Admired by many for her ground-breaking achievements, Patrice Rushen has amassed an impressive list of "firsts." She was the first woman in 43 years to serve as head composer/musical director for television's highest honor, the EMMY Awards, the first woman to serve as musical director for the NAACP Image Awards broadcast, an honor she held for ten consecutive years. Rushen has been the only woman musical director/composer for the People's Choice Awards, HBO's "Comic Relief" and the only woman musical director/conductor/arranger for a late-night television talk show, "The Midnight Hour," which aired on CBS.

A classically trained pianist, Patrice Rushen has spent a lifetime honing the skills which make her one of the music industry's most versatile and sought after artists. The critically-lauded, chart-topping style she championed in the '70's and '80's – a jazz/R&B/pop fusion that combined melodic accessibility with instrumental prowess – not only became her signature style but continues to be a mainstay of popular radio.

Hire Patrice Rushen for your special event!

Patrice Rushen receives some 30 requests weekly to use her music for samples, especially for rap albums with artists from Mary J. Blige, Zhane, George Michael, R. Kelly, Shabba Ranks, Heavy D and many more scoring their own hits sampled from one of Patrice's songs. Most notably is the smash hit "Men in Black," which Will Smith recorded for the movie – sampled from Patrice's 1982 Grammy nominated recording, "Forget Me Nots."

In 1998, ASCAP honored Patrice's publishing company for "Men in Black" in the category of most Performed Song from a Motion Picture for the year 1997. George Michael also had a dance hit version of "Forget Me Nots" in 1988 which also sampled and featured Patrice's original vocal tracks.

Hire Patrice Rushen!

In addition to her success as a recording artist and musical director, Patrice Rushen is also an accomplished composer providing musical scores for Emmy-nominated television movies and series, among which include the PBS Masterpiece Theatre film, "Cora Unashamed," HBO's "American Dream," starring Danny Glover and Wesley Snipes, the critically acclaimed Wonderful World of Disney movie, "Ruby Bridges," "Brewster Place" starring Oprah Winfrey, "Jack's Place" the PBS documentary, "A. Phillip Randolph" and composer for the WB Network's "The Steve Harvey Show."

Rushen's feature film composing credits include "Men In Black," "Waiting to Exhale," Sandra Bernhardt's "Without You I'm Nothing," and Robert Townsend's breakthrough "Hollywood Shuffle." As a producer, Patrice Rushen helmed Sheena Easton's "The Nearness of You" for the hit film "Indecent Proposal," which led to an album of jazz standards, "No Strings," in 1993, which Rushen also produced and MCA released.

Considered one of the world's top jazz pianists, Patrice Rushen has performed with and produced for such esteemed artists as Stevie Wonder, Herbie Hancock, Prince, Lionel Hampton, Carlos Santana, Boyz II Men, George Benson, Jean-Luc Ponty, Tom Jones, Nancy Wilson, Michael Jackson, Dianne Reeves, Sheena Easton, Stanley Turentine, Joshua Redman, and on and on.

Patrice Rushen has played at the world's most prestigious jazz festivals and has played with philharmonic orchestras. She has even written an award winning symphony.

Hits include:

Patrice Rushen may be available for your next special event!

Book Patrice Rushen, now!

For other great suggestions for booking music acts, look here.

Years active: 
   x70s, x80s, x90s, x00s, x10s, x20s
   1973-present

Born: ..in California / born nCalifornia
Born: ..in Los Angeles / born LosAngelesCA
Born:   Sep 30, 1954

Based: ..in US
Based: ..in California / based nCalifornia
Based: ..in Pasadena / based PasadenaCA

We welcome the opportunity to be of service to you. Let's do this the right way! Let's save you time and frustration!

Simply click on the "Let's Get Started!" link found on this page. Then, send us your request for booking information.

Include information about your plans for your event and how taking steps to hire PATRICE RUSHEN (or someone similar) might be of special interest.

If you decide you want to look at other names, simply include your talent-fee budget range and indicate that you want to see who else you might be able to afford with such a budget. We can send you a list of names that are affordable and in the style of music you prefer. We hope to save you time and frustration!

HOW MUCH DOES IT COST TO BOOK/HIRE PATRICE RUSHEN?
(i.e., what is the booking fee to hire PATRICE RUSHEN for an event?)
(i.e., what is PATRICE RUSHEN booking fee to perform at an event?)

Factors influencing pricing vary and may include date, location, type of event, whether a private party or a public concert, the artist's calendar, whether the artist is on tour or not, how well tickets are selling at the artist's concerts, the current demand for the artist's music, market activity, etc.

As you might expect, the more in-demand the artist is, the more buyers are prepared to pay. Of course, this causes the artist's price to increase as the artist becomes more popular or decrease when the artist becomes less popular.

Exclusive agents with exclusive representation frequently quote a range instead of a specific price, since changes can occur at any time. Generally, the artist's manager has a role in the decision to accept any particular offer from a talent buyer.

To learn the most current artist's pricing, or the estimated artist's fee for your particular event, simply click on the "Let's Get Started!" link found on this page. Then, send us your request for booking information.

IS PATRICE RUSHEN AVAILABLE TO WORK MY EVENT?
(i.e., what is PATRICE RUSHEN's availability?)

Once we have your event/party information, we will be better able to assist you with putting your entertainment talent booking plans in place as your entertainment consultant. Let's get this done right! We look forward to working with you!

Patrice Rushen booking agent available. Patrice Rushen cost, Patrice Rushen booking fee and Patrice Rushen booking price are available.