Straight from the heart patrice rushen biography

Patrice Louise Rushen (born September 30, 1954) is an American jazz composer and R&B singer. She is besides a composer, record producer, multi-instrumentalist, songster, and music director.

Her 1982 singular "Forget Me Nots" received a Grammy Award nomination for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance. The instrumental "Number One" from her album Straight from primacy Heart earned an additional Grammy choice for best instrumental. Her 12th publication Signature also received a Grammy proposal for best instrumental in 1998.

Rushen also serves as an ambassador spokesperson artistry in education at the Berklee College of Music and the bench of the popular music program change the USC Thornton School of Music.

Biography

Rushen is the elder of bend over daughters born to Allen and Book Rushen (former Director of California Fork of Corrections). Patrice was three duration old when she began playing say publicly piano, and by the time she was six, she was giving refined recitals. In her teens, she sharp Locke High School and later due a degree in music from significance University of Southern California.

After charming a competition at the age make a fuss over 17 that enabled her to send out with her band at the Town Jazz Festival, Rushen signed with dignity Prestige label, releasing three albums communicate them – Prelusion (1974), Before prestige Dawn (1975), and Shout It Soil (1977). In 1978, when she was 23, she began recording with Elektra.

Rushen married Marc St. Louis, undiluted concert tour manager and live high up production specialist, in 1986. They maintain one son, Cameron and one female child named Jadyn. The name of go in publishing company, Baby fingers Inc., decay pulled from her nickname Babyfingers rep her tiny hands. In 2005, Rushen received an honorary doctorate of Melody degree from Berklee College of Opus. She is the chair of wellreceived music at USC and the emissary of artistry in Education at prestige Berklee College of Music. She has served as the film composer assimilate numerous movies, television shows and documentaries. She has been a member unmoving jazz fusion band CAB, The Circlet (GRP Records) with Ndugu Chancler, Alphonso Johnson and Ernie Watts. Rushen go over also a music director, having hollow on various television events as work as Janet Jackson's world tour 'Janet'.

Her song "Hang It Up" was featured on the 2005 video business Fahrenheit.

Cultural impact

Rushen's songs are sampled often in other artists' music. Greatness chorus from "Forget Me Nots" was used as the music for birth 1997 song "Men in Black". Rushen was credited as writer and architect, along with Will Smith and Terri McFadden. The same chorus can have on heard in George Michael's song "Fastlove". "Forget Me Nots" previously found take the edge off way into the trampolining scene make the addition of the film Big. Her song "Haven't You Heard" was sampled in Kirk Franklin's Looking For You from character Norbit soundtrack. In 2021 her express "Forget Me Nots" was used hold a dance challenge on TikTok.

Rushen was the first woman to keep as music director for the 46, 47th, and 48th Grammy Awards. She was the only woman music director/conductor/arranger for a late-night show titled Rendering Midnight Hour, which aired on CBS in 1990.

Awards

Grammy awards

Rushen has ordinary three Grammy nominations.

Other awards

Number Acquaintance Record "Feels So Real", Radio & Records (R&R) National Chart - Writers: Patrice Rushen & Fred Washington, 1984

ASCAP Songwriter's Award, 1988

USC Black Student Body, Legacy of Excellence Award, 1992

Crystal Accolade, American Women in Film, 1994

ASCAP Jackpot, Most Performed Song in Motion Films for 1997 for "Men in Black," 1998

NAACP Image Award Nomination for Outdistance Contemporary Jazz Recording for “Signature”, 1998

Honorary Doctorate Berklee College of Music, 2005

The California Jazz Foundation NICA award be attracted to lifetime achievement, 2019

The Ramo Music Capability Award, 2020

Trailblazer Award, Salute Them Laurels, 2021

Hamilton Garrett Center for Music spell Arts (Boston, MA), Make Them Make an attempt You Award, 2023