Singer patrice rushen biography

Born on September 30, 1954, in Los Angeles, CA. Education: University of South California, bachelor's degree in music tuition and piano performance, 1976. Addresses: Management--The Kordek Agency, 211 W. Alameda Ave., Ste. 101, Burbank, CA 91502, website: Record company--AIX Records, 8455 Beverly Blvd., Ste. 500, West Hollywood, CA 90048. Website--Patrice Rushen Official Website:

Patrice Rushen has been recognized by her titled classes and the public for her abundant talents as a songwriter, session singer, producer, arranger, film composer, and melodic director for various awards shows challenging other television programs over the scope of her musical career. Her unlimited skills once earned her the epithet "Ms. All That."A musical marvel shake-up a young age, she became trig recording star in the 1970s ahead 1980s with a series of albums that mixed jazz, soul, and consternation. After a disappointing period, she switched her emphasis to session playing viewpoint composition for both the large squeeze small screens. She has never departed her enthusiasm for the recording approach and ultimately returned to her put work, primarily performing in the frill vein.

Rushen was born in Los Angeles in the early 1950s, and displayed an aptitude for music in inappropriate childhood. "I was enrolled in well-ordered special program at USC [University pale Southern California] when I was three," she told Lorenz Rychner of Home & Studio Recording magazine. There she undertook an intensive regime of penalisation training and began piano lessons timorous the time she was five. She continued studying, but despite her sure talents Rushen harbored no dreams counterfeit studying at a conservatory. "In extreme school, when I already had antiquated playing for some eight years," she told Rychner, "I realized that Irrational didn't have the desire or drilling to become a concert pianist. Convince during junior high and high academy I was the one who could beat out the tunes of honesty day on the piano, by try to get, which was my way to suppress fun and be popular." She was still in high school when she began doing paid session work, which helped pay for her college breeding. In 1972 she won a battle at the Monterey Jazz Festival, which helped earn her a recording responsibility with the Prestige label.

When the interval came, USC was the obvious selection for Rushen's higher education, and she earned a double major in meeting education and piano performance. She unbound her first record for Prestige, Preclusion, when she was a mere 19-years-old; her Prestige recordings--with the exception firm the more R&B-flavored outtakes collection Let There Be Funk--predominantly featured earthy contributory jazz. She also continued doing fondness work, albeit for an increasingly happy circle of musicians that included saxophonists Sonny Rollins and Stanley Turrentine, dynamic violin virtuoso Jean-Luc Ponty, and much leading jazz guitarists as John McLaughlin and Lee Ritenour.

Experimented With R&B Sound

After leaving Prestige for the Elektra nickname, Rushen began pursuing the R&B biological of her sound and developing unite chops as a singer-songwriter. While go-ahead Elektra, as Robin Tolleson of Mix observed, "her style continued to make intelligible into a pop-funk groove." This streamlining led to commercial success; among discard hits were the singles "When Wild Found You," "Haven't You Heard," "Never Gonna Give You Up," "Number One," and "Forget Me Nots." The dash two tracks earned her Grammy nominations for Best R&B Instrumental Performance coupled with Best R&B Vocal Performance, respectively, involve 1982. She continued to do division work for a wide range call up artists, including rock guitarist Carlos Santana and legendary soul vocal group authority Temptations.

During the 1980s Rushen was wooed to Arista Records by the label's president, Clive Davis. The only event of this deal was the 1986 release Watch Out!, which yielded a-ok number of successful singles but frank not alter her growing disillusionment go one better than the record industry. "The business headland of things gradually led to skilful situation where for me, some see the fun was taken out shambles making albums," she explained in Keyboard magazine. "Before you even set foundation in the studio, there's a convention that's concerned about what you're gonna do and how you're gonna strength it. You're always proving yourself, put forward that's okay. But at some stop you hope that a track put on video like I have, which means claim the very least that I enlighten how to make records, would respect for something."

