Stevie Wonder, Cynthia Erivo and Will Smith star in Grammys Quincy Jones tribute

The tribute to the 28-time Grammy victor came aft helium died past twelvemonth aged 91, with Will Smith introducing it arsenic jazz fable Herbie Hancock played Killer Joe down him.

Smith said helium “touched countless lives” but “changed excavation forever”, saying helium made legends “sound adjacent greater”.

He past introduced Wicked prima Erivo to sing Jones’s collaborator Frank Sinatra’s Fly Me To The Moon with Hancock.

The signifier past opened up to uncover a larger set who finished the opus with Erivo, earlier she introduced Lainey Wilson and Jacob Collier singing Jones’s opus Let The Good Times Roll.

After that Hancock returned to the piano, joined by Wonder, who accompanied him connected harmonica arsenic they performed the jazz modular Bluesette.

Wonder past led the assemblage connected a singalong of We Are The World, the foundation azygous Jones produced for USA For Africa.

Former Fresh Prince Of Bel Air prima Smith past returned to archer an anecdote astir Jones, earlier introducing vocalist Janelle Monae, dressed arsenic Michael Jackson and singing Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough, she ripped her suit disconnected to uncover an “I (Heart) QJ” t-shirt portion dancing connected tables.

While telling his monologue, Smith said: “Quincy Jones was a mentor, friend, begetter figure.

“I privation to stock a small communicative astir Quincy.

“Quincy was the enforcement shaper of The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, and we’re connected acceptable 1 day, and you know, I’m 22 years old, Quincy gave maine a changeable with this show, and I’m connected set, and I’m having a truly hard clip due to the fact that y’all saw the aboriginal episode, truthful y’all cognize I couldn’t truly act.

“So I’m having a hard clip connected acceptable and moving done a scene, and idiosyncratic says, ‘Will, Quincy wants to spot you’.

“I’m similar successful the mediate of this scene, they said, ‘no, helium said, travel close now’, truthful I go, and Quincy’s lasting there, helium got his hands connected his hips, and he’s astatine the snack table, and he’s looking astatine the snacks.

“And I was like, what’s up, Q? He says, truthful this is the nutrient that you deliberation the radical connected your acceptable should eat.

“I was like, ‘Quincy, I don’t bash the snacks connected the show’, helium said, ‘whose sanction was connected this script? It says Mr Fresh Prince’, Quincy, it’s me.

“He said, ‘so, fto maine get this straight, you privation these radical to enactment 16 oregon 18 hours a time truthful you tin realise your dreams, and this is the nutrient you deliberation they should eat’.

“He said, ‘I don’t attraction if it’s not successful the budget, you wage for it retired of your ain pocket’.

“And helium said thing to maine that became the implicit centre of however I wanted to person my career, however I wanted to unrecorded my life.

“He looked close successful my face, and helium said, ‘it is your occupation to instrumentality attraction of these people’, and I’ve done everything I tin done my vocation to effort to unrecorded up to Quincy’s demand.”

Jones is 1 of the fewer radical to person earned non-competitive EGOT status, a victor of an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony, wherever 1 of the awards was honorary oregon non-competitive.

He is champion known for his enactment with Frank Sinatra, Dizzy Gillespie, Duke Ellington, Tony Bennett, and Michael Jackson, connected his albums Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad.