The Quincy Jones Foundation

Musicians, artists and numerous arts lovers are participating in a campaign to support the creation of a Secretary of the Arts in the United States.

The United States is one of the few western democracies that does not have a higher cabinet level minister or secretary in charge of the arts or cultural affairs.

In a recent radio interview with John Schaefer on WNYC's Soundcheck, renowned musician and producer Quincy Jones mentioned that he plans to request from president elect Barack Obama, the creation of a Secretary of the Arts. Quincy Jones' call for a U.S. secretary of the arts inspired an online petition.

"The next conversation I have with President elect Barack Obama is to beg for a secretary of the arts," he said.

An online petition was started by classical and jazz bassist Jaime Austria, inspired by Quincy Jones' interview.
According to Quincy Jones' official website, during his travels - Quincy Jones has observed that people in other countries seem to have greater appreciation for American music than Americans.

He hopes the creation of a secretary of the arts in the U.S. will help preserve American music and other U.S. arts and ensure that they remain a vital part of American schools' curriculum.

The online petition is available here.

In six decades as a composer, arranger, producer of records, films and TV programs, record company executive, magazine founder and multi-media entrepreneur, Quincy Jones has fused pop, soul, hip-hop, jazz, classical, African and Brazilian music to entertain audiences worldwide. He has been nominated for more Grammy awards than anyone, and received France's most distinguished title, the Légion d' Honneur.

Jones sang in a gospel quartet at age 12 and studied trumpet in junior high school. He attended Berklee College of Music, but left to tour with Lionel Hampton's band. These experiences led to arranging and recording music for legends of jazz in the U.S. and France.

Jones was the first popular conductor-arranger to record with a Fender bass. His theme for Ironside was the first synthesizer-based pop theme song. He was the first African American composer to be embraced by Hollywood, writing 33 major motion picture scores and becoming the first high-level black executive of a major record company and a television executive producer.

Jones's landmark album, Back on the Block, was named "Album of the Year" at the 1990 Grammy Awards. His recording of Miles and Quincy Live at Montreux won a Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Performance. He produced and conducted the best-selling single of all time -- "We Are The World" - as well as the best-selling album of all time -- Michael Jackson's Thriller. Jones was also executive producer of the most-watched award show in the world - the 68th Annual Academy Awards.

He continues to record through his own label, Quest Records.

It is nearly three years since Guitar Hero first went on sale generating over $1 billion in sales along the way.

You would have thought that by now, some genius would have made millions by busting out a record player controller with some scratch-heavy hip hop tracks in a Guitar Hero-like format.

Some genius has in fact thought of this - Genius Products, to be specific, which partnered with 7 Digital, QD3 and GenCo Media to begin development on Scratch: The Ultimate DJ, scheduled for release in Spring 2009.

Producer Quincy Jones is the music consultant for the game, which will feature "distinctive urban environments and features songs from the biggest names in Hip Hop" according to the announcement.

"Scratch will feature original recordings from the catalogs of many top urban artists and will allow players to re-imagine songs on the fly and add their own creativity," added Jones.

"This feature sets it apart from other music rhythm games and makes it a dream come true for both casual music fans and serious DJs/producers."

Pop on over to this link, at the south coast hip hop movie website, and you can win a copy.

As a trumpeter, composer, arranger, conductor, producer, executive and entrepreneur, Quincy Jones has found success in nearly every facet of entertainment; however, it may very well be his humanitarian work that is his defining statement.

In the 1960's and 70's, Jones was one of the key supporters of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s Operation Breadbasket. In 1985, he pioneered the model of using celebrity to raise money and awareness for a cause with "We Are the World." The song remains the best-selling single of all-time, and raised more than $63 Million for Ethiopian famine relief. More importantly, however, it shined a spotlight on the Ethiopian drought and U.S. Government responded with over $800 million in aid.

In 1999 Quincy Jones joined Bono and Bob Geldof during a meeting with Pope John Paul II as a part of the Jubilee 2000 delegation to end third world debt. The delegation's visit resulted in $27 billion in third world debt relief for Bolivia, Mozambique, and the Ivory Coast. In 2004, in front of a live audience of more than a half-million spectators, Jones launched the We Are the Future initiative with a concert featuring Carlos Santana, Alicia Keyes, Josh Groban, Oprah Winfrey, Norah Jones and a host of other entertainers from around the world. The initiative has established Municipal Child Centers in the cities of Addis Ababa (Ethiopia), Asmara (Eritrea), Freetown (Sierra Leone), Kigali (Rwanda) and Nablus (Palestine) where youth are being trained to run child-based programs in health, nutrition, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Sports and Arts. In 2007, Jones and the Harvard School of Public Health joined forces to advance the health and well-being of children worldwide through Project Q, a strategic initiative of School's Center for Health Communication.

Through the strategic use of media, Project Q challenges leaders and citizens of the world to provide essential resources to enable young people to achieve their full potential. A centerpiece of Project Q is the Q Prize, which recognizes extraordinary leadership by public figures and social entrepreneurs who are championing the needs of children. The inaugural Q Prize was awarded in January 2007 to Scott Neeson, founder of the Cambodian Children's Fund, and over $600,000 was raised in support of Neeson's work. The 2008 Q Prize will be awarded on October 23 in New York City. Through his personal foundation, The Quincy Jones Foundation, Jones raises awareness and financial resources for initiatives that support global children's issues in areas of conflict, malaria eradication, clean water and efforts to restore the Gulf Coast (post-Katrina). Philanthropic partners include Malaria No More, Millennium Promise, and Usher's New Look Foundation.