Smooth jazz trumpeter Patches Stewart teams up with bassist/producer
Marcus Miller on
Blow. Sounding like a total blend of mid-'60s and early-'90s
Miles Davis, Stewart deftly mixes modal trumpet lines and punchy muted asides with funky processed beats. Taken as a whole, the album brings to mind
Davis'
Doo-Bop more than
Kind of Blue, and in that sense it is a pleasingly adventurous post-bop/funk-jazz meets instrumental pop outing. Notably, Stewart's versions of
Herbie Hancock's "Tell Me a Bedtime Story" and
Stevie Wonder's "Overjoyed" showcase the trumpeter's mellow melodicism, while originals like "I Know What You Like" and "Congo Square" bring out a funky hip-hop influence. Alto saxophonist
Kenny Garrett and others join Stewart here. ~ Matt Collar