Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz pianist, R&B singer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director. At the 25th Annual Grammy Awards, her 1982 single, "Forget Me Nots", received a nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance, while her instrumental song, "Number One" was nominated Best R&B Instrumental; both songs were from her seventh studio album, Straight from the Heart (1982). Since 2008, Rushen has served as an ambassador for artistry in education at the Berklee College of Music, and the chair of the popular music program at the USC Thornton School of Music since 2014.

Biography

Rushen is the elder of two daughters born to Allen and Ruth Rushen (former Director of California Department of Corrections). Patrice was three years old when she began playing the piano, and by the time she was six, she was giving classical recitals. In her teens, she attended Locke High School and later earned a degree in music from the University of Southern California. After winning a competition at the age of 17 that enabled her to perform with her band at the Monterey Jazz Festival, Rushen signed with the Prestige label, releasing three albums with them – Prelusion (1974), Before the Dawn (1975), and Shout It Out (1977). In 1978, when she was 23, she began recording with Elektra. Rushen married Marc St. Louis, a concert tour manager and live show production specialist, in 1986. They have one son, Cameron and one daughter named Jadyn. The name of her publishing company, Baby fingers Inc., is pulled from her nickname Babyfingers for her tiny hands. In 2005, Rushen received an honorary doctorate of Music degree from Berklee College of Music. She is the chair of popular music at USC and the ambassador of artistry in Education at the Berklee College of Music. She has served as the film composer for numerous movies, television shows and documentaries. She has been a member of jazz fusion band CAB, The Meeting (GRP Records) with Ndugu Chancler, Alphonso Johnson and Ernie Watts. Rushen is also a music director, having worked on various television events as well as Janet Jackson's world tour 'Janet'. Her song "Hang It Up" was featured on the 2005 video game Fahrenheit.

Cultural impact

Rushen's songs are sampled often in other artists' music. The chorus from "Forget Me Nots" was used as the music for the 1997 song "Men in Black". Rushen was credited as writer and composer, along with Will Smith and Terri McFadden. The same chorus can be heard in George Michael's song "Fastlove". "Forget Me Nots" previously found its way into the trampolining scene in the 1988 film Big. Her song "Haven't You Heard" was sampled in Kirk Franklin's "Looking For You" from the Norbit soundtrack. In 2021, "Forget Me Nots" was used in a dance challenge on TikTok. Rushen was the first woman to serve as music director for the 46th, 47th, and 48th Grammy Awards. She was the only woman music director/conductor/arranger for a late-night show titled The Midnight Hour, which aired on CBS in 1990.

Awards

Grammy awards

Rushen has received three Grammy nominations.

Other awards

Discography

Solo albums

Compilations and collections

Singles

Appearances

With CAB With Carlos Santana and Wayne Shorter With The Meeting With Kenny Burrell With Herbie Hancock With Eddie Henderson With Sadao Watanabe With Jean-Luc Ponty With Letizia Gambi With Wallace Roney With Cindy Blackman

Filmography

Musical directing

Television awards and specials

Television series and miniseries

Albums

Sources