The Dude

Performer: Quincy Jones
Artist: James Ingram; Michael Jackson; Stevie Wonder; Patti Austin; Herbie Hancock; Cynthia Weil; Toots Thielemans
Producer: Quincy Jones
Distributor: Universal Distribution

Notes: Recorded at Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, California. Personnel: Quincy Jones (vocals, trumpet, background vocals); Tom Bahler (vocals, trumpet, background vocals); Lalomie Washburn, Casey Cysik, James Ingram , Jim Gilstrap, Michael Jackson, Patti Austin, Syreeta Wright, Yvonne Lewis (vocals, background vocals); Charles May (vocals); Toots Thielemans (guitar, harmonica); Steve Lukather (guitar); Robbie Buchanan (strings, electric piano, keyboards); Ernie Watts, Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams (flute, saxophone); Jerry Hey (trumpet, horns); Chuck Findley (trumpet); Bill Reichenbach Jr. (trombone); Herbie Hancock, David Foster (piano, electric piano); Greg Phillinganes (electric piano, synthesizer, hand claps); David Wolinski "Hawk" (Clavinet, keyboards); Stevie Wonder (keyboards, synthesizer); Ian Underwood, Michael Boddicker (synthesizer); John "J.R." Robinson (drums, hand claps); Lenny Castro (hand claps, percussion); Louis Johnson (hand claps); Paulinho Da Costa (percussion). Recording information: RKM Studios, Brussels, Belgium (1980-1981); Westlake Audio, Los Angeles, CA (1980-1981). Arrangers: Jerry Hey; Johnny Mandel; Quincy Jones. Now running his own Qwest label and a thousand other things, Quincy Jones still owed one more album to A&M -- and he gave them a blockbuster, one that reached number ten, yielded three hit pop singles and made a star out of soul balladeer James Ingram. "Ai No Corrida," and the leadoff track, is the Quincy Jones hit method par excellence -- great pacing, superb sound, a catchy tune, a hot Ernie Watts tenor sax solo and you can dance to it, too. Stevie Wonder's irresistible synthesizer hooks lift his "Betcha Wouldn't Hurt Me," and Q and omnipresent composer Rod Temperton are far-seeing enough on the title track to anticipate the rise of rap. But where does all of this pop wizardry, soon to assume mythic dimensions on Michael Jackson's Thriller, leave the jazz listener? Yes, Quincy has thought of you too, however briefly, on Ivan Lins' wistful "Velas," where perennial house jazzer Toots Thielemans eloquently returns, taping his part in Belgium. Obviously, though, the main purpose here is to make hit pop singles, and The Dude does a pretty good job of that. ~ Richard S. Ginell An enormous commercial success, 1981's THE DUDE is a cross-cultural success blending jazz, Latin music, soul ballads, and straight pop into an admittedly slick but never over-produced or soulless stew. The album opens with a surprise; "Ai No Corrida" is a synthesizer-driven yet still funky Latin dance track written by Chaz Jankel of Ian Dury and the Blockheads, suggesting that unlike a lot of musicians his age, Quincy Jones kept his ears open to new music. The proto-rap title track accomplishes the same thing. The rest of the album is more conventional, with James Ingram and Patti Austin trading vocals on a smooth collection of tracks highlighted by the masterful love ballads "One Hundred Ways" and "Just Once," staples of adult-contemporary stations, and the haunting Stevie Wonder-penned instrumental "Velas." THE DUDE is an outstanding collection that was massively influential on the '80s R&B scene.

Quincy Jones has been one of the most influential and respected figures in music since the 1950s. His gifts as an arranger and producer have brought him a great deal of success including multi-platinum albums by Michael Jackson, his own high-profile label (Qwest), and magazine (Vibe). His endeavors into straight jazz recording are relatively few, but they bore some great fruit in the late '50s and early '60s.

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