Ben Patterson’s path started in Sapulpa, Oklahoma, where he was already writing tunes at eight years old before picking up the trombone in the sixth grade. He eventually went through the big-band programme at the University of North Texas, where he formed a long-standing creative alliance with arranger Alan Baylock. In 1997, Patterson landed a chair in the Airmen of Note, the US Air Force jazz ensemble, beginning a 22-year tenure. Rising to lead trombone and music director, he toured globally, directed the band’s Jazz Heritage Series alongside guests like Branford Marsalis and Christian McBride, and played on 16 of the band’s albums before leaving the military around 2020.
If like me you appreciate the sound of Irishman Paul Dunlea a trombonist who also had a career in the military in Ireland then the two share more than a few things in common.
Patterson became a regular fixture on the Washington D.C. jazz scene. He had first recorded as a leader back in 2004 with The Prowl alongside a sextet, but he returned to large-ensemble writing by forming the Ben Patterson Jazz Orchestra in 2016.
Signing with Origin Records, the Ben Patterson Group released Push the Limits in 2021, followed by the funk-influenced The Way of the Groove in 2022, which drew on the style of the Brecker Brothers and Herbie Hancock. This leads to his June 2026 small-group release, Stretch, a 10-track set of original material played by his regular D.C. lineup: guitarist Shawn Purcell, keyboardist Harry Appelman, drummer Todd Harrison, and bassist Miles Brown.
The tracks on Stretch move from the fast pace of the opener ‘Unbridled’ to more episodic structures on ‘Oops, Wrong Timeline’ and ‘Ship of Fools.’ Patterson uses the album to reference explicit influences; ‘David and Francis’ utilises the syncopated funk style of Tower of Power, while Purcell’s guitar work reflects elements of Pat Metheny and John Scofield. The longest track on the record, ‘Missing Michael,’ is an eight-minute tribute to the late saxophonist Michael Brecker.
