Patrice Rushen

Birth name: Patrice Louise Rushen Born: September 30, 1954 (age 57) Birth Place: Los Angeles, California, Genres: Jazz, jazz fusion, R&B, jazz-funk, pop, soul, post- disco, urban Occupations: Musician, composer, record producer, music director, educator Instruments: Vocals, piano, keyboardist, flute, clarinet, percussion Years active:1972–present Labels: Prestige, Elektra, Arista, GRP, Aix Entertainment, Discovery

Who is Patrice Rushen? Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.

Rushen is the elder of two daughters born to the late Allen Rushen and the former Ruth Harris. She demonstrated her musical potential at a young age; she was regarded as a child prodigy. In her teens, she attended south LA's Locke High and went on to earn a degree in music from the University of Southern California. [ Rushen has many ground-breaking achievements. She became the first woman to serve as head composer/musical director for the Grammy Awards and the Emmy Awards,and the first woman to serve as musical director for the NAACP Image Awards broadcast, an honor she held for twelve consecutive years. Additionally, Rushen has been the only woman to be a musical director/composer for the People's Choice Awards, HBO's Comic Relief and the only woman musical director/conductor/arranger for a late-night television talk show, The Midnight Hour. In addition, Rushen was named musical director/composer for Newsweek’s first American Achievement Awards, broadcast on CBS from the Kennedy Center and she served as the musical director for Janet Jackson's World Tour. In 2008, Rushen accepted a professorship at the Berkley College of Music, in Boston. The course is "Patrice Rushen: The Value of Music Education." She also continues to play keyboards and has played in the touring bands of Lee Ritenour and Wayne Shorter in recent years.

Solo career Rushen has also achieved great success as a singer. A classically trained pianist, Rushen has spent a great deal of time channeling her skills musically. Winning a competition at the 1972 Monterey Jazz Festival gained Rushen national attention, which earned her a recording contract with Prestige Records in After recording three albums and becoming an in-demand session player, with artists that included Jean-Luc Ponty, Rushen signed with Elektra Records in Forging jazz/R&B/funk fusion, her signature sound from the melding of these styles gave her success with a string of Top Ten R&B hits, including "Haven't You Heard," "Forget Me Knots," "Feels So Real," "Watch Out," "You Remind Me," and "Never Gonna Give You Up" from her first five solo albums (Patrice, Pizzazz, Posh, Straight From the Heart, and Now). Rushen guested on Soul Train, where she performed her single "I Need Your Love" in She also penned the opening theme for The Steve Harvey Show. Her mentor and friend is Quincy Jones. Rushen also plays multiple instruments including the flute, clarinet and various kinds of percussion.

Awards o ASCAP Songwriter's Award, 1988 o USC Black Student Assembly, Legacy of Excellence Award, 1992 o Crystal Award, American Women in Film, 1994 o ASCAP Award, Most Performed Song in Motion Pictures for 1997 for "Men in Black," 1998

Singles  “Hang It Up”, “ When I Found You”, “Giving It Up is Giving It Up”, “ Haven’t You Heard”  1980 – “Let The Music Take Me”, “Look Up”  1981 – “ Never Gonna Give You Up” ( Won’t Let You Be )  1982 – “ Breakout! “

Filmography  Burning Sands (2008) (pre-production)  For One Night (2006) (TV)  Just a Dream (2002)  Our America (2002) (TV)  Baby of the Family (2002)  Piano, Bass and Drums (2002 Aix Entertainment), (DVD Audio)  The Killing Yard (2001) (TV)  Fire & Ice (2001) (TV)  Cora Unashamed (2000) (TV)  Ruby Bridges (1998) (TV)  America's Dream (1996) (TV)  A. Philip Randolph: For Jobs and Freedom (1996) (TV)  The Steve Harvey Show (1996) TV Series (unknown episodes)  The Midnight Hour (1990) TV Series (unknown episodes)  Without You I'm Nothing (1990)