The Quincy Jones mural at Garfield High School
The Quincy Jones Performance Center (Image: Lewis Crutcher Lewis)
A musical giant and embodiment of Garfield High School’s and the Central District’s place in the cultural history of Seattle, composer and producer Quincy Jones has died. Jones was 91.
The Quincy Jones Performance Center opened in 2008 as part of a $107.4 million renovation of the 23rd Ave campus attended by public high school students from across the Central District and Capitol Hill areas and honors the entertainment icon’s legacy — and hard work to rise to the top of the industry.
“I can’t believe it’s been 70 years since I walked these halls as a student…as a young kid who wasn’t sure how life would turn out, or even if I would ever know of a life outside the gangs,” Jones wrote in 2017. “Moving to Seattle forever changed me for the better…and finding music here showed me that I could be more than a statistic. My hope and prayer is that these kids know they can too…the only time success comes before work is in the dictionary, and that’s the TRUTH!…I’ve lived it!”
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Jones graduated from Garfield in 1950. He was born in Chicago in 1933, moving with his family — and his trumpet — to Bremerton in the 1940s, and then to 410 22nd Ave in 1947.
Legends of the legacy of the neighborhood’s Jackson Street in Seattle’s jazz history include stories of Jones, Ray Charles, and Ernestine Anderson.
More ears experienced the work Jones did as a producer including his collaborations with pop legend Michael Jackson.
“The Central Area has made enormous contributions to Seattle’s cultural identity, from the music of Jimi Hendrix and Quincy Jones to the Langston Hughes Performing Arts Institute,” the city said in 2015 as it shaped legislation creating the Central Area Arts District. “The neighborhood’s arts heritage is felt far beyond our city boundaries. This designation honors our history and nurtures the Central Area arts community for the next generation.”
Over the years, Jones continued to support Garfield including fundraisers for the award-winning Garfield jazz program.
In 2022, Jones served as the honorary chair as the school celebrated its 100th anniversary with the help of the Garfield Golden Grads, a committee of graduates who have reached their 50th reunion.
(Image: Lewis Crutcher Lewis)
The Quincy Jones Performance Center is hoped to eventually be at the center of more than the high school campus.
Planning continues for the Garfield Super Block, an $8.4 million project hoped to transform the area around Garfield High School, the Garfield Community Center, and the Quincy Jones Performance Center for community use including a Legacy and Promise Promenade, water play area, new playground, and field upgrades.
The parks project is hoped to help address public benefit investments that were never delivered when the performance center was being developed.
Joy Hollingsworth, District 3 representative on the Seattle City Council, has asked for $775,000 in next year’s Seattle Parks budget to support capital costs and community staffing for the effort.
Monday, Hollingsworth remembered Jones as an inspiration.
“Mr. Quincy Jones changed the game in music, blending genres and breaking boundaries with every beat,” Hollingsworth said. “His influence runs deep, shaping sounds and inspiring generations. He gave us gifts that will last forever.”
UPDATE: At Garfield, Jared Sessink, the school’s Director of Bands & Jazz, shared a 2007 letter from Jones that boosted the school’s music program.
Sessink writes:
In 2007, Garfield Jazz went to Europe in the summer to participate in a number of international jazz festivals. The band was struggling to get accepted to Umbria Jazz festival, so a parent with a connection to Quincy’s family reached out for help. Attached is the letter that Quincy signed and was shared with Umbria to get Garfield a spot on the festival. After the letter got sent, Garfield was put on the Saturday night Main square of the festival!
The Garfield Jazz Ensembles 3, 2, 1 and Vocal Jazz students will perform the school’s Jazz Kickoff concert Thursday, Nov 7 at 7 PM in the Quincy Jones Auditorium. The performance is free and open to the public. The director says they will open the evening “with a moment and tribute to Quincy.”
RIP to a legend, his legacy lives on at GHS.