Customer Reviews

Smokin' in the Pit

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I consider this album as essentially an extended Michael Brecker and Steve Gadd duet. If you like explosive tenor sax solos and pure power jazz / funk drumming, these discs will be heaven. Gomez / Grolnick / Manieri provide fantastic backup; the group is obviously well-rehearsed and "smokin'" just as the title says.

Mike Mainieri reissued this masterpiece adding 6 bonus tracks (3 additional compositions and 3 alternative takes) to the original double album. If you want to hear five jazz masters (Micheal Brecker, Steve Gadd, Mike Mainieri, Eddie Gomez and Don Grolnick) playing live at their top don't miss this. In my opinion it is the best thing Steps Ahead ever made.

I arrived at this CD after hearing and adoring their later work. "Smokin' in the Pit" is a great CD, but "Modern Times" offers more exciting compositions - by that I mean drum lines that loop in a different meter, as well as some creative modern melodies.
Smokin' in the Pit differs, largely in my opinon, with the change in drummers. Steve Gadd on "Pit", and Peter Erskine on "Modern Times." Gadd plays well. His style is all his own. And I have to say he is one of my favorite drummers. But, Peter Erskine is more of a chameleon, choosing styles that differ more for each song. The difference is most noticable on "Sara's Touch", a song of exquisite beauty composed by Mike Mainieri, the vibes player. I have the recording "Wanderlust" by Mike Mainieri with Peter Erskine on drums and Marcus Miller on bass (as I recall.) I consider this a much more sensitive version of the song.
Back to "Smokin' in the Pit" - It is nonetheless an exciting session by top notch musicians. Michael Brecker, Eddie Gomez and Don Grolnik round out the list. On this session a lot of jamming goes on. They can be long, but I hasten so say not too long. This is certainly not a flaw, just different. I just expected more of the ground breaking style of their later recordings.

"Smokin' in the Pit" is what every jazz recording should be. This was the first of the Steps/Steps Ahead releases and the best one. This is a jazz recording that is all acoustic (unlike the rest that were fusion). The band is made up of all-star calibre players. Mike Manieri is the best vibraphonist that I have ever heard(Sorry Mr.Burton). Eddie Gomez is solid throughout the whole disc and fills out the low end. His playing isn't virtuostic in nature but he does what every bassist should do; Be the link between rhythm and melody and he does this extremely well. Don Grolnik is an accomplished pianist and he doesn't dissapoint here. Steve Gadd is one of the greatest drummers to have ever stepped behind a kit and the performance on this disc is his best. This rhythm section makes every tune a lesson in jamming together and creating a groove without getting boring/repetetive. With the grooves that are created by Gomez/Gadd anybody would sound like a Juliard graduate and these soloists sound unearthly. All of these musicians are amazing but the headliner of this set is the sax playing of one Michael Brecker. He is quite possibly the greatest saxophonist ever and ,at the least, he is the heir to the Parker/Coltrane throne. This man has to be heard to be believed. As for the songs themselves, all are great at the least. The unreal ones are; both versions of "Not Ethiopia" of which one version has Kazumi Watanabe playing a fine guitar solo. "Recordame" which is a showcase for Brecker and Gadd. Gadd delivers an incredible polyphonic solo at the end of this piece. The tune "Sarah's Touch" is my personal favorite. It contains Mr. Brecker at his best ,blending speed and phrasing to unveil to the listener one of the most amazing things that they will ever hear. This disc is unbelievable. Anyone that is currently listening to fusion or any other type of instrumental music will find this to be a perfect introduction to jazz. BUY THIS NOW!!!!

I first heard of the late Michael Brecker on Steve Khan's 70's album The Blue Man, on the track Eye Over Autumn (For Folon). With powerhouse playing and precision timming, it blew me away, and I immediately became a MB convert, and never looked back.
Smokin in the Pitt presents a solid document of Michael Brecker's high octane
playing that is not to be ignored. Brecker, as part of the Steps/ Steps Ahead ensemble, is in top form here, along with Grolnick, Gadd, Gomez, and Manieri.
The level of musicianship has to be heard to be believed, it is absolutely staggering, with tight interplay, and astonishing solos.
My favourite tracks are Uncle Bob, Young and Fine and Sara's Touch.
I am new to the music of Steps Ahead, and had previously been content playing a 225Kbps bit-rate download of the album, but it is too good not to have the real McCoy, and so,recently purchased it through a seller at Amazon.com .....and it arrived very quickly too!!!
I heartily agree with the sentiments expressed by other reviewers about this amazing album. Any Steps Ahead/MB fan shouldn't be without this.
Don't content yourself with a lousy download, get this cd.....DO IT NOW!

This is a great set. It came out decades ago but I never really heard it until recently. I can only support all the other raves about it. Sensational, and I don't think it has been topped in the years since; definitely among the very best live fusion recordings ever made.

I love Steps Ahead and I enjoy listening to this cd immensely. Outstanding Jazz.

Not many bands can continuously create totally new art forms each time they play... Steps Ahead could! The multiple takes of certain songs shows the evolution and creative fearlesness these artists have to offer both indevidually and as a group. Michael Brecker is such an amazing sax player, it will take you many listenings of this 2 CD collection to even begin to grab his emotion. His technical virtuosity shines at first listen, but although Michael has said he probably plays too many notes, they all are in the right place at the right time! Mike only plays with the best, and that's evident with this band which was actually formed in a jazz club that Mike and brother Randy (Brecker Bros. band) owned. These artists are on such a high level of musicianship that is seems like they are reading each others' minds! If you enjoy this double CD and happen to have a DVD player, you NEED to get "Steps Ahead - Live in Tokyo 1986". It will show the further evolution of the band and Mike's sax AND EWI playing. I've spent countless hours watching that DVD when attending Berklee College of Music-Boston. This is my absolute favorite CD(s) from Steps Ahead and ranks in the top 5 of favorites in my collection.

After listening to classical for many years, have gotten back to Jazz and trying to build up a CD collection.

Had an album or two with Michael Brecker on it when I used to listen to Jazz a couple decades ago but only now have become aware of what a giant he was.

Mike Mainieri is also an oustanding Jazz musician. And with Steps Ahead you can be pretty confident that everyone in the band is going to be first-rate.

I got a number of Steps Ahead CDs and just recently added this one to my collection. I think it is probably their best. Beautiful jazz songs, they are lengthy with lots of brilliant solos, the musicianship is as good as anything I have heard from these guys, and being live performances there is an additional spark you don't necessarily get with a studio album.

All musicians are playing on a very high standard.
This CD is Art which is " at the top of the mountain".
So sad that Michael Brecker and Don Grolnick already passed
away from this Earth. I hope that they might have the chance to be part in the
ALL TIME JAZZ SUPER STAR BAND in the sky or elsewhere.

ALSO: Two Blocks From the Edge