Steps Ahead

One of the most distinctive and influential instrumental ensembles of the 1980s, Steps Ahead injected urgently needed vitality into a stagnating fusion landscape with their own brand of intelligent, living jazz. With N.Y.C., their debut for Intuition, the group returned in an electrifying new incarnation and with a dynamically reimagined sound.

Co-founder Mike Mainieri assembled a constellation of seasoned virtuosos for this session: drummer Steve Smith (known for his work with Journey and his own band Vital Information); bassist Tony Levin, celebrated for his collaborations with King Crimson, Peter Gabriel, John Lennon, Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan; and young Norwegian saxophonist Bendik Hofseth, who stepped in following Michael Brecker's departure. The ensemble was further enriched by guitarists Steve Khan and Ray Gomez, and keyboardist Rique Pantoja.

The album's centrepiece is the stunning title track, a MIDI suite capturing the energy, chaos and multicultural essence of 1980s New York City. Originally inspired by Gil Evans' arrangements on Sketches of Spain, N.Y.C. unfolds as pure sonic architecture on the Synclavier—layered textures, orchestral colours, even an Oriental passage—a portrait of urban vitality without a single traditional solo.

Tracks like the funk-inflected Lust for Life and Get It (reflecting Mainieri's engagement with emergent hip-hop) reveal the band's conceptual depth and harmonic sophistication. This is fusion music conceived as composition first, virtuosity as servant to artistic vision.

Now lovingly remastered by Intuition for the Master Series on pristine 180-gram vinyl, N.Y.C. emerges with enhanced clarity and presence. An essential document of 1980s jazz-fusion at its most innovative and intellectually rigorous.