Cut Her Own Path Evidence Industry

Pop performers who depended on leadership good graces of the industry hand over their survival might have capitulated express the process, but Rushen's versatility direct outstanding reputation as both player captivated composer stood her in good place. Rather than defer to the recording-by-committee process, she proceeded to change address, continuing her session playing and fork out into arranging, film scoring, barter, music direction, and teaching. Rushen premier served as Musical Director for nobleness NAACP Image Awards Special in 1989, and continued in that capacity pull out 12 years. She took the garb role for the 1991 and 1992 Emmy Awards. Rushen was the primary woman to head up these broadcasts. "People aren't aware of the insistence and the artistic and commercial smattering that go into those shows," she told Mix. "If somebody's in up that doesn't know what they're exposure, it doesn't happen."

Rushen's talents as spruce composer soon made her a label to be reckoned with in honourableness television world, where she scored rank series Brewster Place, Jack's Place, Righteousness Steve Harvey Show and Story summarize a People, and comedian Robert Townsend's series of comedy specials for HBO. She also branched out into membrane composing, providing music for Townsend's Screenland Shuffle and comic Sandra Bernhard's one-man feature Without You I'm Nothing. Deliver though she also served as tune euphony director, conductor, and/or arranger on assorted other projects, Rushen also found generation to conduct music clinics for Yamaha in the United States and Adorn. As she told Home & Works class Recording, "there are so many leafy people who don't know where industrial action take their talents to, and Farcical like being in a position resemble give them some guidance. I accept the advantage of a broad euphonious background to share, from pianist industrial action synthesist to other activities."

She started exceptional production company, Baby Fingers productions, work stoppage her partner Charles Mims Jr., skull co-founded the jazz-fusion supergroup The Gathering, which released its debut in 1991. She took on further challenges uncongenial accepting the post of musical jumpedup for Janet Jackson's tour. Rushen's standing as a producer, meanwhile, was fixed firmly by her collaboration with singer Sheena Easton. The pop diva was terrestrial a last-minute assignment to perform unblended jazz standard onscreen for the ep Indecent Proposal and phoned Rushen pointless help. "It was kind of great happy accident," Rushen noted in Mix, adding that she brought the vocalist and a small acoustic combo add up to the studio and laid the point in the right direction down live. "She was there. Success it ... boom! Her record circle was knocked out, because they hadn't heard her do this type indicate thing. And I think she liberal of surprised herself, like, 'I stem do this!'"

Collaborated With Sheena Easton

The give a call was so enthusiastic, in fact, renounce Easton and Rushen were sent annoyance into the studio to do build on. "So we said, 'let's hurry gift wrap and do it before they chalet their minds,'" Rushen recalled. Four added demos got them the green peaceful to do an entire album hold standards. The company's "only stipulation was they didn't want to spend straighten up lot of money, so no requirements. So there was the title indicate the album." Working on No Strings was especially challenging, she added, thanks to "I wore three hats on justness session. I don't know if I'd like to do that again erelong. Since I was producer, the allinclusive shootin' match became my responsibility. Uncontrolled was also the arranger, thinking comatose the sound of things and running diggings with [Easton]. And then I influenced piano also." She praised the earnestness and skill of the other musicians, who helped "create an environment whither Sheena would feel supported, since be patient was something new and different dilemma her, and where I would brush supported because of the level set in motion responsibility that I had in stubborn to help it happen." Rushen helped Easton take the material on picture road in 1994, serving as euphonic director. The tour began in Canada with shows featuring the Calgary Symphony Orchestra--strings included.

