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| Qwest Records | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Parent company | Warner Music Group |
| Founded | 1980 |
| Founder | Quincy Jones |
| Status | Defunct |
| Distributor(s) | Warner Records Interscope Records (select re-releases) |
| Genre | Various |
| Country of origin | U.S. |
Qwest Records was an American record label run by Quincy Jones.
Qwest Records was established by Quincy Jones in 1980 as a joint venture with Warner Bros. Records, although Jones remained under contract with A&M Records until 1981. The first release on Qwest was George Benson's 1980 album, Give Me the Night , shared with Warner Bros. Records, as Benson was under contract with it. Patti Austin, Jones's goddaughter, was one of the first artists to sign with Qwest, and the label released her album, Every Home Should Have One , in 1981.
While Qwest Records primarily catered to the R&B market, it also welcomed a diverse range of artists. This included Frank Sinatra (whom Jones produced in the 1960s), Tevin Campbell, Radiance, and the British alternative dance group New Order (formerly known as Joy Division, its earlier post-punk incarnation). Jones told NME in a May 1990 interview: [1]
I'm so honored that New Order picked my label to go on in the US—it really flattered me. They're beautiful people.
In the 1990s, Qwest Records demonstrated its adaptability by venturing into the burgeoning hip-hop music scene. It discovered and nurtured R&B artist Tamia, who went on to enjoy a successful career. The label also signed the gospel group the Winans in 1985 and Táta Vega, who released Now I See through Qwest. Robert Stewart, a performer on the Pulitzer Prize-winning Wynton Marsalis recording Blood on the Fields , [2] was signed to the label in 1994. His two albums for Qwest, In the Gutta and The Force, were met with critical acclaim. [3]
Qwest was absorbed by Warner Bros. Records in 2000, with its roster of artists either transferred to its parent label (or its sister labels) or dropped. The Warner Music Group currently owns the Qwest catalogue. In 2006, select titles by Jones were licensed to Universal Music Group for distribution and reissues. Jones himself died on November 3, 2024.
George Washington Benson is an American jazz fusion guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He began his professional career at the age of 19 as a jazz guitarist.
Mushroom Records was an Australian flagship record label, founded in 1972 in Melbourne. It published and distributed many successful Australian artists and expanded internationally, until it was merged with Festival Records in 1998. Festival Mushroom Records was later acquired by Warner Bros. Records, which operated the label from 2005 to 2010 until it folded to Warner. Founder Michael Gudinski went on to become the leader of the Mushroom Group, the largest independent music and entertainment company in Australia, with divisions such as Frontier Touring.
Asylum Records is an American record label, founded in 1971 by David Geffen and partner Elliot Roberts. It was taken over by Warner Communications in 1972, and later merged with Elektra Records to become Elektra/Asylum Records.
Warner Records Inc. is an American record label. A subsidiary of the Warner Music Group, it is headquartered in Los Angeles, California. It was founded on March 19, 1958, as the recorded music division of the American film studio Warner Bros.
Robert McElhiney James is an American jazz keyboardist, arranger, and record producer. He founded the band Fourplay and wrote "Angela", the theme song for the TV show Taxi. According to VICE, music from his first seven albums has often been sampled and believed to have contributed to the formation of hip hop. Among his most well known recordings are "Nautilus", "Westchester Lady", "Tappan Zee", and his version of "Take Me to the Mardi Gras".
Louis Johnson was an American bass guitarist. Johnson was best known for his work with the group the Brothers Johnson and his session playing on several hit albums of the 1970s and 1980s, including the best-selling album of all time, Michael Jackson's Thriller.
Paul Milton Jackson Jr. is an American fusion/urban jazz composer, arranger, producer and guitarist.
David W. Bargeron is an American trombonist and tuba player who was a member of the jazz-rock group Blood, Sweat & Tears.
Charnett Moffett was an American jazz bassist and composer. He was an apparent child prodigy. Moffett began playing bass in the family band, touring the Far East in 1975 at the age of eight. In the mid-1980s, he played with Wynton Marsalis and Branford Marsalis.
Tamia is the debut studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released on April 14, 1998, on Quincy Jones's Qwest Records, while distribution was handled through Warner Bros. Recorded after the release of her Grammy Award-nominated collaborations with Jones and the single "Missing You", her contribution to the soundtrack of the 1996 motion picture Set It Off, Tamia worked with a plethora of producers on her debut, including Jermaine Dupri, Tim & Bob, Mario Winans, J-Dub, Keith Crouch, and Christopher "Tricky" Stewart, many of which would become frequent producers on subsequent projects.
Ralph Anthony MacDonald was an American percussionist, steelpan virtuoso, songwriter, musical arranger, and record producer.
Rodney Whitaker is an American jazz double bass player and educator.
A Nu Day is the second studio album by Canadian recording artist Tamia. It was released by Elektra Records on October 10, 2000, following her transition from Qwest Records. A less ballad-driven collection of songs and more progressive approach than her debut effort, Tamia worked with a smaller number of songwriters and producers on the album, including Dallas Austin, Shep Crawford, Missy Elliott, Bink!, Errol "Poppi" McCalla, and Jazz Nixon, some of whom would become frequent collaborators on subsequent albums. As with Tamia, a cover version, DeBarge's 1983 single "Love Me in a Special Way", was also recorded for the album.
Lewis Michael Soloff was an American jazz trumpeter, composer, and actor.
Jerry Hey is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's Thriller, Rock with You, "Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough", "Workin’ Day and Night" and the flugelhorn solo on Dan Fogelberg's hit "Longer". Additionally, he has performed with artists such as George Benson, Nik Kershaw, Al Jarreau, Barbra Streisand, Donna Summer, Earth, Wind & Fire, Whitney Houston, Frank Sinatra, George Duke, Lionel Richie, Rufus and Chaka Khan, Natalie Cole, Aretha Franklin, Patti Austin, Toshiki Kadomatsu, Yumi Matsutoya, among many others.
Bill Summers is an American, New Orleans–based Afro-Cuban jazz/Latin jazz percussionist, a multi-instrumentalist who plays primarily on conga drums.
Give Me the Night is a 1980 album by American jazz guitarist and singer George Benson.
"Give Me the Night" is a song recorded by American jazz and R&B musician George Benson, which he released from his 1980 studio album of the same title. It was written by Heatwave's keyboard player Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. Patti Austin provides the backing and scat vocals that are heard throughout, and one of Benson's fellow jazz guitarists, Lee Ritenour, also performs on the track.
Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra is an American big band and jazz orchestra led by trumpeter Wynton Marsalis. The orchestra is part of Jazz at Lincoln Center, a performing arts organization in New York City.
Robert Darrin Stewart is an American saxophonist. He recorded several albums under his own name during the period 1994–2006. He has also recorded as a sideman, including on trumpeter Wynton Marsalis' Blood on the Fields. Stewart went on multiple national and world tours during his 30-year career as a performer, both under his own name and with the Marsalis band.
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