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Giant Steps

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Work

Giant Steps · The contract John Coltrane signed with Atlantic in 1959 was arranged by Miles Davis's manager. A first session in March did not satisfy him, so it was not used. The actual recordings followed on 4 and 5 May, two weeks after he took part in the last session for Kind of Blue. Naima followed only in December, with the rhythm section of Davis's quintet.

On this album the saxophonist concentrated on chord changes that are each a major third apart, later called Coltrane changes. His fast, dense phrasing was known as sheets of sound. The title track is famous for its difficult chord sequence and became a practice piece for jazz musicians, a gateway to modern improvisation. Cousin Mary, Syeeda's Song Flute, Naima and Mr. P.C. are named after people in his circle. Naima and the title track became jazz standards. The album is regarded as one of the most influential jazz records and entered the National Recording Registry in 2004.

Listening

Listening tip. In Giant Steps, listen to the saxophone solo: notice how fast the notes go by while the chords keep shifting key. Then compare that with the calmer melody of Naima.

Track list

  1. 1Giant Steps (2020 Remaster)4:48Apple Music ↗
  2. 2Cousin Mary (2020 Remaster)5:50Apple Music ↗
  3. 3Countdown (2020 Remaster)2:26Apple Music ↗
  4. 4Spiral (2020 Remaster)5:00Apple Music ↗
  5. 5Syeeda's Song Flute (2020 Remaster)7:06Apple Music ↗
  6. 6Naima (2020 Remaster)4:25Apple Music ↗
  7. 7Mr. P.C. (2020 Remaster)6:57Apple Music ↗

30-second previews via Apple Music. Listen to the whole album on Apple Music ↗

Categories: Albums and songs