PATRICE RUSHEN Vinyl Records and CDs

Music industry insider Patrice Rushen has done it all. She started out as a supremely gifted jazz pianist in the 1970s before having a string of shoulder-padded R&B hits like "Watch Out" and "Haven't You Heard" during the '80s. But the hits dried up around the same time that Rushen started doing a considerable amount of TV and movie work at the end of the decade. Her last few Smooth Jazz albums have been a real disappointment, and they find Rushen playing like a less funky Joe Sample. Her soundtrack work includes scoring the cult fave Without You I'm Nothing and the theme song to Men in Black. Rushen is fast becoming a Hollywood powerhouse, but her finest music is still contained on her first three Prestige albums.