How the Quincy Jones Deal Came About

I was at the NAMM Show in Anaheim two years ago and, as always, I headed straight to the Hal Leonard booth to check in and say hi to all the folks I work with throughout the year. I got over the glamor of the big show a long time ago and some of my visits have consisted of walking in and saying hello to a very few industry friends and then heading directly back to Seattle on the same day.

I walked in to meet with my Executive editor, Mike Lawson, and he said, "Quincy Jones's people are here and they want to talk about doing a Legacy Series. They want Hal Leonard to publish it. Then he said the magic words, "We'd like you to write it. Can you come back at 2:00 for the meeting." Uhh...yes...I think I could make that happen, Mike.

So, a few of Quincy's team and a few of the Hal Leonard team sat in an isolated room on the tradeshow floor and talked through what would end up to be the beginnings of The Quincy Jones Legacy Series.

It took about six months, or more, to get all the contracts together and to frame the deal. The final step was to meet with Quincy and make sure that all the cards were on the table and that all of the key players had met and were in agreement about the focus of the project. That meeting will be the focus of my next couple posts.