Patrice Rushen is an artist I’ve been wanting to write about for some time. And one of the key reasons behind starting Andresmusictalk. She is best known for her hits in 1979’s “Haven’t You Heard” and 1982’s “Forget Me Nots”. The LA native is turning 62 today. Earning her music degree from the University Of California. By the age of 20,her debut album Prelusion had been released-presenting her as an instrumental jazz artist. By the time she signed to Elektra in 1978, Rushen was already a major player in the jazz-funk genre which was deep in its peak period during that time.
A gifted multi instrumentalist,Rushen began singing on her albums after 1975’s Before The Dawn. By the early 80’s,she’d made the transition into a soul/funk singer who still maintained her high quality jazz/funk instrumental backing. Her 1982 album Straight From The Heart is perhaps her most famous album-containing one of her biggest hits in “Forget Me Nots” and showcasing some of her most creatively satisfying and funky music. Being a lover of the Fender Rhodes piano,which is one of Rushen’s passions,one of my very favorite songs from this album is entitled “All We Need”.
This is a song that just starts right off ready for action. The beat maintains a consistent post disco stomp while the rhythm section maintains its fatness throughout. Paul Jackson’s guitar is snapping throughout this song with a hard punchy sound. And the slap bass line of Freddie Washington is popping just as heavy with the dramatic chordal modulations Rushen’s Rhodes and her vocal duet with Roy Galloway provide. The change in melody on the changes of the song add a glistening high tone on the roads before the basic chorus of the song fades it right out.
One thing that strikes me about this song is that instrumentally,its mostly chorus. And its one of the funkiest choruses of the post disco era-with a phat funky bass/guitar interaction and Rushen’s Fender Rhodes carrying the Stevie Wonder like jazz/funk chord modulations. In that way,its probably the ideal jazz/funk song for the post disco era. The instrumentation is very live sounding,the melody is very singable and the composition is full of Rushen’s signature jazz phrasings. So on those levels,its just the type of song that really epitomizes her approach to jazzy pop/funk.
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