The jazz musician, known for collaborating with music stars including Frank Sinatra and Michael Jackson, wrote the film score and also co-produced the coming-of-age film.
Sharing a throwback photo of the two of them walking outside with their arms around each other, the star noted it was Jones who “discovered” her for her breakout role in the 1985 movie The Color Purple. “My life changed forever for the better after meeting him,” she wrote.
“I had never experienced, nor have since, anyone who’s heart was so filled with love.
“He walked around with his heart wide open, and he treated everybody as if they were the most important person he’d ever met. He was the Light. No shadows.
“He was love lived out loud in human form and he was the first person I ever loved unconditionally. That’s how we signed all our notes to each other, ‘Unconditionally…’”.
She hailed him as the “mightiest of souls” and said his legacy will be how he “enhanced” every life he touched, adding: “Biggest, fullest, most love-filled life ever. One of one!”
Jones died on Sunday night aged 91 at his home in the Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, California, surrounded by his relatives, his publicist Arnold Robinson said.