FLY ME TO THE MOON: A TRIBUTE TO QUINCY JONES

News provided by

Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at California State University, Northridge

Oct 08, 2025, 08:00 ET

Featuring the Pacific Jazz Orchestra with Ms. Lisa Fischer and José James Chris Walden Conducts

Saturday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. ; Tickets on Sale Starting at $54 at TheSoraya.org .

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 8, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- The Soraya will pay homage to the giant of American music, Quincy Jones, on Saturday, Oct. 18 at 8 p.m. The concert, featuring vocalists Ms. Lisa Fisher and José James, will be led by Chris Walden as conductor of his Pacific Jazz Orchestra's 17-piece big band. This concert will celebrate Jones' work from the 1960's to 1978, immersing audiences in the quintessential sounds of Quincy Jones.

"Quincy Jones is one of the most influential artists of our lifetimes," said Soraya Executive and Artistic Director Thor Steingraber. "His early years in jazz can become lost among his subsequent five decades at the pinnacle of popular music. As soon as the world lost Mr. Jones, The Soraya turned to Chris Walden and Pacific Jazz Orchestra to craft a celebration of Jones early successes, including his arrangements for Frank Sinatra."

"Fly Me to the Moon," arranged for Frank Sinatra's 1964 album, was one of the most iconic big band arrangements that Jones wrote, and he soon became one of the most powerful forces in American popular music for more than half a century, and a household name for decades. His lifelong impact remains huge, including a long list of those whom he mentored, among them GRAMMY Award-winning bandleader and arranger Chris Walden, who is the founder, artistic director, and conductor of the Pacific Jazz Orchestra (PJO).

"I actually got to know Quincy after I came to Los Angeles about 30 years ago…I got to work a little bit with him, but most importantly we became friends," Walden said in an interview with The Soraya, adding that Jones was the first person to join the PJO board of advisors, are remained on until his death in 2024.

Read the full press release here .

SOURCE Younes and Soraya Nazarian Center for the Performing Arts at California State University, Northridge