Tuesday, February 27, 2007


Patrice Rushen - Before The Dawn (Prestige 1975)




5 Comments:

Blogger sou.th low said...

AMG: Patrice Rushen was never a jazz snob or a jazz purist. The pianist/keyboardist grew up listening to R&B and rock, and even her debut album, Prelusion -- which was the most straight-ahead thing she ever recorded -- used electric instruments. So for Rushen, the fusion orientation of her second album, Before the Dawn, was a logical progression. While 1974's Prelusion was essentially a straight-ahead record with fusion references, 1975's Before the Dawn is essentially a fusion album. This generally excellent LP is more commercial than its predecessor, and Rushen doesn't hesitate to bring R&B, pop, and rock elements to her jazz foundation. Purists weren't crazy about Before the Dawn, but the fact is that most of the material gives Rushen and her sidemen (who include flutist Hubert Laws and guitarist Lee Ritenour) enough room to stretch out and improvise. The only track that doesn't have a jazz artist's sense of spontaneity is the funk tune "What's the Story," which features singer Josie James and is exactly the sort of thing that Rushen herself would be singing when she signed with Elektra in 1978. Everything else on Before the Dawn, however, is instrumental jazz -- although instrumental jazz that's mindful of R&B, pop, and rock.

DustyGroove: Patrice Rushen's second album -- and a very sweet batch of keyboard funk! The record has Patrice working in a groove that's almost like that of Herbie Hancock at the time -- using lots of electric piano, clavinet, and synth to craft some mighty fine jazz funk grooves. The group's a monster assemblage of Fantasy jazz players like Hubert Laws, Lee Ritenour, Hadley Caliman, and Harvey Mason -- and the session crackles with a tight edge that you'll never find in any of Patrice's later work. Tracks are long, with lots of great spacey grooves.

1. Kickin' Back
2. What's The Story
3. Jubilation
4. Before The Dawn
5. Razzia

2/27/2007 9:31 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Dude, I'm a big fan of your work but why did you upload this classic album in mono? Shame.

FT

3/02/2007 8:03 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

i just grabbed 3 lp's that were stolen from me years ago. thanks so much! this is a great collection. keep it up!

3/09/2007 11:09 AM  
Blogger A Little Parallelogram of Sky said...

Empty folder, after a ten-minute download.

6/21/2007 7:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

File works fine.. music sounds great!

7/18/2007 5:27 AM  

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