[Review] Patrice Rushen: Prelusion (1974)
Rushen rushes straight to the majors and impresses with a mix of hard bop, post bop and funk.
Kronomyth 1.0: I’ll take a vodka and Kahlua.
Props to Prestige for producing the premiere of musical prodigy Patrice Rushen, Prelusion. A 20-year-old female jazz pianist still attending college, Rushen was hardly your prototypical bandleader. A more risk-averse label might have waited for more seasoning, but then they might have missed out on signing Ms. Rushen. Since everything has a baseball analogy, this debut album is analogous to those pitchers who have such exceptional stuff that they bypass the minor leagues and go straight to the majors. Rushen mixes up her pitches nicely: post bop (Shortie’s Portion), funk (Haw-Right Now), hard bop (Traverse). There’s some wildness to contend with, especially in the horn arrangements, which are more brash than brass, and some complex mechanics to work out—all easily overlooked when she brings the heat. Joe Henderson, given a co-credit on the back cover, shines throughout, as does bass player Tony Dumas, who I don’t think I’ve ever heard before. The rest of the band is solid and more seasoned, save for Ndugu (Leon Chancler), who was barely older than Rushen. Prelusion does require a few sittings to get your bearings. “Shortie’s Portion” has a lot going on (maybe too much), and even the gentler 7/73 makes frequent use of dissonance in the horn arrangements, with the flute acting as a sort of salve. The record ends with some freaky synthesizer jazz-funk, Puttered Bopcorn. Prelusion is an impressive debut from an artist who clearly isn’t afraid to use all genres of jazz for her canvas. Jean-Luc Ponty was clearly impressed, snatching up both Rushen and Ndugu for his next album, Upon the Wings of Music.
Original elpee version
A1. Shortie’s Portion (8:42)
A2. 7/73 (12:42)
B1. Haw-Right Now (8:00)
B2. Traverse (10:53)
B3. Puttered Bopcorn (4:15)
All compositions by Patrice Rushen. Arranged by Patrice Rushen except rhythm arrangement on B3 by Ndugu.
The Players
Patrice Rushen (acoustic and electric piano, clavinet, ARP synthesizers), George Bohanon (trombone), Oscar Brashear (trumpet, flugelhorn), Hadley Caliman (flute, alto flute, soprano sax), Tony Dumas (electric bass, “blitz” bass), Joe Henderson (tenor sax), Kenneth Nash (percussion), Ndugu (drums). Produced by Reggie Andrews; recording engineered by Skip Shimmin, Eddie Harris; remix by Skip Shimmin with assistance from Reggie Andrews and Patrice Rushen.
The Pictures
Art direction by Phil Carroll. Photography by Bruce Talamon.
The Plastic
Released on elpee in 1974 in the US (Prestige, P-10089).
- Re-packaged with Before the Dawn on 2-for-1 compact disc on November 10, 1998 in the US (Prestige, PRCD-24207-2).
- Re-issued on 180g vinyl elpee in 2024 in the US (Craft, CR00766).
