As a producer, arranger, composer, bandleader and recording artist, he made a powerful mark on nearly every genre he touched. He died Sunday, at 91.

Few artists have legacies so mammoth their very name could be considered synonymous with the music industry, but then again, most musicians are not the prodigious producer Quincy Jones.

Quincy Jones was a crucial connector of talent and repertoire; he had an instinctive sense of where artists should go to find success. Here are 15 of his essential recordings.