Tony Bennett, Roberta Flack join others in saluting Jones

Quincy Jones holds the Pied Piper Award that was presented to him for his musical contributions by ASCAP which honored him with a tribute of music performances, Tuesday, April 22, 2008, in New York. (AP Photo/ Louis Lanzano)

Email|Print|Single Page| Text size – + By Nekesa Mumbi Moody

AP Music Writer / April 23, 2008

NEW YORK—Since Quincy Jones has spent most of his life making memorable music, it's only fitting that his friends celebrated his 75th birthday by sharing their memories of the legend in song.

Tony Bennett, Roberta Flack and Gloria Estefan were just a few of the performers on hand Tuesday night as the American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers held a musical tribute to the groundbreaking composer and producer, who turned 75 last month. While there were few monologues about the man, several of the evening's singers chose to express their admiration for Jones by changing the lyrics to some of the songs he helped create.

"It's Quincy's party, and he'll cry if he wants to," crooned Lesley Gore to the tune of the Jones-produced hit "It's My Party" while James Ingram gave testimony while singing his hit "One Hundred Ways."

"So much wisdom Q, I have to thank you!" Ingram sang. "You've got to cut me off before I start crying."

Estefan drew perhaps the night's biggest laughs as she sang the one song Jones didn't have a hand in, the soul classic "Me & Mrs. Jones."

"Me and Quincy Jones, we have a thing going on," sang Estefan, who also poked fun at Jones' "10,000 girlfriends" in her reworked version. He responded by giving her a standing ovation.

Others performing at the event at the Nokia Theatre in Times Square included Patti Austin, Tevin Campbell, Take 6, Al Jarreau, Clark Terry and Savion Glover.

Jones, whose career stretches decades, musical genres and entertainment mediums, has won numerous Grammy Awards, scored classic films and may be best known for his work with Michael Jackson, namely producing the best-selling "Thriller."

ASCAP represents songwriters, music publishers and composers.

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On the Net:

ASCAP:

http://www.ascap.com

Quincy Jones:

http://www.quincyjones.com/