Giant Steps

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Giant Steps is a 1960 album by jazz musician John Coltrane, released on Atlantic Records.

Giant Steps was his second album to be recorded by the Atlantic label, and marked the first time that all of the pieces on a recording had been composed by him. The recording exemplifies Coltrane's harmonic improvisation and melodic phrasing that came to be known as sheets of sound. His solo on "Countdown" in particular, demonstrates this arpeggiated, densely harmonic approach.

The album is also considered to be Coltrane's farewell to the style of music called "bebop". He ventured into the territory known as "modal jazz" shortly afterwards.

Several pieces on this album went on to become jazz standards, such as "Naima", "Giant Steps", "Cousin Mary", "Countdown", and "Mr. P.C." In 2004, it was one of fifty recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

Track listing

Original LP release Giant Steps, 1960 (Atlantic)

1. "Giant Steps" –4:43
2. "Cousin Mary" –5:45
3. "Countdown" –2:21
4. "Spiral" –5:56
5. "Syeeda's Song Flute" –7:00
6. "Naima" –4:21
7. "Mr. P.C." –6:57
8. :Alternative takes first released on Alternate Takes, 1974 (Atlantic)
9. "Giant Steps" –3:40
10. "Naima" –4:27
11. "Cousin Mary" –5:54
12. "Countdown" –4:33
13. "Syeeda's Song Flute" –7:02
14. :Additional alternative takes first released on John Coltrane: The Heavyweight Champion, The Complete Atlantic Recordings, August 1995 (Rhino)
15. "Giant Steps" –3:32
16. "Naima" –3:37
17. "Giant Steps" –5:00

Personnel

Recorded May 4 and May 5 1959: main take tracks 1–5, 7; alternative take tracks 10–12, and additional alternative track 15.

• John Coltrane — tenor saxophone
• Tommy Flanagan — piano
• Paul Chambers — bass
• Art Taylor — drums

Recorded December 2 1959: main take track 6

• Wynton Kelly — piano
• Jimmy Cobb — drums

Recorded April 1 (March 26 according to Rhino liner notes) 1959: alternative tracks 8 and 9, and additional alternative tracks 13 and 14

• Cedar Walton — piano
• Lex Humphries — drums

Releases

• 1960 (Atlantic Records, vinyl)
• 1990 (Atlantic Records, remastered CD)

with alternative takes 8–12

• 1994 (Mobile Fidelity, Gold CD)

with alternative takes 8–12

• 1998 (Rhino Records, Deluxe Edition CD, 180-gram vinyl)

with alternative takes 8–12 and additional alternative takes 13–15, no alternative takes on vinyl

See also

• Coltrane changes

External links

• Liner notes and track notes, Rhino Deluxe Edition

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Last updated on Monday February 04, 2008 at 11:36:09 PST (GMT -0800)
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