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Patti Austin’s “The Heat Of Heat” was written by Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis for her 1986 album Gettin’ Away With Murder on Quincy Jones’s Qwest record label. It was her eighth album and there was a strong attempt to take the jazz/R&B vocalist more into the mainstream. Gettin’ Away With Murder didn’t cross Austin over into a big pop audience but it reinforced her status as an inimitable voice capable of finessing anything she sang. She previously had her biggest chart success with the Rod Temperton penned “Baby, Come To Me” duet with James Ingram that was used on the soap opera General Hospital. “Honey For The Bees” and “Gettin’ Away With Murder” the single, were the other songs to chart from the album. Austin’s 6-decade career started when she secured a recording contract with RCA Records at age 5 and received mentoring from Dinah Washington after appearing at the Apollo Theater at age 4. She has had an outstanding career as a singer of jingles, a session singer, a collaborationist and earned her first Grammy as a solo artist for her 2008 jazz vocal album, Avant Gershwin. Her most up to date recording is 2011’s Sound Advice album of cover songs. She made her first film appearance in the 2013 Academy-Award winning documentary 20 Feet From Stardom.
