Patrice Rushen - Patrice (2017)

After recording three jazz-oriented albums for Prestige, Patrice Rushen switched to Elektra and gave herself a major R&B/pop makeover with Patrice. Even the funkiest parts of Shout It Out, the last of Rushen's three Prestige/Fantasy albums, couldn't have prepared listeners for this LP, which finds her taking the commercial plunge and successfully making the transition from jazz instrumentalist to R&B/pop vocalist. As expected, jazz's hardcore audience cried foul: Like Roy Ayers, George Duke, George Benson, and other jazz instrumentalists who took up R&B singing, Rushen was called a sellout and vilified in the jazz media. Patrice was trashed by jazz critics. Instead of hating this album because it isn't jazz, however, they should have judged it by R&B/pop standards. When those standards are applied, it becomes obvious that Patrice is, in fact, a rewarding R&B/pop effort. Patrice demonstrated that she could be an expressive, charming singer, and her writing or co-writing is solid on cuts that range from the funky "Hang It Up" and the lovely ballad "Didn't You Know?" to the socio-political "Changes (In Your Life)." With Patrice, the Los Angeles native made it clear that she was as appealing as an R&B/pop singer as she had been as a jazz pianist/keyboardist.

Tracklist:
01. Patrice Rushen - Music of the Earth (3:56)
02. Patrice Rushen - When I Found You (5:19)
03. Patrice Rushen - Changes (4:08)
04. Patrice Rushen - Wishful Thinking (5:08)
05. Patrice Rushen - Let's Sing a Song of Love (3:42)
06. Patrice Rushen - Hang It Up (5:12)
07. Patrice Rushen - Cha-Cha (3:24)
08. Patrice Rushen - Just a Natural Thing (3:18)
09. Patrice Rushen - Didn't You Know (5:13)
10. Patrice Rushen - Play (4:34)