Patrice Rushen – Patrice / Pizzazz (LP) | Strutt
Patrice Rushen’s more hard-to-find Elektra titles have finally been reissued by Quinton Scott over at Strutt, fresh off the back of organising her stint in London this summer where she played several dates in the capital, notably at Koko in Camden to a packed-out audience of all ages.
Her first album on Elektra after moving over from Prestige records in 1978 Patrice saw a departure from rawer jazz-funk and fusion off the tail end of Shout It Out, signalling a switch to more R&B and soul inspired styles of playing. As a result of this transition, Rushen was vilified in the jazz media as many believed that her transition away from jazz was strictly commercial. The quality of the recorded music would beg to differ, enlisting veteran jazzmen Charles Mims Jr and Reggie Andrews (Chocolate Jam Company, Karma, Reggie Andrews & The Fellowship) as producers and mentors. The album is put together with lush orchestration, clever arrangements and jazz-derived voicings and passages of playing. With Patrice, Rushen establishes herself as an expressive and charming vocalist, her vocals front and centre rather than her piano playing taking precedence, certainly no instrumental tracks to talk of. Music of the Earth is a standout from the album, a funky 4/4 number flirting with disco influences, reinforced with compositional class and catchy vocal hooks. Through the release of this album, Rushen clearly demonstrated that her appeal transcended jazz: she had equal success in the soul and R&B markets thereafter.
Buy Patrice HERE
Listen below:
Patrice Rushen – Music Of The Earth
Patrice Rushen – When I Found You
Patrice Rushen – Changes (In Your Life)
Patrice Rushen – Wishful Thinking
Patrice Rushen – Let’s Sing
Patrice Rushen – A Song Of Love
Patrice Rushen – Hang It Up
Patrice Rushen – Cha-Cha
Patrice Rushen – It’s Just A Natural Thing
Patrice Rushen – Didn’t You Know?
Patrice Rushen – Play!
Patrice Rushen – Music Of The Earth (Danny Krivit Edit)
Patrice Rushen – Hang It Up 12″ Version
Patrice Rushen – Play! 12″ Version
Patrice Rushen – Didn’t You Know? (Extended Version)
Her profile continued to increase among her newfound audience with her second Elektra album and second highest charting release Pizzazz, which reached 39 in the US album charts in 1979. It features the hit single Haven’t You Heard which quickly rose to the top of the singles charts and featured on heavy rotation on radio playlists across America and Europe, a track which to this day is among one of Rushen’s greatest hits. In recent years, it notably received a rework from Dave Lee (fka Joey Negro) which re launched its popularity on modern dancefloors, notably at the Glitterbox parties in London and Ibiza where it is a tried and tested anthem. With Pizzaz, Rushen drew on such influences as EWF, Stevie Wonder, The Emotions and Minnie Ripperton, melding a sound that weas more commercially accessible and contemporaneously relevant. The soulful ballad Settle For My Love is one of the album highlights, a supple two-step that pivots on cool changes, delicate vocals and themes of love and desire, a track that accrued her huge popularity in the UK in the early eighties and one of the most requested audience cries during her gig at Koko. Pizzaz received plenty of attacks from jazz critics, who accused Rushen of being a traitor but from a soul/R&B perspective, Pizzazz is thought of as one of Rushen’s most rewarding and essential albums: a crucial body of work.
Buy Pizzazz HERE
Listen to the tracks below:
Patrice Rushen – Let The Music take Me
Patrice Rushen – Keepin’ Faith In Love
Patrice Rushen – Settle For My Love
Patrice Rushen – Message In The Music
Patrice Rushen – Haven’t You Heard
Patrice Rushen – Givin’ It Up Is Givin’ Up
Patrice Rushen – Call On Me
Patrice Rushen – Reprise (Message in the Music)
Patrice Rushen – Haven’t You Heard 12″ Version
Patrice Rushen – Let The Music Take Me 12″ Version
Patrice Rushen – Givin’ It Up Is Givin’ Up 12″ Version
