KUALA LUMPUR: By now, most Malaysians are full of praises for our United States-based singer Yunalis Mat Zara’ai, for having made a mark States-side and all.
But the 30-year-old artiste recently had THE American music legend Quincy Jones waxing lyrical about her on his Instagram account.
Jones, 84, posted a picture of him with the singer, captioning it: “I’ve spent my career reaching backwards and looking forwards... paying tribute to the teachers and visionaries who came before me, while making something new that might inspire another generation of creators.
"@yunamusic embodies that commitment with her own forward-reaching sound, while paying respect to her influences, and I absolutely love that about her. We had a great time at the launch of my JBL E55BT Quincy Edition Headphones, chatting about some of our favorite young musicians that keep us excited for the future! Keep on keepin' on gurl!”
Elated and excited, Yuna also took to her Instagram and wrote: “So honored to be a part of this moment in music. I had the pleasure of meeting @QuincyJones recently, he told me that.. you can’t live without music, and he spent his life making some of the most recognizable music on the planet...”
At the event launching of the headphone, a limited edition of a collaboration between the music legend and audio brand JBL, Yuna had the chance to speak with Jones. (To view the conversation, check out the Instagram account @porschevisionx)
During the interview, Yuna asked Jones which contemporary artistes inspired him the most for the future in music, to which he answered, “I’ll start off with Kendrick Lamar.”
He also mentioned Bruno Mars, Common, Ludacris, Esperanza Spalding and “little” Joey Alexander from Indonesia.
“He’s frightening. He’s 13 years old. He plays like Herbie Hancock,” Jones said of the young talent.
When asked by Yuna to finish the sentence, “Music is…”, Jones answered, “...the essence of the senses. Water and music are the two things that you can’t live without. Soothes your soul, you know. Your senses, all the time. Any mood you’re in.”
In the message accompanying the video, Yuna described Jones as “the best musician in this lifetime.”
Jones has been making music for the past seven decades. He has been described as a band leader, a solo artiste, a sideman, a songwriter, a producer, an arranger, a film composer, and a record label executive, and outside of music, he’s also written books, produced major motion pictures, and helped create television series.
He was also the force behind the late Michael Jackson, and worked with big acts like Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau, Tevin Campbell and Bono of U2.