The transition was completed during her seven years with Elektra, a run of five LPs summarized here to near perfection by the U.K.-based Strut label. When the keyboardist moved to Elektra six years later, she was behind three almost entirely self-composed albums - all of which she also arranged - and was progressing further away from pure jazz with a greater emphasis on funk, soul, and her lilting vocals. Months out of high school in 1972, Patrice Rushen attracted the attention of the Prestige label at the Monterey Jazz Festival.
