Trumpeter Michael “Patches” Stewart is probably best known as a top sideman, but he steps out on his own on his solo album, Blow (Koch). Stewart’s longtime collaborator, Marcus Miller, is prominently featured on the album, and together they create a sound steeped in the jazz tradition yet modernized by funk and hip-hop influences.
The title track is a grooving jazzy-hip-hop number, while on “I Know What You Like (Funki-Jazz),” Miller’s bass delivers the funk and Stewart provides the jazz. Guest vocalist Will Downing’s sultry scatting on “Don’t You Know” enhances the tune’s late-night vibe, while Stewart’s lyrical flugelhorn and Miller’s bass share the melody on Stevie Wonder’s “Overjoyed.” Stewart’s smooth treatment of Herbie Hancock’s “Tell Me a Bedtime Story” features a lengthy Rhodes solo by Miller, and Stewart and saxophonist Kenny Garrett prove an effective pairing on the Latin-inflected “Road Song.”
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