release.
As leader or co-leader	Clark Terry (1955) Serenade to a Bus Seat (1957) Out on a Limb with Clark Terry (1957) Duke with a Difference (1957) In Orbit (1958) Top and Bottom Brass (1959) Tate-a-Tate (and Buddy Tate, 1960) Color Changes (1960) Everything's Mellow (1961) Clark Terry Plays the Jazz Version of All American (1962) Back in Bean's Bag (and Coleman Hawkins, 1962) 3 in Jazz (split album with Gary Burton & Sonny Rollins, 1963) Oscar Peterson Trio + One (1964) The Happy Horns of Clark Terry (1964) Tonight (and Bob Brookmeyer, 1964) The Power of Positive Swinging (and Bob Brookmeyer, 1965) Gingerbread Men (and Bob Brookmeyer, 1966) Mumbles (1966) Soul Duo (and Shirley Scott, 1966) Spanish Rice (and Chico O'Farrill, 1966) It's What's Happenin' (1967) Oscar Peterson and Clark Terry (1975) Ain't Misbehavin' (1979) Mother———! Mother———!! (1979) Memories of Duke (1980)
With Duke Ellington	Ellington Uptown (1952) Premiered by Ellington (1953) Ellington '55 (1953–54) Dance to the Duke! (1953–54) Ellington Showcase (1953–55) A Drum Is a Woman (1956) Blue Rose (1956) Ellington at Newport (1956) Such Sweet Thunder (1957) Ella Fitzgerald Sings the Duke Ellington Song Book (1957) All Star Road Band (1957) Ellington Indigos (1957) Black, Brown and Beige (1958) Blues in Orbit (1958–59) Duke Ellington at the Bal Masque (1958) The Cosmic Scene (1958) Festival Session (1959) The Ellington Suites (1959) The Greatest Jazz Concert in the World (1967)
With Johnny Hodges	Creamy (1954) Ellingtonia '56 (1956) Duke's in Bed (1956) The Big Sound (1957) Big Bags (with Milt Jackson, 1962) For Someone I Love (with Milt Jackson, 1963) Ray Brown / Milt Jackson (1965)
With Quincy Jones	The Birth of a Band! (1959) I Dig Dancers (1960) The Quintessence (1961) Big Band Bossa Nova (1962) Quincy Jones Plays Hip Hits (1962–63) Quincy Jones Explores the Music of Henry Mancini (1964) Quincy Plays for Pussycats (1959–65) The Hot Rock (1972)
With Herbie Mann	Our Mann Flute (1960–66) Latin Fever (1962–64) My Kinda Groove (1964) The Beat Goes On (1964–67) The Herbie Mann String Album (1964–67)
With Oliver Nelson	Impressions of Phaedra (1962) Full Nelson (1962–63) Oliver Nelson Plays Michelle (1966) Happenings (with Hank Jones, 1966) Encyclopedia of Jazz (1965–66) The Sound of Feeling (1966–67) The Spirit of '67 (with Pee Wee Russell, 1967)
With others	My Kinda Swing (Ernestine Anderson, 1959) Gloomy Sunday and Other Bright Moments (Bob Brookmeyer, 1961) Soul Summit Vol. 2 (Gene Ammons, 1961) Late Hour Special (Gene Ammons, 1961–62) Velvet Soul (Gene Ammons, 1962) One Foot in the Gutter (Dave Bailey, 1960) Gettin' Into Somethin' (Dave Bailey, 1960) Goodies (George Benson, 1968) Bobo's Beat (Willie Bobo, 1968) Jam Session (Clifford Brown, 1954) Ruth Brown '65 (Ruth Brown, 1964) Who Is Gary Burton? (1962) Byrd at the Gate (Charlie Byrd, 1963) Son of Drum Suite (Al Cohn, 1960) The Magic Touch (Tadd Dameron, 1962) Afro-Jaws (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, 1960) Trane Whistle (Eddie "Lockjaw" Davis, 1960) Listen to Art Farmer and the Orchestra (1962) Ella Abraça Jobim (Ella Fitzgerald, 1980–81) Big Band Bossa Nova (Stan Getz, 1962) Stan Getz Plays Music from the Soundtrack of Mickey One (1965) Gillespiana (Dizzy Gillespie, 1960) Carnegie Hall Concert (Dizzy Gillespie, 1961) Cookin' (Paul Gonsalves, 1957) The Big Soul-Band (Johnny Griffin, 1960) White Gardenia (Johnny Griffin, 1961) Homage to Duke (Dave Grusin, 1993) The Further Adventures of El Chico (Chico Hamilton, 1966) It's About Time (Jimmy Hamilton, 1961) You Better Know It!!! (Lionel Hampton, 1964) Really Big! (Jimmy Heath, 1960) Friends Old and New (John Hicks, 1992) Yoyogi National Stadium, Tokyo 1983: Return to Happiness (JATP, 1983) Budd Johnson and the Four Brass Giants (1960) J.J.! (J.J. Johnson, 1964) Goodies (J.J. Johnson, 1965) Concepts in Blue (J.J. Johnson, 1980) Summit Meeting (Elvin Jones, 1977) Down Home (Sam Jones, 1962) At Newport '63 (Lambert, Hendricks & Bavan, 1963) The Centaur and the Phoenix (Yusef Lateef, 1960) Themes from Mr. Lucky, The Untouchables and Other TV Action Jazz (Mundell Lowe, 1960) Satan in High Heels (Mundell Lowe, 1961) The Soul of Hollywood (Junior Mance, 1962) The Jazz Version of "How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying" (Gary McFarland, 1961) Tijuana Jazz (Gary McFarland, 1965) Mingus Revisited/Pre-Bird (Charles Mingus, 1960) The Complete Town Hall Concert (Charles Mingus, 1962) Smooth as the Wind (Blue Mitchell, 1960–61) A Sure Thing (Blue Mitchell, 1962) Jazz Dialogue (Modern Jazz Quartet, 1965) Gerry Mulligan and the Concert Jazz Band at the Village Vanguard (1960) Gerry Mulligan '63 (Gerry Mulligan, 1962) That's How I Love the Blues! (Mark Murphy, 1962) Nine Flags (Chico O'Farrill, 1966) Oscar Peterson and the Trumpet Kings – Jousts (1974) The Alternate Blues (Oscar Peterson, 1980) The Trumpet Summit Meets the Oscar Peterson Big 4 (1980) Basically Duke (Oscar Pettiford, 1954) The Trumpet Kings Meet Joe Turner (Big Joe Turner, 1974) Bossa Nova Carnival (Dave Pike, 1962) Jazz for the Jet Set (Dave Pike, 1965) Sonny Rollins and the Big Brass (1958) New Fantasy (Lalo Schifrin, 1964) Once a Thief and Other Themes (Lalo Schifrin, 1965) Hobo Flats (Jimmy Smith, 1963) The Matadors Meet the Bull (Sonny Stitt, 1965) I Keep Comin' Back! (Sonny Stitt, 1966) Taylor Made Jazz (Billy Taylor, 1959) New York City R&B (Cecil Taylor, 1961) Kwamina (Billy Taylor, 1961) Out of the Storm (Ed Thigpen, 1966) Devil May Care (Teri Thornton, 1960–61) Joyride (Stanley Turrentine, 1965) Live at Newport (McCoy Tyner, 1963) Dinah Jams (Dinah Washington, 1954) Uhuru Afrika (Randy Weston, 1960) At Newport '63 (with Joe Williams, 1963) New York, New Sound (Gerald Wilson, 2003) Kai Olé (Kai Winding, 1961) The Colorful Strings of Jimmy Woode (Jimmy Woode, 1957)