Giant Steps

Giant Steps
Studio album by John Coltrane
Released January 27, 1960[1]
Recorded May 4–5, 1959
December 2, 1959
Genre Jazz
Length 37:03
Label Atlantic
Producer Nesuhi Ertegün
John Coltrane chronology
Soultrane
(1958)Soultrane1958		 Giant Steps
(1960)		 Coltrane Jazz
(1960)Coltrane Jazz1960

Giant Steps is the fifth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane as leader, released in 1960 on Atlantic Records, catalogue SD 1311. This would be the first album as leader for his new label Atlantic Records. Many of its tracks have become practice templates for jazz saxophonists.[2][3] In 2004, it was one of fifty recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry.

Background

In 1959, Miles Davis's business manager Harold Lovett negotiated a record contract for Coltrane with Atlantic, the terms including a $7,000 annual guarantee.[4] Initial sessions for this album, the second recording date for Coltrane under his new contract after a January 15 date led by Milt Jackson, took place on March 26, 1959.[5] The results of this session with Cedar Walton and Lex Humphries were not used, but appeared on subsequent compilations and reissues. Principal recording for the album took place on May 4 and 5, two weeks after Coltrane had participated in the final session for Kind of Blue.[6] The track "Naima" was recorded on December 2 with Coltrane's bandmates, the rhythm section from the Miles Davis Quintet, who would provide the backing for most of his next album, Coltrane Jazz.[7]

The recording exemplifies Coltrane's melodic phrasing that came to be known as sheets of sound, and features his explorations into third-related chord movements that came to be known as Coltrane changes.[8] Jazz musicians continue to use the Giant Steps chord progression, which consists of a distinctive set of chords that create key centers a major third apart, as a practice piece and as a gateway into modern jazz improvisation. Several pieces on this album went on to become jazz standards, most prominently "Naima" and "Giant Steps".[9]

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[10]
Down Beat[11]
Penguin Guide to Jazz[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Virgin Encyclopedia[14]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide[15]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" calling it "Trane's first genuinely iconic record."[16] In 2003, the album was ranked number 102 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.[17]

On March 3, 1998, Rhino Records reissued Giant Steps as part of its Atlantic 50th Anniversary Jazz Gallery series. Included were eight bonus tracks, five of which had appeared in 1975 on the Atlantic compilation Alternate Takes, the remaining three earlier issued on The Heavyweight Champion: The Complete Atlantic Recordings in 1995.

Track listing

All tracks written by John Coltrane.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Giant Steps"4:43
2."Cousin Mary"5:45
3."Countdown"2:21
4."Spiral"5:56
Side two
No.TitleLength
1."Syeeda's Song Flute"7:00
2."Naima"4:21
3."Mr. P.C."6:57
1998 reissue bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
8."Giant Steps" (alternate version 1)3:41
9."Naima" (alternate version 1)4:27
10."Cousin Mary" (alternate take)5:54
11."Countdown" (alternate take)4:33
12."Syeeda's Song Flute" (alternate take)7:02
13."Giant Steps" (alternate version 2)3:32
14."Naima" (alternate version 2)3:37
15."Giant Steps" (alternate take)5:00

Personnel

Musicians

Production

Release history

  • 1960 – Atlantic Records SD 1311, vinyl record
  • 1987 – Atlantic Records, first generation compact disc
  • 1994 – Mobile Fidelity Gold CD
  • 1998 – Rhino Records R2 75203, Deluxe Edition compact disc and 180-gram vinyl record

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/Sales
United States (RIAA)[18] Gold 500,000double-dagger

*sales figures based on certification alone
^shipments figures based on certification alone

References

  1. ↑ Rateyourmusic entry
  2. ↑ Ben Ratliff. Coltrane: The Story of A Sound. New York: Farrar, Straus, and Giroux; 2007. ISBN 978-0-374-12606-3. pp. 53-54.
  3. ↑ Lewis Porter. John Coltrane: His Life and Music. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1999. ISBN 0-472-10161-7, p. 145.
  4. ↑ Lewis Porter. John Coltrane: His Life and Music. Ann Arbor: The University of Michigan Press, 1999. ISBN 0-472-10161-7, pp. 117-8.
  5. ↑ Porter, p. 145, pp. 359-60.
  6. ↑ Porter, p. 360.
  7. ↑ Giant Steps. Atlantic R2 75203, liner notes, p. 18.
  8. ↑ Porter, pp. 145-148
  9. ↑ Jazz Standards website retrieved 7 August 2011 Archived 17 December 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  10. ↑ Allmusic review
  11. ↑ Down Beat review Archived 2009-06-07 at the Wayback Machine.
  12. ↑ Penguin Guide to Jazz review
  13. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  14. ↑ Virgin Encyclopedia review
  15. ↑ Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. USA: Random House/Rolling Stone. p. 46. ISBN 0-394-72643-X.
  16. ↑ Cook, Richard; Brian Morton (2006) [1992]. "John Coltrane". The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings. The Penguin Guide to Jazz (8th. ed.). New York: Penguin. p. 269. ISBN 0-14-102327-9.
  17. ↑ "102) Giant Steps". Rolling Stone. New York. November 2003. Archived from the original on March 22, 2009. Retrieved April 26, 2013.
  18. ↑ "American album certifications – John Coltrane – Giant Steps". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH. 
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