Patrice Rushen — Prelusion (2024 remaster)
Qobuz reissue review (August 2024)
Of the three albums that Patrice Rushen recorded for Prestige between 1974 and 1977, Prelusion is generally considered to be the “jazziest” of the trio. In comparison, the soulful funk she was making by the time of 1977’s Shout It Out (much less the pop/soul she would produce afterward on Elektra, culminating in the post-disco roller-rink smash “Forget Me Nots”), Prelusion certainly lives on the more “straightforward” side of the early ’70s jazz spectrum. Rushen’s piano talent was, however, prodigious — she was only 19 when she started recording Prelusion — and her approach to composition (and her instrument) was decidedly au courant. Thus, in a jazz world that had fully embraced a fusion of funk, rock, and pop, Rushen debuted with an album that showcased her talent without having to look backward to the genre’s standards. While the songs here are very much in line with early ’70s soul-jazz, the large band playing them not only includes trendy electric bass and pan-African percussion, but also long-serving sidemen like George Bohanon (trombone) and Oscar Brashear (trumpet) as well as an iconic talent like Joe Henderson. The result is a warm and funky album that’s adventurous without being inaccessible, and modern without being corny. Rushen shines on piano and synthesizer, and “Traverse” is a great showcase for her finessed piano style, a gentle, meandering piece full of dazzling runs delivered with taste and restraint. Its mirror image is the driving “Haw-Right Now,” which is built on an in-the-pocket groove that expands into adventurous territory with Rushen’s electric piano complemented by a brass section intent on finding their most groove-oriented approach. (Incredibly, even with Henderson on board, it’s Bohanon’s trombone that gets the biggest spotlight after Rushen’s keys; his playing on the expansively chill “7/73” is an absolute highlight.) Still, it’s the brief album closer — “Puttered Bopcorn,” a wild, unruly number with bonkers percussion and chunky layers of synths — that fully expresses just how joyfully unconcerned with jazz formality this group is. While Rushen would never again make an album as “jazzy” as this one, she also never made one that was this loose and funky.
