''Steps Ahead'' is the second album by the American jazz group

Steps Ahead Steps Ahead is an American jazz fusion group. History The group arose out of spontaneous sessions at Seventh Avenue South, a jazz club in New York City owned by saxophonist Michael Brecker and trumpeter brother Randy Brecker. The first three al ...

, released on

Elektra/Musician Elektra/Musician was a jazz record label founded as a subsidiary of Elektra Records in 1982. The label was headed by Bruce Lundvall and released its first batch of albums on February 12, 1982. The label ceased when Lundvall left Elektra to start ...

in 1983.Jazzlists: Elektra Musician LP discography
accessed March 20, 2018 The group had previously released three albums under the name Steps on

Nippon Columbia , often pronounced ''Korombia'', operating internationally as , is a Japanese record label founded in 1910 as Nipponophone Co., Ltd. It affiliated itself with the Columbia Graphophone Company of the United Kingdom and adopted the standard UK C ...

(''Smokin' in the Pit'' (1981), ''Step by Step'' (1981) and ''Paradox'' (1982)), with

Don Grolnick Don Grolnick (September 23, 1947 – June 1, 1996) was an American jazz pianist, composer, and record producer. He was a member of the groups Steps Ahead and Dreams, both with Michael Brecker, and played often with the Brecker Brothers. As a ses ...

on piano and

Steve Gadd Stephen Kendall Gadd (born April 9, 1945) is an American drummer, percussionist, and session musician. Gadd is one of the best-known and highly regarded session and studio drummers in the industry, recognized by his induction into the ''Modern D ...

on drums on "Smokin' in the Pit" and "Step by Step".

Reception

Allmusic awarded the album with 4.5 stars and its review by

Scott Yanow Scott Yanow (born October 4, 1954) is an American jazz reviewer, historian, and author. Allmusic Biography/ref> Biography Yanow was born in New York City and grew up near Los Angeles. Since 1974, he was a regular reviewer of many jazz styles a ...

states: "The music is essentially high-quality funky fusion, with Brecker typically blowing up a storm, Mainieri often playing the synthivibe, and Elias showing some early individuality".Yanow, S. Allmusic Review: ''Steps Ahead''accessed 07 June 2010

Track listing

# "Pools" (

) – 11:16 # "Islands" (

Mike Mainieri Michael T. Mainieri Jr. (born July 4, 1938) is an American vibraphonist, known for his work with the jazz fusion group Steps Ahead. He is married to the singer-songwriter and harpist Dee Carstensen. Biography Mainieri was born in The Bronx, New ...

) – 6:25 # "Loxodrome" (

Eddie Gómez Edgar Gómez (born October 4, 1944) is a Puerto Rican jazz double bassist, known for his work with the Bill Evans Trio from 1966 to 1977. Biography Gómez moved with his family from Puerto Rico at a young age to New York, where he was raised. ...

) – 5:26 # "Both Sides of the Coin" (Brecker, Mainieri) – 6:10 # "Skyward Bound" (Mainieri) – 4:04 # "Northern Cross" (

Peter Erskine Peter Erskine (born June 5, 1954) is an American jazz drummer who was a member of the jazz fusion groups Weather Report and Steps Ahead. Early life and education Erskine was born in Somers Point, New Jersey, U.S. He began playing the dr ...

) – 5:49 # "Trio (An Improvisation)" (Brecker, Gómez, Mainieri) – 7:32

Personnel

;Steps Ahead *

Michael Brecker Michael Leonard Brecker (March 29, 1949 – January 13, 2007) was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. He was awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer. He was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from Berklee College of ...

– tenor saxophone *

– vibraphone, synthesizer vibes, marimba, synthesizer, percussion *

Eliane Elias Eliane Elias
BrowseBiography.com, 20 November 2011; retrieved 10 September 2014. is a Brazilian

– bass *

– drums

References

{{Authority control 1983 albums Steps Ahead albums Elektra/Musician albums