Multi-Grammy Winning Producer, Composer and Humanitarian Quincy Jones to Lead Historic Concert of Global Stars to Promote Peace, Hope, Unity and a Better Tomorrow During Morocco's Annual Mawazine Music Festival

News provided by

May 15, 2011, 10:00 ET

LOS ANGELES, May 15, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Multi-Grammy winning producer, composer and humanitarian Quincy Jones, in association with his Global Gumbo Group and the Maroc Cultures Association, will lead a historic collaboration of Western, Middle Eastern and North African musicians on May 25th during a concert at the annual Mawazine Music Festival in Rabat, Morocco to promote the principles of peace, hope, unity and a better tomorrow for the youth of the region.

Commented Jones, "I have long been a vocal proponent of music and the arts being a great asset in building bridges between cultures, and from my many experiences starting in 1953 touring the Middle East and North Africa with Lionel Hampton and again in 1956 as the musical director and trumpeter for Dizzy Gillespie's first State Department Tour, I have witnessed that ability firsthand. It is my hope that this concert will help provide a cultural exchange between the West and the Middle East and North Africa that will foster a better understanding of these regions and an appreciation for our common values at this crucial time in the region's history."

Middle Eastern and North African artists from the countries of Iraq, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, Libya, Algeria, Tunisia, Lebanon, Qatar, Syria and Palestine, among others, are expected to participate in the historic concert alongside renowned American recording artists including vocalists Patti Austin and Siedah Garrett, musical director/keyboardist Greg Phillanganes, hip-hop vocal group Naturally 7 and Jones' Global Gumbo All-Stars, made up of guitarist Lionel Loueke (Benin), bassist Richard Bona (Cameroon), pianist Alfredo Rodriguez (Cuba), percussionist Paulinho Da Costa (Brazil), and drummer Francisco Mela (Cuba).

A 27-time Grammy Award winner (the most of any living musician) and the all-time most nominated Grammy artist with a total of 79 nominations, Quincy Jones' career has spanned six decades and encompassed the roles of composer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, record producer, record executive, film and television producer, magazine founder, multi-media entrepreneur and humanitarian.

As a master inventor of musical hybrids, Quincy Jones has shuffled pop, soul, hip-hop, jazz, gospel, blues, classical, African and Brazilian music into many dazzling fusions, traversing virtually every medium, including records, live performances, movies, television, broadcasting and magazine publishing.

Named by Time Magazine as one of the six most influential Jazz artists of the 20th Century, Jones won the first of his many Grammy Awards in 1963 for his Count Basie arrangement of "I Can't Stop Loving You." His three-year musical association as conductor and arranger with Frank Sinatra in the mid-60's also teamed him with Basie for the classic Sinatra At The Sands, containing the famous arrangement of "Fly Me To The Moon," the first recording played by astronaut Buzz Aldrin when he landed upon the moon's surface in 1969.

As producer and conductor of the historic "We Are The World" recording (the best-selling single of all time), Michael Jackson's multi-platinum solo albums, Off The Wall, Bad and Thriller (the best-selling album of all time), and the 1990 multi-Grammy winning Album of the Year Back On The Block, Quincy Jones stands as one of the most successful and admired creative artist/executives in the entertainment world.

In 2009, Jones was recognized by the National Endowment for the Arts as a Jazz Master - the nation's highest jazz honor, and was most recently bestowed the National Medal of Arts, the nation's highest artistic honor.

The Global Gumbo Group:

A joint venture between Quincy Jones and United Arab Emirates social entrepreneur Badr Jafar The Global Gumbo Group (www.globalgumbogroup.com), seeks to develop multi-media opportunities across all entertainment platforms including music, film, television, publishing and digital applications, in the Middle East and North Africa. Jones serves as Chairman of the Board of the partnership while Jafar serves as President.

Initially focusing on producing live entertainment opportunities in the Middle East for Western artists in collaboration with renowned Middle East and North African artists, the Global Gumbo Group will also look to nurture new Middle Eastern and North African talent, and acquire content from the region to introduce to the West.

Maroc Cultures Association:

Maroc Cultures Association is a non-profit based in Morocco whose mission is to promote world culture and art. Maroc Cultures Association is the organizer of the annual Mawazine Festival, a nine-day extravaganza and one of the most prestigious music festivals in the world.