Rahsaan Patterson
Stevie Wonder's influence is especially obvious in the music of 23-year-old  Rahsaan Patterson, who not only imitates the syncopated keyboard phrasing of his hero's  records but also impersonates Wonder's vocal tone as well. Sometimes the similarities are  too close for comfort. Fortunately, Patterson comes up with chorus melodies that sound  as catchy as his model's without sounding like any Wonder song in particular. "Stop By"  uses old-fashioned wah-wah guitar and slap-funk bass to create a compelling push-and- pull rhythm that the singer elaborates into a giddy chorus of infatuation. "Joy,"  Patterson's a cappella tribute to his New York church roots, finds the young vocalist  holding his own with the singers of Take 6. Even the three numbers that Patterson didn't  cowrite boast strong, Wonder-ful hooks, but the best are found in the seven songs cowritten by Patterson and his keyboardist Jamey Jaz.--Geoffrey Himes