If you want an idea where New Regime falls musically within the jazz world, just take a look at the name.

Unlike most jazz groups, New Regime is an actual band, rather than just being one highlighted player with backing musicians. And also unlike many jazz outfits, New Regime focuses on original material that blends different styles ranging from Latin to traditional to funk, rather than performing old jazz standards. The group’s debut album, 2006’s “From Scratch,” which is available at www.newregimeband.com, features 11 songs all written by co-founders Robert Lindquist and Eric Walentowicz.

“With this new project, we wanted to embrace all the styles that we appreciated, but never explored in depth, such as ECM jazz, salsa, explored with funk and traditional jazz,” said Walentowicz, 42, during a recent interview with the band’s two leaders at Taj Mahal restaurant in Schenectady. “And since it was a new project, a new band, we thought of it kind of as a regime.”

Walentowicz’s tenor and soprano saxophone playing and Lindquist’s piano and keyboards make up the backbone of New Regime. The two musicians met in 2004 while performing at 9 Maple Avenue in Saratoga Springs, where New Regime will take the stage this Friday. Both had already been well-established in the local jazz scene; Lindquist, 30, has performed professionally in the area since he was 15, having grown up in Albany, while Walentowicz, born and raised in Detroit, relocated to the Capital Region from New York City about 13 years ago.

“We first played together when we started hiring each other,” Lindquist said. “We were pretty much coming from similar places; we both did jazz, but we liked other styles.”

The two formed New Regime shortly after meeting, and immediately set to work composing their debut. “We wrote a lot of compositions in a short amount of time,” Walentowicz said. “Once we started going with it, it really flowed really quickly.”

The songs on the album include upbeat numbers such as “From Scratch” and “Time’s Up,” as well as more atmospheric cuts such as “Joy Ride” and “The Sound.” Tracks such as “Beyond Words” and “With Regret” showcase the band’s softer side with mournful melodies and sparse, laid-back playing, while “Dr. J. Missed Her Hide,” the longest of the bunch at more than eight minutes, is a full- on jazz workout.

The divergent styles in the band’s original compositions reflect Walentowicz and Lindquist’s growing list of influences, including Miles Davis, Soulive and the Moutin Brothers. Walentowicz also studied under Rick Margitza, who performed with Davis, in New York City. Lindquist also cited Herbie Hancock as a major influence on his playing.

“When I first heard Rob, I thought, ‘Wow, he sounds like Wynton Kelly and plays like Herbie Hancock,” Walentowicz said. “If I played piano, that’s how I would want to play.”

“With Eric, you can probably narrow it down to [Michael] Brecker, Rick Margitza and the Moutin Brothers,” Lindquist added.

Although the band’s songs are instrumental and more often than not reach out into experimental territory, Lindquist and Walentowicz keep everything rooted in strong melodies. The band will throw in a few covers every now and then to keep audiences interested, as well.

“It’s hard. As great as a new composition can be, it’s hard for the listener to absorb it all,” Walentowicz said. “It’s best to mix it up, but we do as many of our own compositions as we can.”

The band, which includes drummer Jeff Dowd and electric bassist Paul Othon live, will even mix things up on compositions that have already been performed and recorded to keep things interesting.