Reception

This was also Patrice's first album with Elektra Records

Elektra Records

Elektra Records is an American record label owned by Warner Music Group. In 2004, it was consolidated into WMG's Atlantic Records Group. After five years of dormancy, the label was revived by Atlantic in 2009....

 after making three jazz-oriented albums with Prestige Records

Prestige Records

Prestige Records was a jazz record label founded in 1949 by Bob Weinstock. The company was located at 203 South Washington Avenue in Bergenfield, New Jersey, and recorded hundreds of albums by many of the leading jazz musicians of the day, sometimes issuing them under the names of several...

. With this album Rushen changes genre from jazz to a more R&B/pop music style. The album was heavily criticized by jazz's hardcore audience. Rushen found herself accused of being a sellout. While others vilified her in the jazz media due to her transition as Jazz lovers believed that the reason for her transition was due for commercial reasons.

In this album Patrice demonstrated that she could be an expressive, charming singer, and her writing or co-writing is solid on cuts that range from the funky "Hang It Up" and the lovely ballad "Didn't You Know?" to the socio-political "Changes (In Your Life)." With Patrice, the Los Angeles native made it clear that she has the talent that is appealing as an R&B/pop singer as she had been as a jazz pianist/keyboardist. Her next album to be released would be Pizzazz

Pizzazz

-Reception:While she was attacked for leaving the jazz genre, Rushen was able to get a good fan base with R&B/Pop audience. Rushen's profile in the R&B world continued to increase with Pizzazz, her second album for Elektra Records and fifth overall....

.

The album got re-released on CD in 2003

2003 in music

-January:* January – following an investigation by The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry and London detectives, police raids in England and the Netherlands recover nearly 500 original Beatles studio tapes, recorded during the Let It Be sessions. Five people are arrested...

 by Wounded Bird Records

Wounded Bird Records

Wounded Bird Records is a CD only, re-issue record label, that was founded in 1998 in Guilderland, New York. They re-release lesser known albums from both popular and lesser known artists, including Deborah Harry, Chic, David Blue, Marilyn Martin, Gordon Haskell, Jon Anderson, Adrian Belew, Ellen...

.

Track listing

1. "Music of the Earth" (Patrice Rushen
   Patrice Rushen
   Patrice Rushen is a Grammy Award-winning African American R&B and jazz vocalist, composer and pianist.-Biography:...
   
   , Angela Rushen)
2. "When I Found You" (P. Rushen, Tony Coleman, A. Rushen)
3. "Changes (In Your Life)" (P. Rushen, A. Rushen)
4. "Wishful Thinking" (P. Rushen)
5. "Let's Sing a Song of Love" (Reggie Andrews)
6. "Hang It Up" (P. Rushen)
7. "Cha-Cha" (P. Rushen, Sheree North, A. Rushen)
8. "It's Just a Natural Thing" (P. Rushen, Freddie Washington)
9. "Didn't You Know?" (P. Rushen, Sheree Brown)
10. "Play!" (P. Rushen, Charles Mims Jr.)

Personnel

• Patrice Rushen - Keyboards, Percussion, Lead Vocals
• James Gadson
  James Gadson
  James Gadson is an American drummer and session musician. Beginning his career in the late 1960s, Gadson has since become one of the most-recorded drummers in the history of R&B music....
  
   - Drums
• Charles Mims, Jr. - Piano
• Al McKay
  Al McKay
  Al McKay is a guitarist, songwriter, producer and former member of the American funk band Earth, Wind & Fire. Al used to lead his own group Al McKay's L.A...
  
  , Marlo Henderson - Guitar
• Freddie "Ready Freddie" Washington
  Freddie Washington (bassist)
  "Ready" Freddie Washington is an American session bassist who has played with artists such as Herbie Hancock, Michael Jackson, Al Jarreau, Aaron Neville, Lionel Richie, Anita Baker, B.B...
  
  , Abraham Laboriel, Sr. - Bass
• Ray Brown, Oscar Brashear
  Oscar Brashear
  Oscar Brashear is an American jazz trumpeter and session musician.After studying at DuSable High School he worked briefly with Woody Herman before going on to join Count Basie '68-9, returning to freelance in Chicago with Sonny Stitt, Gene Ammons, Dexter Gordon and James Moody...
  
   - Trumpet
• Bill Reichenbach Jr., George Bohannon - Trombone
• Bill Summers, Paulinho Da Costa
  Paulinho Da Costa
  Paulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
  
   - Percussion
• Jeff Clayton - Oboe
• Valarie King - Flute
• Clay Lawrey - Horn
• Bill Green - Clarinet
• David Riddles - Bassoon
• Ken Yerke - Whistle
• Maurice Spears - Bass Trombone
• Larry Williams - Tenor Saxophone
• Kim Hutchcroft - Alto Saxophone
• Roy Galloway, Jim Gilstrap
  Jim Gilstrap
  Jim Gilstrap is an American singer best known for his work as a session musician and his 1975 solo hit single "Swing Your Daddy", as well as singing co-lead to the theme from the TV series Good Times.-Career:...
  
  , Oren Waters, Pauline Wilson, Syreeta Wright
  Syreeta Wright
  Syreeta Wright , who recorded professionally under the single name Syreeta, was a Grammy-nominated American singer-songwriter most notably known for her work with Stevie Wonder and Billy Preston.-Early life and career:...
  
   - Background vocals

Charts

Chart (1979)	Peak position
Billboard Pop Albums Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	98
Billboard Top Soul Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...	27
Billboard Top Jazz Albums	5

Singles

Year	Single	Chart positions
		US R&B Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
1979	"Hang It Up"	16
	"When I Found You"	87

Samples & Covers

• Hieroglyphics sampled "Didn't You Know?" on their song "You Never Knew" on their album 3rd Eye Vision
  3rd Eye Vision
  3rd Eye Vision is the debut album of Oakland, California-based, underground hip hop collective, Hieroglyphics. The album was released on May 24, 1998 by the group's own, independent record label, Hieroglyphics Imperium Recordings.- Track listing :...
  
  in 1998.

External links

• Patrice Rushen-Patrice at Discogs