Steps Ahead

Steps Ahead
Origin	New York City
Genre	Jazz fusion
Years active	1979–present
Labels	Better Days, Elektra/Musician, NYC, Jazzline

Members	Mike Mainieri Bill Evans Steve Smith Tom Kennedy

Past members	Michael Brecker Don Grolnick Chuck Loeb Eliane Elias Bob Berg Warren Bernhardt Bendik Hofseth Rachel Z Jimi Tunnell Mike Stern Steve Khan Eddie Gómez Darryl Jones Tony Levin Jeff Andrews Victor Bailey Marc Johnson Steve Gadd Peter Erskine Dennis Chambers Donny McCaslin Bryan Baker^[1]

Steps Ahead is an American jazz fusion group.

History

The group arose out of spontaneous musical performances at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker.^[2] The first three albums were released under the name Steps on Better Days records, a subsidiary lable of Nippon Columbia in Japan.^[3] The group's name changed to Steps Ahead prior to its 1983 self-titled album on Elektra/Musician.

Vibraphonist Mike Mainieri appeared on all Steps and Steps Ahead recordings. Mainieri has also produced several of the group's albums, four of which were released on his NYC Records label. The shifting roster of the other bandmembers has included saxophonists Michael Brecker, Bob Berg, Bendik Hofseth, Bill Evans, Ernie Watts, and Donny McCaslin; pianists Don Grolnick, Eliane Elias, Warren Bernhardt and Rachel Z; guitarists Mike Stern, Chuck Loeb, and Steve Khan; bassists Eddie Gomez, Darryl Jones, Tony Levin, Victor Bailey, Richard Bona, and Marc Johnson; and drummers Steve Gadd, Peter Erskine, Steve Smith, and Dennis Chambers.^[4]

The group was most active during the late 1970s and 1980s, and intermittently active during the 1990s. It also reunited for concerts in the mid-2000s.^[5]

Discography

As Steps

Smokin' in the Pit (Better Days, 1981) – recorded live in 1979
Step by Step (Better Days, 1981) – recorded in 1980
Paradox: Live at Seventh Avenue South (Better Days, 1982) – recorded in 1981

As Steps Ahead

Steps Ahead (Elektra/Musician, 1983)
Modern Times (Elektra/Musician, 1984)
Magnetic (Elektra, 1986)
N.Y.C. (Capitol/Intuition, 1989)
Yin-Yang (NYC, 1992)
Live in Tokyo 1986 (NYC, 1994)
Vibe (NYC, 1995)
Holding Together (NYC, 2002) [2CD] – live rec. 1999
Steppin' Out with WDR Big Band (Jazzline, 2016)

Members

Current members

Mike Stern - guitar (1999–present)
Mike Mainieri - vibraphone (1979–present)
Eliane Elias - keyboard (1983-1985;1992–present)
Eddie Gomez - bass (1979-2002;2016–present)
Steve Smith - drums (1996–present)

References

"Guitarist Bryan Baker Prepares To Release "This Morning Day"". All About Jazz. February 13, 2010. Retrieved May 12, 2020.
"Seventh Avenue South | - Legendärer Jazzclub in Manhatten". Jazzband-live.de (in German). Retrieved February 19, 2020.
Hovan, C. Andrew (September 1, 2000). "Steps: Step By Step/Paradox". Allaboutjazz.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
"NYC Records » Bio". Nycrecords.com. Retrieved October 4, 2016.
"NPR's JazzSet: Steps Ahead: 2005 Montreux Jazz Festival". Npr.org. 2006. Retrieved October 4, 2016.