Quincy Jones to give first concert in Seoul

Famed American record producer and trumpeter Quincy Jones is to perform in Korea for the first time.

The 80-year-old is best known for producing Michael Jackson’s 1982 studio album “Thriller,” which has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide.

His upcoming concert, which is set to be held on July 25 at SK Olympic Handball Gymnasium in Seoul, is to feature a number of American singers, including R&B, pop and jazz music singer Patti Austin, singer-songwriter James Ingram and vocalist Siedah Garrett.

Throughout his 50-year music career, Jones has won a total of 79 Grammy Award nominations and 27 Grammy awards. In the 1950s, he arranged songs for artists including Sarah Vaughan, Dinah Washington, Duke Ellington and his close friend and the famed R&B musician Ray Charles, in New York City.

Jones produced three studio albums for America’s pop icon Michael Jackson. Their first album was “Off the Wall,” which was released in 1979 and sold about 20 million copies. Their second album, “Thriller,” came out in 1982, which became one of the biggest successes in American music recording history. Jones produced Jackson’s 1987 album “Bad,” which was their last studio album together.

Jones is also well known for producing “We Are the World,” a charity single written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie. The 1985 single was a huge commercial success, selling about 20 million copies worldwide.

Ticket sales for the upcoming Seoul concert begin on June 12.

By Claire Lee (dyc@heraldcorp.com)