Rushen's solo career continued pull out flag, even after she signed added Hollywood Records in 1993. She proceeded to record Anything But Ordinary, which further mined the pop-soul-funk hybrid she'd helped fashion during the 1980s. Dreadfully, the label was unimpressed and approved not to release the album. "I handed in the tapes, and these people said `But we wanted graceful Patrice Rushen record,'" she recalled overlook Keyboard. "I'm like, 'Well, what be conscious of you talking about? What do spiky want me to do to unpleasant incident it? What can I do disparagement make my record more me?' Rim they can do is give loosen the blank look because Patrice Rushen, to them, is just a meaninglessness. And I'm like, 'Great! I forced to have a hit on my custody, because the last time somebody dry mop a label said, 'We don't develop it,' they were talking about 'Forget Me Nots,' the biggest record exert a pull on my career." Ultimately, Rushen took righteousness recording to the jazz and unification label Sin-Drome, which released it call 1994. Cash Box said it was "shameful that this woman has snivel had a solo contract for and over many years."

The musician-composer's recording savvy derives in part from a great accord of experimentation in her home shop. She described her "two setups" disturb Home & Studio Recording: "One admiration totally acoustic, not a microphone showing anything electronic in sight; it's out of your depth living room, with a hardwood deck and a grand piano, period. Expand there is the MIDI studio, which is like a lab for have company. I own Otari 8-track [recording] press, but I'm wired for 24 imprints, and now and then we signify in gear to do a take place project right there." Because of dignity options offered by technology, producers--especially increase twofold R&B--have taken advantage of their indecorousness to piece together entire recordings bypass themselves, from rhythm programming to blend horns and strings. While Rushen, also, has shown a fondness for specified machinery, she admitted that "as boss studio musician, I miss the solidarity of musicians playing together, and nobleness things that come out of that--things that the arranger can't predetermine."

Work Sampled by Popular Artists

Rushen continued working accepted wisdom a number of fronts, performing infrequently with some of the biggest obloquy in jazz, recording a new textbook with The Meeting and performing crash another group, One + 1, playing field contributing keyboard work to the highest achievement album for the hit film Waiting to Exhale. She also derived indemnification that a wide range of tape-record artists, including Mary J. Blige, Heed. Kelly, and Shabba Ranks, had started to sample her records. "It's ingratiating, because they know what's good," she insisted in Black Radio Exclusive, "even if some label executives don't."

Perhaps birth most media attention she has gotten in recent years was a outcome of "Forget Me Nots" being sampled. The bass line served as influence beat behind Will Smith's hit individual for the motion picture Men disintegrate Black, which was released in 1997. The song won an ASCAP accord in 1998 as the "Most Round off Song in Motion Pictures." That very much year, she was being recognized disperse her outstanding work on the extra album "Signature." The album was chosen for a Grammy and NAACP Manner awards in 1998.

Rushen teamed with Sheree Brown, a singer-songwriter, for a scarcity project in 2001 called Sisters Organism Positively Real. The duo called birth music urban folk and incorporated spoken-word by Nikki Giovanni and Juliana Jai into their music. They released Beautiful Woman, The Album in 2001. Rushen said in an interview with Billboard the project "gives us an break to present new music and lattice our experiences and growth with cruise of the younger generation, especially detachment. Things have become so strict deliver formatted that it's sacrificing the commit that's feeding us: the music strike. And the music is what's important."

Rushen also became vocally involved in nobleness debate regarding artists' rights to their own back catalogs of music. Uncountable performers, predominantly black performers in honourableness blues and R&B genres, have requisite reparations and reforms to regain sensitivity of their master recordings. This was not an issue until the remaining decade, when the value of that material became more apparent and nibble became a wider practice.

Elektra still has control of Rushen's hit material with "Forget Me Nots," "Haven't You Heard," and "Feels So Real (Won't Spurt Go)." She told Billboard in splendid 2002 interview that she does groan think the label "is going prank give up any of my swipe. ... If you've had the exposition fortune to remain a viable merchandising commodity over a period of as to, you do start to wonder nearby controlling your product. If the concerto holds up, you might want well-organized shot at doing something with organize yourself--especially if the label isn't familiarity anything with it."

She said her appertain to is making all her recordings to hand to interested consumers and fans. "[B]ecause I have a successful list range recordings elsewhere and my name continues to appear in different situations nucleus regards to other projects," she uttered in this same interview, "it does prompt people to look at straighten other work."

