Patrice Rushen: Pizzazz (2LP) [STRUT]

Why you'll love it

Strut remastered this 2LP set from the original reel-to-reel tapes and added 12-inch versions of "Haven't You Heard" and "Let the Music Take Me," plus an instrumental "Givin' It Up Is Givin' Up." "Haven't You Heard" went top ten on the Billboard soul chart and No. 5 on the disco chart, and Rolling Stone now ranks it among the 200 greatest dance songs.

This edition

• 2LP set
• Remastered from the original tapes
• Cut at The Carvery
• Bonus 12" versions

About the album

Patrice Rushen was already a sought-after jazz pianist and session player when she decided to step out front, and Pizzazz is where the gamble paid off. She wrote, arranged and co-produced it with Reggie Andrews and Charles Mims Jr., handling the horns, strings and backing vocals herself, and even clapping along on the handclaps.

The band mixes seasoned players with young talent: James Gadson and Ndugu Chancler on drums, Freddie Washington on bass and Bill Summers on percussion. "Haven't You Heard" is the big one, a whispery, gliding disco classic Pitchfork called a formally perfect expression of the form. "Let the Music Take Me" and "Settle for My Love" glide in its slipstream, Roy Galloway joins her for a duet, and "Message in the Music" gets a reprise to close the original album.

The single became her first international hit, crossing over to the Hot 100 and the UK charts, and DJs have kept it spinning ever since. Rushen wrote it, sang it, arranged it and played keys on it, which leaves very little for the rest of us to take credit for.

Also at Kops: more Patrice Rushen on vinyl · browse 70s Soul On Up

Tracklist

Listen

On Strut (cat# STRUT222LP), a reissue of the 1979 album.