Presenting Patti Austin: A Vocal Masterclass
Part of the yearlong event series Quincy Jones: Beyond Category

ADMISSION & CAMPUS ACCESS:
Admission is free. Reservations are required. Campus access is limited to registered guests and USC students, staff, and faculty with current USC ID. 

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DESCRIPTION:
Legendary vocalist Patti Austin will discuss her career and lead a public masterclass with USC Thornton students. She will share her unparalleled expertise, insights, and techniques from her early work with jazz legend Ella Fitzgerald to her sustained multi-decade work with Quincy Jones to her session singing for legends like Michael Jackson and Aretha Franklin to her Oscar-nominated chart-topping solo and duet hits across genres like jazz, soul, and R&B. Since her breakthrough in the mid-’70s, Austin has been a mainstay on the Billboard charts with 19 solo albums to her credit and performances of her hit songs on both the Grammys and the Oscars. 

Produced by Jason King, Dean of the USC Thornton School of Music, this event will be co-moderated by USC Thornton Chair of Pop Performance Lyndia Johnson and Associate Professor of Jazz Studies Luciana Souza.

This event is part of Quincy Jones: Beyond Category, an event series organized by the USC Thornton School of Music to explore, elevate, and celebrate Quincy Jones’s life and legacy. Working across styles and idioms including classical, jazz, pop, R&B, and film scoring—and breaking ground for African American achievement in the entertainment industries—Jones has garnered the highest levels of critical and commercial acclaim. 

Related events:

Screening Quincy Jones: Duke Ellington… We Love You Madly
Friday, September 20, 2024, at 7 p.m.
Norris Cinema Theatre
Get more info HERE.

In Tune with Quincy Jones: A Special Panel Event Featuring Q’s Key Collaborators
Wednesday, October 23, 2024, at 7:30 p.m.
Bovard Auditorium
Get more info HERE.

The Making of Handel’s Messiah: A Soulful Celebration—A Close Listening Session
Thursday, November 21, 2024, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m.
Carson Soundstage
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Quincy Jones Symphonic: A USC Concert Experience
Friday, March 14, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
Bovard Auditorium
Get more info HERE.

Vibe Revived: Reflections from Vibe Magazine’s Trailblazing Writers and Editors
Saturday, March 15, 2025, at 7:30 p.m.
Newman Recital Hall
Get more info HERE.

Presented by USC Visions and Voices. Organized by the USC Thornton School of Music in collaboration with the Recording Academy’s Black Music Collective.

Photo: Courtesy of Barry Orms