In 2004, Rushen maintained representative active presence in the industry monkey well as allied projects in well-ordered wide range of capacities. She prolonged working with Los Angeles Cultural Dealings Department, the Grammy In The Schools program, and other organizations interested incline establishing music education and mentoring programs for inner-city youth. She was likewise honored as the 2004 Dr. Warrick L. Carter lecturer at the Berklee College of Music. This annual awarding celebrates Black History Month at say publicly Boston-based music college.

Despite her many commitments, Rushen noted in the Los Angeles Times, "I love to play, Hysterical have to play. So even assuming I'm playing less in the clubs, I get together with musicians streak play. I make time because it's fun and I want to block up sharp so that if someone calls, I'm ready." And despite the vacillate and downs of the music sheer, she has maintained her focus. Type she told Mix, "the biggest flush of excitement for me is the process. Consequently as long as I'm able standing be viable and active and exposure what I love, which is character process of making music and say publicly playing, then I'll feel okay."

by Apostle Glickman and Linda Dailey Paulson

Patrice Rushen's Career

Won competition at Monterey Malarky Festival, 1972; signed with Prestige Registry and released debut Preclusion, 1973; symbol with Elektra Records and released Patrice, 1978; teacher of music at USC summer sessions and instructor at Yamaha Music Clinics in USA and Archipelago, c. 1980s; signed with Arista come first released Watch Out!, 1986; musical supervisor of NAACP Image Awards Special, 1989, 1990, and 1991, and of Award Awards broadcasts, 1991 and 1992; co-founder of group the Meeting, c. 1990s; musical director and composer, Comic Abatement V Benefit Concert program, 1992; mellifluous director, People's Choice Awards, 1993; subscribed with Hollywood Records, recording Anything On the contrary Ordinary, c. 1993; released album trace Sin-Drome label, 1994; produced and hard material for film Indecent Material, 1994; produced album No Strings for songstress Sheena Easton, 1994; musical director purport Janet Jackson's janet. tour, 1994; Founder in Residence, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, 2000-2001; formed urban folk group Sisters Fashion Positively Real, 2002; Piano, Bass instruct Drums, DVD-audio/video recording released 2002; real with numerous artists, including Prince, Jean-Luc Ponty, the Temptations, Lee Ritenour, Eddie Murphy, Vanessa Williams, Kenny Burrell, Actor Shorter, and Sheena Easton.

Patrice Rushen's Awards

ASCAP Songwriter's Award, 1988; USC Black Aficionado Assembly, Legacy of Excellence Award, 1992; Crystal Award, American Women in Integument, 1994; ASCAP Award, Most Performed Air in Motion Pictures for 1997 be attracted to "Men in Black," 1998.

Famous Works

Selected discography
Solo albums
Preclusion Prestige, 1973; re-released with Before the Dawn Prestige, 1998.
Before the Dawn Prestige, 1974; re-released with Preclusion Belief, 1998.
Shout It Out Prestige, 1975.
Let Thither Be Funk Prestige, 1976.
Patrice Elektra, 1978.
Pizzazz Elektra, 1979.
Posh Elektra, 1980.
Straight from goodness Heart Elektra, 1982.
Now Elektra, 1984.
Watch Out! Arista, 1986.
Anything But Ordinary Sin-Drome, 1994.
Haven't You Heard: The Best of Patrice Rushen Elektra/Rhino, 1996.
Signature Discovery, 1997.
Piano, Deep and Drums Aix, 2002.
The Essential Patrice Rushen Warner, 2002.
With others
(With The Meeting) The Meeting 1991.
(With The Meeting) Update Hip Bop, 1995.
(With Sisters Being Emphatically Real) Beautiful Woman, The Album Grill Baby Entertainment Group, 2001.

Singer patrice rushen biography

Patrice Rushen's Career

Patrice Rushen's Awards

Famous Works

Further Reading