StepsAhead 1986

Steps Ahead - circa 1986 - Pools (Don Grolnick)
Michael Brecker
Mike Manieri
Peter Erskine
Victor Bailey
Chuck Loeb

[@morrisbailey1621]

i stumbled across this. vic was my brother. good to se. thankx for the memorys. RIP.

[@dalichwer]

Miss Victor, Mike and Chuck - nice to hear from you.

[@jeshkam]

Hello Mr Bailey. Victor's gig in Rybnik, Poland (1999) was the first jazz gig I ever went to. Made me completely fall in love with this genre. "Low Blow" is one of my all-time favorite jazz albums. His passing hit me really hard, same level as with Bowie few months earlier. All the best, sir.

[@therealnitrouso2]

What a legend. His groove on this tune is just so ridiculously deep. So glad I saw this. RIP Victor....

[@EVEROSFP1]

Μy condolences....

[@adamwright7954]

Victor is absolutely crushing it here. Your brother was a true master of his craft.

[@egyptianminor]

Victor Bailey & Peter Erskine, what a great groove. Don't care what anyone says, I love 1980s Fusion too, 'warts and all', i.e DX7, Roland Synth Guitars, etc...

[@slyfondle1885]

Even the Manieri mullet?

[@TommyWashow]

Dx7 is literally the reason fusion rules

[@jayem1826]

Chuck Loeb. Love his music and of course Michael’s too

[@stuartdryer1352]

I had a DX7. Wish I still had it.

[@Judex1963]

This is exactly how i like jazz fusion. Synth-uped guitar, vibraphone, groovin bass, meandering sax, all perfectly blended together by master musicians. 80s jackets and palm trees in the background just add to the experience.

[@Frapzoid]

Why is this Jazz fusion and not just modern Jazz? What genre are they fusing together with Jazz?

[@Judex1963]

@@Frapzoid I think it's a matter of using electric instruments, which are more associated with pop, and using rock sounding rhythms. It can also be more groovy baselines borrowed from rnb. I'm no expert on the matter, but that's what i understand fusion to be.

[@luke125]

Exactly

[@christianheidenreich3673]

Thanks for sharing this precious time document. I find it important to save these for future generations.

[@eranddroory9987]

From back in the day where you could go shopping, move the lawn and wash the car and the vibraphone player would still be playing solo when you came back..

[@misfit2022]

Peter Erskine showing why he is one of the all time greats. He was also previously with Weather Report too. I had his educational vid Everything is Timekeeping when I was growing up. I am sure most drummers go through a phase when they want to add in everything in their Arsenal but then you have someone telling you forget that this is what is important and it’s time. He was right. Rarely do drummers get callbacks for their chops.

[@funklover24]

Thanks, totally agree. Love his groove and feel. ❤

[@jamessteen6667]

Lol

[@jamessteen6667]

​@@funklover24yep steve smith doesnt have the feel at least on pools

[@alexandremello6913]

Bravo, Victor Bailey! What a monster he was!

[@syn707]

Best performance I've ever seen using that beast, Roland GR 707.....kudos to Chuck Loeb! R.I.P.

[@olleinsulander]

What an amazing bassplayer!!!

[@getawaywithpaul5513]

The late great victor bailey

[@arlen72]

It''s amazing ! I Knew Michael Brecker in 1988 here in Brazil - at Free Jazz Festival - São Paulo. I never more forgot, your music transformed my life. After Mrs. Mike Mainieri, Erskine, Grolnick, Bailey, and much others. Thank you !!!!!!

[@itadrummer1]

Three of these great musicians are already gone....Unbelievable ! R.I.P. Michael, Victor and Chuck ( in order of passing away ).

[@deetgeluid]

It's a sad world without them.

[@midivanilli3847]

Musopaul what? well if u are judging musicians by their clothes you should check some pop artists instead of jazz musicians, wtf?

[@narizgrande]

@@musopaul5407 you're an asshole..

[@chris6442]

@@musopaul5407 These debates about comparisons of musicians, this one is better than that one, etc., is totally out of line! Music is not a competition, we are not at the Olympics. By the way, Mike Stern also seems to think little about clothes, he always wears black jeans and a black T-shirt for decades 😂 But who cares about that anyway? Mike is great, but I recommend checking out some of the exciting young guns.

