Following that is the Miles Davis-inspired “Blues for Shyam Babu.” Inspired by the blues changes in “All Blues” by Davis, this number has a touch of Bollywood flavour and was written after Ram saw a child who was just four minutes old. Shyam is another name for Krishna and Babu is akin to “mister.” The song’s gentle sway is moving and the touch of Miles inspiration is perceptible in its flow.

Gershwin is tackled up next with a South African shade and jazzy swing in “Summertime.” The bansuri pulls and sways like a slave woman singing the lyrics of the song to a little girl. Ram describes the song as having a feeling that resonated with apartheid in South Africa, so his tone reflects that conception and the results are striking and lingering.

The son of Dave Brubeck, Darius, penned the gorgeous song “October.” Coltrane is taken on again in “Naima,” as Trane’s inspiration is culled from Indian music on this number. Coltrane described his inspiration on the tune as wanting to echo Indian music. This led to some deep tones and a really full piece of music. Ram delivers the intricacy of the tune with refinement, allowing Trane’s composition to feel inclusive and seamlessly authentic.

Ram looks at Davis’ “All Blues” again and the muse of Kind of Blue is obvious. The bansuri works well with Davis’ classic recording because of the lack of chord changes. Its beauty is in its cleanness and Deepak Ram reflects that expressively. “All Blues” works because it lends itself physically to Indian playing.

The album closes with “My Funny Valentine.” Ram does a nice rendition of the Rodgers and Hart classic, pulling it in and treating it as though it were made for bansuri. Each track on Steps sounds like it was made for bansuri, come to think of it, as Ram plays the modal and breezy jazz with technical aptitude and natural sentiment.

With Ram’s bansuri coaxing freshness out of beautiful classics, Steps is a fantastic album for fans of world music, jazz, and blues. It breaks new territory for Deepak Ram and is a grand introduction to the flute master’s flair and proficiency with the bansuri. The backing band is great, with Vic Juris on guitar, Tony Marino on bass, and Jamey Haddad on percussion. Steps is a nice inclusive little recording that is adeptly executed and slickly rich in quality.