1986 · Album
Solid Steps
Recorded 1986 · Jazz Club · Produced by Not specified in source
First Steps Into Leadership
Lovano's debut as a leader announces an artist ready to chart his own course.
In 1986, Joe Lovano stepped into the recording studio as a leader for the first time, and Solid Steps marks the moment when a sideman became a bandleader on his own terms. By this point in his career, Lovano had already worked in various ensembles and paid his dues in the jazz world, but this album gave him the chance to shape the sound entirely. It's the kind of record that matters most to the artist themselves—not always the flashiest or most celebrated in a catalog, but genuinely important because it's where they first got to say what they wanted to say without someone else steering the ship.
What makes this debut significant is its straightforwardness. Lovano doesn't overthink things or try to prove anything with wild experimentation. Instead, he settles into a working band and plays the music he believes in, letting his saxophone voice come through clearly. The album captures a saxophonist who is confident in his approach and unafraid of simplicity—the kind of confidence that only comes from years of listening and playing in other people's groups. There's no sense of a young artist flailing around or trying too hard to impress. This is a working musician who knows what he's doing.
The album was eventually reissued on the September label in 2003 with new artwork, which speaks to its durability. Solid Steps isn't a record that demanded immediate legendary status, but it held up well enough that it was worth bringing back into circulation years later. For listeners interested in Lovano's development as a player and leader, this is the essential starting point—not because it's his greatest album, but because it's the one that shows where his voice as a bandleader actually began.
Who's playing
Hein van de Geynbass
Michel Herrpiano
Joe Lovanosaxophone
Bert Jorisflugelhorn, trumpet
Dré Pallemaertsmembranophone