[@chris6442]

@@musopaul5407 What's wrong with a vanilla player? Are Ritenour or Carlton not as high on your list because they have a different musical approach? There are quite a few songs from Chuck's albums that move me emotionally, and plenty they don't. And that goes for Mike's songs too, while we're on the subject of comparing. By the way, the term competition only applies to professional musicians, and only to a limited extent, because good music and art doesn't really live on competition in the economic sense. For the listener it is not about competition at all. Over the many years I've come a long way from judging or even condemning musicians by their chops (for lack of such). It is only and exclusively about emotions. And those are completely subjective and not discussable. I also find that music does not have to be constantly evaluated and pigeonholed, you can also just let it be. A good player is one who manages to touch people, regardless of genres, chops and virtuosity in general, period! Virtuosity (whatever that means exactly) can be exciting for a short time and then incredibly boring for a long time. I like that you mention things like tasty harmonic pallet and good sound and respect that you were not particularly taken in by Chuck's playing. For me that's true for Stern's play, meanwhile he's just copying himself and I'd like to see him evolve and become more modern. There are so many incredibly good new streams, fusion in the best sense. A good player for me is one who can pour his personality into new forms of expression, taking me along on this journey and not getting stuck in his old habits. But that's just how my brain works, it wants to be offered something different every now and then in order not to get bored and to be inspired. One day chili, the other vanilla. 😬

[@yellowquantum4240]

I miss that 70- 80's fusion sound. We drove from Miami in the 80's to see them play in NYC small club called 7th Avenue South. We met Steve Gadd in the alley. Super performance !!!

[@dillpickle1960]

Wonderful as always. Mike is a beautiful, welcoming musical spirit. His rhythmic control and release is superb.

[@andrewbintang4591]

great live recording! i've really enjoyed this and maybe it's time i start digitalizing my own private recordings so i can share them on here. there must be years of video tapes with live recordings still in the vault.

[@radioazma]

YEs please

[@kf5tjc]

Do it!

[@ChuckSilva]

Do it and please visit this and let us know! ❤️

[@HardcoreNerdTheories]

YES! please

[@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul]

Incredible recording. The sound is incredible 👌🏿

[@davidbaise5137]

Thanks for the upload! This should-a been on network television back in 1986. And now with all the channels available

[@omko73]

Victor Baily was on fire .. and checkout the musicianship, that little smile from the drummer for the licks Victor slipped @ around 7:56 ..really good stuff

[@pramadyajaya]

Thanks for this posting. Group of giant musicians.

[@yvesdevriendt928]

They will live forever !

[@groovealate74]

I LOVE THIS SO MUCH!! So good..

[@ChuckSilva]

Amazing! One of earth’s best moments! ❤️🍻🎼🎶

[@sonicart1808]

Thank you Dennis for posting this amazing moment in musical time!

[@WELLBRAN]

I have known all these individuals for years but I never knew this band till today😀... So now I'm searching here and how I missed them I have no idea

[@AndreasDelleske]

Oh man. One of my favourite modern bands in 1984, even before.

[@groovealate74]

This is just beautiful.. So nice to sip some high test beer listening to this before hitting the sack..❤️

[@gregonline6506]

What a fantastic show! Incredible, each and every one of them so at the point, unbelieveble. Love it. Thx so much for sharing!

[@BlackRootsAcademyOfSoul]

What a lucky find this is!!!! 👌🏿 RIP Victor Bailey, Michael Brecker and my friend Chuck Loeb 👊🏿🖤 Greetings from Uganda 🇺🇬👊🏿🖤🤍

[@misiclover1658]

Absolutely Beautiful Sounds.

[@fredricmontana5420]

Pocket...

[@ikespaceman]

11:15 “Chicago, Chicago that toddlin’ town” - Brecker was always full of surprises 💙

[@MARSAX86]

thanks for upload

[@mrchess8001]

WOW first time I heard steps ahead was on WJZZ..in Detroit I love this group..and I still listen to this type of fusion to this day.

[@scottquickel8010]

Thanks for posting Dennis - very thoughtful!

[@trobson9952]

Michael sounds like 3 tenors at once. What a muscian .

[@straybassman8508]

Nice catch by the guitarist at 7:25 LOL

[@dagostinoification]

GEAT MUSICIANS ! thank you !

[@Andtewt]

Old school is old school. The musicianship of the 5 Steps Ahead members are categorised as headmasters. Rip Victor, Chuck & Mr.Brecker.

[@cmikesmith664]

… Emilio Estefan on xylophones and Bun E. Carlos on drums. Wow!!!

