Giant Steps is the fifth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane as leader. It was released in February 1960 on Atlantic Records.[1][2][3] This was his first album as leader for Atlantic Records, with which he had signed a new contract the previous year. The record is regarded as one of the most influential jazz albums of all time. Many of its tracks have become practice templates for jazz saxophonists.[5][6] In 2004, it was one of fifty recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. It attained gold record status in 2018, having sold 500,000 copies.[7]

Giant Steps
Studio album by John Coltrane
Released	February 1960 (1960-02)[1][2][3]
Recorded	May 4–5, 1959 December 2, 1959
Studio	Atlantic (New York City)[4]
Genre	Post-bop, hard bop
Length	37:03
Label	Atlantic
Producer	Nesuhi Ertegun
John Coltrane chronology
The Cats (1959) Giant Steps (1960) Coltrane Jazz (1961)

Two tracks, "Naima" and "Syeeda's Song Flute", are respectively named after Coltrane's wife at the time and her daughter, whom he adopted. A third, "Mr. P.C.", takes its name from the initials of bassist Paul Chambers, who played on the album. A fourth, "Cousin Mary", is named in honor of Mary Lyerly, Coltrane's younger cousin.

Background

In 1959, Miles Davis's business manager Harold Lovett negotiated a record contract for Coltrane with Atlantic, the terms of which included a $7,000 annual guarantee (equivalent to $65,070 in 2021).[8] 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.[9] Coltrane was dissatisfied with the results of this session with Cedar Walton and Lex Humphries, and hence they were not used for the album,[10] 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.[11] 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.[12]

Coltrane's improvisation exemplifies the 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.[13] The Giant Steps chord progression consists of a distinctive set of chords that create key centers a major third apart. Jazz musicians ever since have used it as a practice piece, its difficult chord changes presenting a "kind of ultimate harmonic challenge", and serving as a gateway into modern jazz improvisation. Several pieces on this album went on to become jazz standards, most prominently "Naima" and "Giant Steps".[10][14]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[15]
DownBeat	[16]
Encyclopedia of Popular Music	[17]
Tom Hull	A−[18]
Penguin Guide to Jazz	[19]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	[20]
The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide	[21]
Virgin Encyclopedia	[22]

The Penguin Guide to Jazz selected this album as part of its suggested "Core Collection" calling it "Trane's first genuinely iconic record."[23] In 2003, the album was ranked number 102 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time,[24] 103 in a 2012 revised list,[25] and 232 in a 2020 revised list.[26]

In 2000 it was voted number 764 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[27]

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.

Jazz historian Scott Yanow noted that "Giant Steps" took chordal improvisation to the extreme, while serving as a great challenge to young musicians to play over the song's rapid chord changes.[28]

Track listing

Recording dates:[29]

Thursday March 26, 1959:

Tracks 8, 9, 13, 14

Monday May 4, 1959:

Tracks 3, 4, 11

Tuesday May 5, 1959:

Tracks 1, 2, 5, 7, 10, 12 and 15

Wednesday December 2, 1959:

Track 6

Personnel

Musicians

• John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
• Tommy Flanagan – piano
• Wynton Kelly – piano on "Naima"
• Paul Chambers – bass
• Art Taylor – drums
• Jimmy Cobb – drums on "Naima"
• Cedar Walton – piano on "Giant Steps" and “Naima" alternate versions
• Lex Humphries – drums on "Giant Steps" and “Naima" alternate versions

Production

• Nesuhi Ertegün – producer
• Tom Dowd, Phil Iehle – engineer
• Lee Friedlander – photography
• Marvin Israel – cover design
• Nat Hentoff – liner notes
• Bob Carlton, Patrick Milligan – reissue supervision
• Bill Inglot, Dan Hersch – digital remastering
• Rachel Gutek – reissue design
• Hugh Brown – reissue art direction
• Vanessa Atkins, Steven Chean, Julee Stover – reissue editorial supervision
• Ted Meyers, Elizabeth Pavone – reissue editorial coordination

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
• 2020 – Atlantic Records R2 625106/603497848393, 60 Years Deluxe Edition, 2 CDs (Remastered Album + Outtakes)

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[30]	Gold	500,000
Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

External links

• Liner notes and track notes, Rhino Deluxe Edition

На других языках

[ru] Giant Steps