John Coltrane - Giant Steps (1960) [Japanese Limited SHM-SACD 2011] PS3 ISO + DSD64 + Hi-Res FLAC

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

History will undoubtedly enshrine this disc as a watershed the likes of which may never truly be appreciated. Giant Steps bore the double-edged sword of furthering the cause of the music as well as delivering it to an increasingly mainstream audience. Although this was John Coltrane's debut for Atlantic, he was concurrently performing and recording with Miles Davis. Within the space of less than three weeks, Coltrane would complete his work with Davis and company on another genre-defining disc, Kind of Blue, before commencing his efforts on this one. Coltrane (tenor sax) is flanked by essentially two different trios. Recording commenced in early May of 1959 with a pair of sessions that featured Tommy Flanagan (piano) and Art Taylor (drums), as well as Paul Chambers – who was the only bandmember other than Coltrane to have performed on every date. When recording resumed in December of that year, Wynton Kelly (piano) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) were instated – replicating the lineup featured on Kind of Blue, sans Miles Davis of course. At the heart of these recordings, however, is the laser-beam focus of Coltrane's tenor solos. All seven pieces issued on the original Giant Steps are likewise Coltrane compositions. He was, in essence, beginning to rewrite the jazz canon with material that would be centered on solos – the 180-degree antithesis of the art form up to that point. These arrangements would create a place for the solo to become infinitely more compelling. This would culminate in a frenetic performance style that noted jazz journalist Ira Gitler accurately dubbed "sheets of sound." Coltrane's polytonal torrents extricate the amicable and otherwise cordial solos that had begun decaying the very exigency of the genre – turning it into the equivalent of easy listening. He wastes no time as the disc's title track immediately indicates a progression from which there would be no looking back. Line upon line of highly cerebral improvisation snake between the melody and solos, practically fusing the two. The resolute intensity of "Countdown" does more to modernize jazz in 141 seconds than many artists do in their entire careers. Tellingly, the contrasting and ultimately pastoral "Naima" was the last tune to be recorded, and is the only track on the original long-player to feature the Kind of Blue quartet. What is lost in tempo is more than recouped in intrinsic melodic beauty.

Tracklist:

01. Giant Steps
02. Cousin Mary
03. Countdown
04. Spiral
05. Syeeda's Song Flute
06. Naima
07. Mr. P. C.

Personnel
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

Recorded on May 4–5, 1959 & December 2, 1959 at Atlantic Studios, New York.
Warner Music Japan # WPGR-10006


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Uncompressed SACD ISO size > 1,5 GB
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