[@guijazz7068]

This is amazing! Each a star for himself - together they open up a new horizon - still today! Did anyone notice, that they had already a midified Vibraphon in 1986?

[@antonsavin72]

Wonderful performance!

[@luissp1882]

CAN NOT STOP LISTENING TO THIS

[@omerofaggionato4405]

I Saw them in Perugia and Was really great

[@luigicuccitto2113]

GOD Bless You 🎸🎸🎸

[@coolaxe-dw4840]

Totally Awesome 🎷🎶🥁🎸🎹🎧🎙️

[@kurikokaleidoscope]

Brilliant.

[@heirling25]

Vic Bailey and Peter Erskine holding it down!

[@Archiconocido]

Bailey and Erskine so in the damn pocket.

[@nachogaz]

Victor Bailey en estado de locura y todas al ángulo total

[@lilbitofOverdrive]

I had one of those Schecter walnut strat guitars Tom anderson made them with all the brass on it from the 80s just like that they are heavy!! I understand having it on a stand They are worth allot of money thes days

[@zlatkodraskovic5532]

Brutal…

[@nemesisinvidia5792]

The Right Stuff on stage !

[@AndreasDelleske]

They brightened my youth.. Mike Mainieri: Wanderlust.. also Eliane Elias..

[@jayramsey690]

Nice to see Mike Maniari still wearing his high school letter jacket!

[@dalichwer]

I do believe that's from Billy Joel's '52nd Street' album sessions.

[@pauldejong9778]

how cool, it reminded me of 'an' meeting with an associate from a company I used to work with, but.. It is you Dennis. We talked at Namm once and you shared your experiences with these guys. How great!

[@dalichwer]

Hi Paul - nice to hear from you - yes, I remember our talk at NAMM.

[@J1gtbfanpage]

Great band ❤👍🇨🇭

[@blahblahoink]

Very Weather plus the vibes. Classy!

[@FusionHowie]

Peter and Victor were locked!! Michael Brecker is beyond the greatest!

[@andrzejszymanski3022]

Victor Bailey - he was excellent!!!

[@leandrojoo9268]

sooooo good

[@davidbaise5137]

Available, the music is still excluded from the mainstream.

[@roelofboiten3984]

Can't believe the camera left Mike Manieri in the middle of that amazing solo! :(

[@lex.cordis]

4:24 Does it sound like he's playing microtones to anyone else? Sounds insane!

[@cmikesmith664]

It’s just insane!! Wow!!!

[@lex.cordis]

@@cmikesmith664 Seems Mr. Erskine was impressed as well.

[@snuppssynthchannel]

Its from him Using a Roland Gr-700 guitar synth with the G-707 controller guitar. Great piece of kit. The Synth itself is based of the Roland JX-3P analogue synthesizer. A friend of mine use one here to great effect its how I came to know of it: kzbin.info/www/bejne/n6aTpqB-pK9rhas

[@dinorahdinorah85]

Al Pacino on vibes :)

[@JackBuzzMusicZone]

Ahahahahah, he looks exactly the same indeed!! Same talent as well ;)

[@simoncrawley7430]

Catalina Wine Mixer Rock...I love this stuff

[@edonslow1456]

Play at 0.75x for instant Vaporwave. You're welcome.

[@jaeldeepbassplayer]

So long Victor Bailey ...

[@lapelcelery42]

Beautiful Schecter Dream Machine the guitarist is playing.

[@kevztunz]

That bassist is on FIRE!

[@gorkaparaiso4232]

a StepsAhead en Zique surment mais question fringues ... Genius at Work faya faya faya

[@simonlloyd7557]

The olympics of music

[@chardrum]

Looks like Long Beach.

[@m00se23]

WOW... What was THAT!

[@loiclelandais2073]

Comment qualifier l'inqualifiable tant ces êtres libres nous envahissent de beauté, il nous faudrait-être quoi? je n'aime plus l'amour elle m'a tellement trompé, j'aime ces gens la, ceux qui me berce et me donne l'envie de continuer encore un petit peu. je serai un homme sans âme si je devais trahir leur authenticité et leur amour véritable, celle de donner et de recevoir en retour. Je les aimes profondément a l'infini et leur sais grée de leur merveilleuse bienveillance et intelligence.

[@olivierlefevre1572]

T'es un peu parti en live! Mais je vais approuver l'ensemble de tes propos ! Tellement, le kiffe est énorme ! Step ahead ! Forever ! Brecker broth.randy.stay with us!

