Multi-Grammy winning producer and multi-media entrepreneur Quincy Jones and UAE entrepreneur Badr Jafar have set up a joint venture, the Global Gumbo Group, to develop multi-media opportunities in the Mena region.

Initially focusing on producing live entertainment opportunities in the Middle East for Western artists in collaboration with renowned Mena artists, the Global Gumbo Group will also look to nurture new regional talent, and acquire content from the region to introduce to the West.

The JV aims to target all entertainment platforms including music, film, television, publishing and digital applications, said Jones, who will serve as chairman of the board of the new venture. Badr Jafar will be the Global Gumbo Group president.
 
Its first production, in association with Dawn Elder World Entertainment, will be a concert during Morocco's annual music festival in May, the Mawazine Festival, which will feature performances by The Global Gumbo All-Stars (Alfredo Rodriguez, Greg Phillinganes, Richard Bona, Lionel Loueke, Francisco Mela and Paulinho Da Costa), Patti Austin, Siedah Garrett, Naturally Seven and Riffat Sultana.

"I have long been a vocal proponent of music and the arts being a great asset in building bridges between cultures, and from my many experiences starting in 1953 touring the Mena with Lionel Hampton and again in 1956 as the musical director and trumpeter for Dizzy Gillespie's first State Department Tour, I have witnessed that ability firsthand," said Jones.

"It is my hope that this partnership with my dear friend Badr Jafar will provide a cultural exchange between the West and the Mena region that will foster a better understanding of these regions and an appreciation for our common values at this crucial time in the region's history," he added.

Jafar said the partnership had been a long time in the making, and is being launched at an important time in the region. "I am a great believer in the power associated with the principles of social entrepreneurship, and the Global Gumbo Group's mission is perfectly in line with these, using music and the arts to build on and promote mutual respect and appreciation across borders," he added.

According to him, Jones will unveil a new Arabic version of the 1990 #1 song "Tomorrow", originally recorded by Tevin Campbell for Jones' Grammy Award-winning Record of the Year Back On The Block , which will raise money to finance educational scholarships for some of the region's most promising youth.

A 27-time Grammy Award winner and all-time most nominated Grammy artist with 79 nominations, Jones' career spanned six decades and encompassed roles of composer, arranger, conductor, instrumentalist, record producer, film and TV producer, magazine founder, multi-media entrepreneur and humanitarian.-TradeArabia News Service