It's remarkable how well the music of Steps Ahead has stood the test of time. Tunes like ‘Oops’ and ‘Sara’s Touch' from over 30 years ago remain true to their original sound and style despite fresh augmentation from Abene and the WDR, yet will sit quite happily on the radio among other new 2016 releases. Mainieri is the chief writer on this album of Steps Ahead favourites, but it also includes Don Grolnick's ‘Pools’ and ‘Beirut’, written by the band when it included Victor Bailey, Peter Erskine and Michael Brecker, as well as Loeb who returns here. Steppin' Out's chief joys lie in these strong tunes, in their infectious grooves and in the both exacting and exuberant playing and soloing of the characterful Steps Ahead members, but the whole enterprise benefits further from the rich big-band landscape Abene's thoroughly sympathetic arrangements provide. The real treat at the centre of this excellent sounding album is a gorgeous reworking of ‘Self Portrait’.

Jazzwise spoke to Mike Mainieri about the album

Did it feel like a new sound – a style for the future – when you formed the band 37 years ago?

Honestly, I didn't think of the band in that way at all. When I invited Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez, and Steve Gadd to perform with me at Seventh Avenue South (the Brecker Bros. jazz club) they had played previously in the big band I had formed in the late 1960s called White Elephant. We had also recorded on many of the same albums as guest artists in the late 1960s and 1970s. Don Grolnick was also on several of those albums and so I invited Don to join me to perform at the club. There were no plans to record the band or tour.

What has given the band and its music this timeless quality?

I really can't truly answer that question… Somehow the compositions and the ‘sound’ of the band resonates with audiences. The many great musicians who have performed and recorded with me are to be given credit for what you describe as a ‘timeless quality’.

Did you always see Steps Ahead as a launch pad for emerging talent?

Yes, I did, but only in the sense that I was at least 10 years older or more than most of the musicians when I started these ‘jam’ sessions in the late 1960s. For example, I heard Steve Gadd play on a record date in NYC when he was still living in Rochester. I knew I heard something special… Another example took place when Michael Brecker began coming to jam sessions with the White Elephant big band. It was obvious that he and his brother Randy were extraordinary artists. In fact, I'm performing with Randy at the Blue Note in Tokyo at the end of this September, with Bill Evans and Tom Kennedy.

What has been the most rewarding aspect for you of the band's collaboration with the WDR?

Well, it was a double whammy. Firstly, in 1963, I was performing with the Buddy Rich Sextet in Las Vegas and we needed a pianist – I had met Michael Abene at Birdland. Though we remained friends we never performed together except for that short stint (with Rich). I was certainly aware of Michael‘s extraordinary career as an arranger and when producer Joachim Becker suggested his name I jumped at the chance to collaborate with him. The other surprise was that Joachim asked me to invite some of the former members of Steps Ahead to perform with me and the WDR Big Band. I had been playing with Bill and Steve consistently over the last few years. Since we decided to perform some musical selections from the Steps Ahead ‘book’ that required an electric bassist and guitarist. Tom [Kennedy] and Chuck [Loeb] fitted the bill perfectly. I think it worked out beautifully.