Patrice
Patrice Rushen

Los Angeles-born multi-faceted musician, songwriter, singer, arranger and producer Patrice Rushen had recorded three acclaimed and well-received albums for the jazz label Prestige Records during her tenure with the company before signing a 1977 contract with Elektra Records.

Patrice kicked off her successful association with the label with the 1978 album PATRICE, her first breakthrough into the U.S. mainstream market, reaching No. 5 on the Jazz Albums and No, 27 on the R&B Albums charts, paving the way for Patrice to achieve international success with subsequent Elektra albums. The funky single ‘Hang It Up’ became her first Top 20 R&B hit single.

All star sessions for PATRICE included a dazzling array of famed musicians including Earth Wind & Fire guitarist Al McKay, drummer James Gadson, bassists Freddie Washington and Abraham Laboriel, trumpeter Jerry Hey, percussionists Bill Summers and Paulinho DaCosta, with background vocals by Syreeta Wright, Sheree Brown, Jim Gilstrap and the Waters family. Patrice wrote or co-wrote most of the tracks on this stellar ten-track set.

In a departure from her earlier recordings, her Elektra debut focused more on Patrice’s soulful vocals: standouts on PATRICE include the ballad ‘Didn’t You Know,’ the upbeat ‘Changes (In Your Life),’ the lilting ‘Cha-Cha’ and the groove-licious ‘It’s Just A Natural Thing.’

PATRICE has been out of print on CD for a number of years and is being reissued as part of SoulMusic Records’ jazz/funk series. The notes by respected writer Jeff Lorez include 2012 quotes from Patrice on the impact of her first major international label release.

Press:- ‘Patrice was her Elektra debt on 1978 and blends scintillating keyboard-d jazz-funk workouts with soulful and introspective ballads’. Record Collector, July 2012