Giant Steps

About

Giant Steps is the fifth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane as leader. It was released in February 1960 on Atlantic Record. This was his first album as leader for Atlantic Record, with which he had signed a new contract the previous year. The initial sessions for this album—Coltrane’s second recording date under his new contract, following a January 15 session led by Milt Jackson—were held on March 26, 1959. Coltrane was dissatisfied with the performances from that date, which featured pianist Cedar Walton and drummer Lex Humphrie, and the material was ultimately left off the original album, later appearing on compilations and reissue. The main recording sessions took place on May 4 and 5, shortly after Coltrane had completed work on Kind of Blue. One track, “Naima,” was recorded separately on December 2 with the rhythm section of the Miles Davis Quintet, musicians who would also form the core ensemble for much of Coltrane’s subsequent album, Coltrane Jazz. 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 saxophonist. 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 copie. Two track, "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 Chamber, who played on the album. A fourth, "Cousin Mary", is named in honor of Mary Lyerly, Coltrane's younger cousin. Personnel: John Coltrane – tenor saxophoneTommy Flanagan – pianoWynton Kelly – piano on "Naima"Paul Chambers – bassArt Taylor – drumsJimmy Cobb – drums on "Naima"Cedar Walton – piano on "Giant Steps" and “Naima" alternate versionsLex 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 Atkin, Steven Chean, Julee Stover – reissue editorial supervision Ted Meyer, Elizabeth Pavone – reissue editorial coordination Release history: 1960 – Atlantic Records SD 1311, vinyl record 1987 – Atlantic Record, first generation compact disc 1994 – Mobile Fidelity Gold CD - MFSL 1998 – Rhino Records R2 75203, Deluxe Edition compact disc and 180-gram vinyl record .

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