Quincy Jones Hosts West Hollywood Screening Of Oscar Hopeful, 'Green Book'

Quincy Jones

QUINCY JONES, star MAHERSHALA ALI and director PETER FARRELLY hosted a reception for the OSCAR hopeful "Green Book" at YSABEL in WEST HOLLYWOOD on THURSDAY, DECEMBER 13th. 

QUINCY introduced the screening, calling "Green Book," "a very special film about friendship and the power of music to bring people together."

JONES then recalled working as an arranger in NEW YORK in the '50s and meeting the movie's subject, world-class pianist DR. DON SHIRLEY. 

"He was without question one of AMERICA's greatest pianists... as skilled a musician as LEONARD BERSTEIN or VAN CLIBURN... so it is wonderful that his story is finally being told and celebrated."

QUINCY then praised MAHERSHALA's sure-to-be-OSCAR-nominated performance. "You did an absolutely fantastic job playing him, and I think yours and VIGGO [MORTENSEN]’s performances will go down as one of the great friendships captured on film."

QUINCY recalled how he toured that "chitlin'" circuit through the SOUTH when he was with the LIONEL HAMPTON band: "It was no picnic. And we were a band. I can’t imagine what it would have been like to do it alone with just a driver. So [writer/director] PETER [FARRELLY] thank you for telling this story of our country’s not so distant history, and capturing on film the ties that can bind us when we spend time listening, talking and living with one another."

QUINCY JONES is also the subject of the NETFLIX documentary, "QUINCY."

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