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.

Quincy Jones made himself one of the 20th century’s greatest producers by presiding over American music’s transition from jazz to pop.