Patrice Rushen: "Prelusion"

Archetypal jazz-funk from the Prestige label, which I’ve been delving deeply into lately.  Though Rushen gained a great deal of her mainstream notoriety as an R&B singer in the late ‘70’s, this album, which is her first, shows her lesser known jazz chops, which are DIRTY!  An all-star cast including Ndugu and Joe Henderson gives Rushen the freedom to explore the inner and outer spaces within these grooves, which range from the straighter jazz of “Shortie’s Portion” to the funk throwdowns “Haw-Right Now” and “Puttered Bopcorn.”  The whole set’s a burner, and well worth checking out for a different perspective on this woman’s incredible versatility and musicianship.  On top of all that, check this little piece of trivia out—Patrice Rushen is known to have publicly rejected the affections of Prince, who she helped to start off in the biz, and who she provided some custom-made synthesizers for.  Check the liner notes on Prince’s first joint, “For You,” to see her name—apparently Prince really wanted her badly, and she wasn’t feelin’ it.  She didn’t “wanna be his lover,” I guess (ha).