[@loiclelandais2073]

@@olivierlefevre1572 J'étais en effet perché assez haut ce jour là mais j'ai toujours tant de respect pour ces musiciens qui me donnent tant de plaisirs, la musique n'est jamais anodine et les musiciens qui la portent n'on plus, donc je suis et resterais admiratif béat devant l'immensité du talent. Je te remercie pour ta réponse cela fait plaisir d'être lu de temps en temps et puis de toute façon on est d'accord, on aime et c'est tout. Ps: lorsque Michael entame son impro il est très intéressant de constater qu'il l'aborde de façon très décontractée avec une putain de musicalité qui est en vérité une grande liberté, d'ailleurs je ne suis jamais parvenu a réussir ce genre de péripétie musicale, difficile d'être autre chose qu'un exécutant, l'improvisation est une discipline émérite. Bon je ne vais pas épiloguer durant des heures, sache que prendre ma guitare et essayer tant bien que mal de jouer et de satisfaire finalement mon petit égo est déjà chose formidable, je ne me réjouis pas mais j'aime faire de la note même si elle n'est pas juste, d'ailleurs je n'aime pas la justesse.

[@bassmonk2920]

Bands on fire....

[@mrgreen75]

Love it

[@paatanatsvlishvili4334]

❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@jimbridges3499]

I remember when Victor replaced JACO with Weather Report. Actually. A very easy transition. Victor was Super Badd.

[@williamgeller2385]

I was privileged to see Victor his first night with Weather Report at Tierra Verde in FL. I thought "what pressure this poor guy must be feeling, replacing Jaco". After the concert, I thought "this guy's gonna be alright".

[@Samsgarden]

Based on the recoding, you'd practically believe there are three members to the band

[@jibsmokestack1]

Different feel to Pool with Victor instead of Eddie Gomez. Bringing funk to the front!

[@scaramanga7696]

This is very good stuff!

[@mauriciosalfate]

genial

[@breckersax1]

Alles van Brecker is vetvetcool

[@BrainDamageComedy]

great.

[@lablaine1981]

Between 1984-1990s steps ahead as creative as any fusion at the time....names ...

[@barjoblues]

Victor Bailey so great , deep groove always there !!!

[@davewray9909]

Are they in Chicago? Michael Brecker quotes the tune 'Chicago' in the begining of his solo.

[@IvanJevtic]

That bass lick and smile :) @7:55

[@hoffnstuff8996]

Good catch! Like he was trying to get Erskine to notice ... it worked. They seemed to really be having fun that day.

[@jampoles]

@@hoffnstuff8996 Both have Weather Report experience

[@Salvojazz]

Heard them in Torino

[@michaelwirth6843]

Perhaps for the first time but I think the bass player is the star of the show!

[@griiseknoen]

7:28 Poor Chuck.

[@ronaldcook3840]

Man I miss the 80's. This is wonderful and who is that bass player?

[@johncrowder9828]

Victor bailey

[@ronaldcook3840]

@@johncrowder9828 thank you

[@mcosu1]

The cool guys from the accounting firm have a band

[@AndreasDelleske]

except Mainieri. He's from legal team and drives a Harley.

[@SergiodePrado]

Can we please talk a minute about Mr Bailey's tone?

[@alexmasters2531]

I know, right??

[@greenvelvet]

Goddamn, i miss my windbreaker

[@scottbrown8869]

Vic Bailey, holding down the fuck out of that bottom end. RIP

[@jiyujizai]

💙😃🥀🍀

[@arthurlipner-archive77]

where was this gig?

[@danielepps4206]

11:15 - 11:22 that pocket though!

[@gregorg4842]

Znakomici!!!

[@anythingvideos4632]

Can someone please explain what he's using on that vibraphone? There's definitely some kind of midi/triggering synth sound device that is somehow triggering a synth to match every note he plays. That's wild. Ive never seen that before.

[@dalichwer]

Yes, MIDI triggered system that I built, Memory Moog synth

[@jampoles]

@@dalichwer Did you actually build it yourself?

[@BassmanII]

Was this before Steve Smith joined?

[@Jonjzi]

The sense of fashion is simply nonpareil.

[@Kassiusday]

The bass makes the groove but again camera 🎥 don’t pay any attention to show him !!!!!!! Unbelievable always forgotten instrument ?? Why ???