Rashida Jones is reflecting on her father Quincy Jones following his death at 91.
“My dad was nocturnal his whole adult life. He kept ‘jazz hours’ starting in high school and never looked back. When I was little, I would wake up in the middle of the night to search for him,” the actress penned via Instagram on Thursday.
“Undoubtedly, he would be somewhere in the house, composing (old school, with a pen and sheet music). He would never send me back to bed. He would smile and bring me into his arms while he continued to work…there was no safer place in the world for me.”
The “Parks and Recreation” actress, 48, went on to classify her dad as a “giant. An icon. A culture shifter. A genius.”
“All accurate descriptions of my father but his music (and ALL of his work) was a channel for his love. He WAS love,” she continued. “He made everyone he ever met feel loved and seen. That’s his legacy.”
“I was fortunate enough to experience this love in close proximity. I’ll miss his hugs and kisses and unconditional devotion and advice. Daddy, it is an honor to be your daughter. Your love lives forever.”
Jones was married three times, first to his high school girlfriend Jeri Caldwell. The pair divorced in 1966 and have daughter Jolie. He then tied the knot with Ulla Andersson in 1967. The pair had a son, Quincy III, and daughter, Martina, before divorcing in 1974.
Jones went on to marry “Twin Peaks” actress Peggy Lipton, Rashida’s mom. The couple also had daughter Kidada.
Arnold Robinson, the 28-time Grammy winner’s publicist, announced Quincy’s death on Monday.
“Tonight, with full but broken hearts, we must share the news of our father and brother Quincy Jones’ passing,” Robinson said in a statement.
“And although this is an incredible loss for our family, we celebrate the great life that he lived and know there will never be another like him.”
The music icon’s final Instagram post, shared Saturday, featured a photo of him and his daughter, Martina, alongside a loving caption in honor of her 58th birthday.
“Happy Birthday to my Tina Beena @martinafotos1!!.So proud to be yo papa! Big hug, I love you eternally,” he wrote.
Quincy had a decades-long career in the music industry, having had produced Michael Jackson’s historic “Thriller” album, wrote prize-winning film and TV scores, and collaborated with stars such as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and Ella Fitzgerald.
His trophy cabinet reflected his unparalleled success.
Quincy is the third-most-decorated Grammy winner.
His success was not limited to music, however. He founded the film and TV company Quincy Jones Entertainment in 1990.
Quincy also was vocal when it came to the big players he worked with in Hollywood.
After Sinatra’s death, he told GQ that the crooner left Quincy his family crest ring, and Jones still wore it. “Frank was always trying to hook me up with Marilyn Monroe, but Marilyn Monroe had a chest that looked like pears, man,” he recalled.
About his carousing, he said, “You know, I came up with the two wildest motherf–kers on the planet. Ray Charles and Frank Sinatra. Come on. They were good-looking guys, they had all the girls they wanted, and they showed you how to deal with it.”
In a 2018 interview with New York magazine, he discussed his first impressions of the Beatles too — calling them “the worst musicians in the world.”
“Paul [McCartney] was the worst bass player I ever heard,” Quincy said at the time. “And Ringo? Don’t even talk about it.”
He told the outlet that Marlon Brando would also “f–k anything.”
During a 2021 interview with the Hollywood Reporter, the late entrepreneur said that Elvis Presley was one of the few legends he wouldn’t work with.
“I was writing for [orchestra leader] Tommy Dorsey, oh God, back then in the ’50s. And Elvis came in, and Tommy said, ‘I don’t want to play with him.’ He was a racist mother — I’m going to shut up now,” Quincy claimed about Presley. “But every time I saw Elvis, he was being coached by [songwriter] Otis Blackwell, telling him how to sing.”
