Rushen

Prelusion is the debut album from jazz musician and later R&B recording artist Patrice Rushen. The first of three albums she would record with Prestige Records, the album was mainly instrumental jazz which was her main focus as an artist before focusing on popular R & B recordings four years later after signing with Elektra Records. Released in 1974, the album showed great promise for Rushen in the instrumental jazz genre with songs like "Haw-Right Now", "Shortie's Portion", and "Puttered Bopcorn".

Lee Ritenour is one of music’s greatest players; his historic career spans five decades and boasts over forty albums. For his latest release, Rhythm Sessions, the legendary guitarist enlists a star-studded cast of veterans and promising newcomers including Chick Corea, Dave Grusin, George Duke, Stanley Clarke, Marcus Miller and winners from his Annual Six String Theory International Competition. This diverse project features a variety of sounds and grooves, all rooted in jazz, but with hints of funk, R&B, Latin and world music. Focusing on the rhythm sections, Ritenour penned various tracks and selected works by greats including Herbie Hancock and Nick Drake. This multi-layered and multi-textural work is engaging from the first note.

After receiving worldwide praise and a GRAMMY for Best Jazz Vocal Album for her 2011 disc, "The Mosaic Project", drummer extraordinaire Terri Lyne Carrington releases its hotly anticipated follow-up, "The Mosaic Project: Love And Soul". Like its predecessor, "The Mosaic Project: Love And Soul" presents Carrington leading a rotating cast of superb female instrumentalists and vocalists that includes Oleta Adams, Natalie Cole, Paula Cole, Lalah Hathaway, Chaka Khan, Chanté Moore, Valerie Simpson, Nancy Wilson, Jaguar Wright and Lizz Wright, as well as saxophonist Tia Fuller, trumpeter Ingrid Jensen; bassists Meshell Ndegoecello and Linda Oh; and keyboardists Geri Allen, Patrice Rushen and Rachel Z.

"Lite Me Up" is Herbie Hancock's 33rd album and was originally released in 1982. A fusion of jazz and pop, the album is full of wonderful tunes. It would be the last of his disco/pop albums.

The world of music was forever changed in 2013 with the passing of legendary keyboardist, composer and producer George Duke. This year, Al Jarreau, famed vocalist and long-time friend of Duke, re-interprets some of Duke's renowned catalog of post-bop, jazz-fusion, R&B and Brazilian jazz with My Old Friend: Celebrating George Duke. This work also hosts a stellar blend of guest artists including Gerald Albright, Dianne Reeves, Marcus Miller, Lalah Hathaway, Jeffrey Osborne, Kelly Price, Dr. John, and more, with a special appearance by George Duke on the track "Bring Me Joy" which also features Boney James.

This unique double album is the product of the fertile mind of veteran American jazz drummer Gerry Gibbs. The first disc is a tribute to Weather Report, but rather than merely offer lukewarm cover versions, Gibbs reimagines the Weather Report material from the perspective of an acoustic piano-led trio. Gibbs cranks up the creative juices on the second disc, a set of originals ranging from flamenco to pulse-quickening funk, calypso, gospel, Latin jazz, R&B and plenty of all-out swing. "Weather or Not" is the most audacious and fully-realized project from Gibbs to date, an early crowning achievement from a restless spirit and a triumphant, indefatigable artist.

"A Twist of Rit" is Lee Ritenour’s 2015 Concord Records release. A star-studded band performs a number of new compositions combining with fresh, “twisted” versions of some of his earliest funky, fusion material from the 70s and early 80s. Combining some of the hottest rhythm players out there, including Ron Bruner Jr., Chris Coleman, Dave Weckl, Melvin Davis, Paulinho Da Costa, Michael Thompson, John Beasley, Patrice Rushen, and Dave Grusin with a five piece Horn Section and Ernie Watts on tenor sax, A Twist of Rit will make for one of his most special releases to date.

Sheree Brown is a singer, songwriter, musician, and producer.

Azar Lawrence’s third solo album People Moving was released in 1976 on Prestige Records.