Music legend Quincy Jones, who passed away earlier this month (3 November 2024) at the age of 91, was another famous American, like F. Scott Fitzgerald and others, who shared a special love story with the Côte d’Azur. In fact, Quincy declared the South of France “the epicentre of culture”.
Writing on Facebook in 2017 to commemorate Pablo Picasso‘s birthday (25 October), Quincy reminisced about an unforgettable encounter he had in Cannes with the late artist in 1957.
Both were living in the wealthy Cannes suburb of La Californie at the time. In fact they were neighbours. Picasso had bought Villa Californie* in 1955, and Quincy was staying next door as a guest of Nicole Barclay who had employed him to work for Barclay Records in Paris. It was August, Paris was shut down (as anybody who lives in France will understand!), and so Nicole and her husband Eddie invited Quincy to stay at their villa in Cannes in the interim.
The Iconic Lunch in Cannes
One day, Nicole, Eddie and Quincy (who was only 24 at the time) were sitting at a restaurant on the famous Croisette when Pablo Picasso, his wife Jacqueline (Roque) and a friend wandered in and joined them.
Quincy recalled on social media:
“Pablo ordered sole meuniere, ate the fish carefully, arranged his silverware neatly when he finished eating, & gently inched the plate with the fish bones into the sunlight. He knew exactly where to place it so that it became parched enough to serve as the master’s canvas… Then he took some pens & turned the bones into a multi-coloured Picasso design. When Nicole said, “Check, please,” Picasso pushed his plate forward…His way of paying…The next day those bones were on the wall!! He opened my 24-year-old eyes to the true value of art & I told Nicole that “I want to be just like him when I grow up!”.”
Quincy ended his birthday tribute describing Picasso as “the absolute definition of authenticity & creativity” and expressed “forever” gratitude for the lessons the artist had taught him.
Quincy also noted in the post, that despite previously touring Europe with Lionel Hampton, nothing he had seen or experienced before prepared him for the “surreal world that was the S. of France. It was like the epicenter of culture.”
Quincy Jones in Paris
Quincy went on to spend five years in Paris, studying under the great composer and teacher Nadia Boulanger, whom he credited in his autobiography (2003) for teaching him the most musically. Earlier this year, as he looked back on his birthday (14 March), he again thanked Boulanger for lending him “a shoulder to stand on” and being one of the individuals in his life who told him he was “worth another day”. He said to his fans and followers: “Never underestimate the positive impact that you can have on a kid’s life because it may just be the difference between them making it to 19 or 91.”
Quincy will be remembered as one of the world’s most prolific musicians and producers. He worked with international stars, including Michael Jackson, Ella Fitzgerald and Frank Sinatra. The music giant won 28 Grammy Awards and was named by Time magazine as one of the most influential jazz musicians of the last century. His numerous accolades also included a BET Humanitarian Award in 2008.
A cosmic connection with France
France remained special for Quincy throughout his life. He collaborated with such French greats as Johnny Hallyday, Charles Aznavour and Jacques Brel; and had both the French Légion d’honneur bestowed upon him (in 1991, with Eddie Barclay by his side) and the Commander of the Legion of Honor (2001).
In 2011 he was back on the Croisette attending the Cannes Film Festival, and as recently as 2019, he celebrated his then 70-year career at a symphony orchestra performance in Paris.
In 1990, Quincy Jones told a journalist from French show Telerama “I have always felt an almost cosmic connection with France…”
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A Little More About Picasso and Villa Californie, Cannes
*Pablo Picasso created many of his artworks in the studio at Villa Californie (also known as Villa Fénelon), which had a spectacular view of the Bay of Cannes. In 1958 he painted the beautiful ‘La Baie de Cannes’, but three years later he left the villa, after his view became blighted by buildings. Picasso then moved to Mougins where he spent his final years. He died in 1973, and like Quincy, was also 91. Villa Californie was restored in 1987 by Picasso’s granddaughter Marina, and renamed Pavillon de Flore.
Top photo of Quincy Jones, from his official Facebook page.
