JOHN COLTRANE - Giant Steps 60th Anniversary Edition
Rhino.com
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone; Paul Chambers - bass; Tommy Flanagan - piano; Art Taylor drums
Two shocks. One, is it really sixty years since this music was recorded? Two, is the music really so approachable?
The interest of Coltrane’s music at this period is in looking for the aspects that he would develop in the period ahead when he would go on to build his great quartet and then move beyond to develop his music allied to his spirituality. It is also just as interesting to look at the aspects that he would reject and not develop.
‘Giant Steps’ is one of the most influential albums, significant as a pointer. However, it is useful to place it in context. The Prestige contract was over and this album was recorded in 1959 about a month after he recorded ‘Kind of Blue’ with Miles Davis and a year before Coltrane was persuaded to tour Europe with Miles Davies when he shocked audiences with the power and violence of his playing. On one of the concerts in Paris you can hear the boos from the audience at the Coltrane onslaught. That further emphasises that ‘Giant Steps’ is a transitional album because he was developing rapidly.
In May 1959 Coltrane was interested in taking a different path to the one Davis explored on ‘Kind of Blue’. Coltrane, at this point in his development, was obsessed by theory. He had studied intently musical exercises published in Nicolas Slonimsky’s 1947 book ’Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Pattern’s, and derived some of the “Giant Steps” patterns, from the book. Giant Steps’ has 26 chords, only 10 key changes, and those 10 key changes involve just three keys – B, G and Eb. The track is noted for being a scary test piece for saxophone players. ‘Countdown’ is also in that league but the other tracks are more conventional.
All compositions were Coltrane originals: three pieces, ‘Naima’, ‘Cousin Mary’ and ‘Syeeda’s Song Flute’ are dedicated to Coltrane family members. ‘Naima’ is a dedication to his then wife. ‘Cousin Mary’, is a blues for Coltrane’s cousin Mary L. Alexander with whom he lived for almost twenty years. ‘Syeeda’s Song Flute’, is dedicated to Coltrane’s stepdaughter. Another blues ‘Mr. P.C.is dedicated to Paul Chambers. Chambers had played almost exclusively with Coltrane for four years. Of the sixty-seven tracks that Coltrane had made between 1955 and 1960, Chambers had been on thirty-seven, and especially on all the key dates. Coltrane described him as ‘one of the greatest players in jazz’.
Speed seemed one of the factors that intrigued Coltrane at this period. ‘Countdown’ is even faster than ‘Giant Steps’. It was tightly written music controlled by Coltrane’s precise sense of rhythm, and the innovation of starting with a drum solo and finishing with the melodic theme.
Coltrane was aware that his obsession with harmonic sequences could lead into a cul-de-sac. In an interview he said: ‘Giant Steps, everything I did on that was harmonic exploration, harmonic sequences that I wasn’t familiar with prior to that. I was working strictly from a chordal-sequential progression-pattern, and not melodically. It was easy to soon exhaust that harmonic thing. To write melodically is really the best way, because then you’re not going by this set rule or that set rule; it takes everything. It’s much more flexible and more far-reaching, for me, to write like that than to write from a harmonic basis. Now that I’m trying to write melody first, the melody will be that more important. Eventually I may derive some melodies which maybe have some quality, some lasting value of some sort.’
Giant Steps 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition will be available as an 180-gram double-LP set and as a double-CD set. Both versions include the newly remastered version of the original album plus eight alternate takes. The recordings come packaged in a replica of the original sleeve and labels used for the album’s first stereo pressing, and the packages feature rare photos, original liner notes, and new liner notes written by Ashley Kahn. As a bonus, those who order the 2-LP set from Rhino.com will receive a limited edition 7-inch vinyl single disc featuring alternate takes of ‘Giant Steps’ and ‘Naima’.
It is difficult to work out who a release like this is aimed at. Anniversary editions are largely marketing exercises. If you are new to Coltrane, it is an expensive way of obtaining the tracks from the original release. It is possible to buy many of the Atlantic albums for much less than this deluxe edition will cost. Vinyl devotees who missed the album when it was first released might welcome the chance to acquire some of the black stuff if they are prepared to pay the high price.
As a musical package, there are few surprises here. The legacy of Coltrane’s stay with Atlantic has been well mined across the years through releases like The Heavyweight Champion.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
Rhino.com
John Coltrane - tenor saxophone; Paul Chambers - bass; Tommy Flanagan - piano; Art Taylor drums
Two shocks. One, is it really sixty years since this music was recorded? Two, is the music really so approachable?
The interest of Coltrane’s music at this period is in looking for the aspects that he would develop in the period ahead when he would go on to build his great quartet and then move beyond to develop his music allied to his spirituality. It is also just as interesting to look at the aspects that he would reject and not develop.
‘Giant Steps’ is one of the most influential albums, significant as a pointer. However, it is useful to place it in context. The Prestige contract was over and this album was recorded in 1959 about a month after he recorded ‘Kind of Blue’ with Miles Davis and a year before Coltrane was persuaded to tour Europe with Miles Davies when he shocked audiences with the power and violence of his playing. On one of the concerts in Paris you can hear the boos from the audience at the Coltrane onslaught. That further emphasises that ‘Giant Steps’ is a transitional album because he was developing rapidly.
In May 1959 Coltrane was interested in taking a different path to the one Davis explored on ‘Kind of Blue’. Coltrane, at this point in his development, was obsessed by theory. He had studied intently musical exercises published in Nicolas Slonimsky’s 1947 book ’Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Pattern’s, and derived some of the “Giant Steps” patterns, from the book. Giant Steps’ has 26 chords, only 10 key changes, and those 10 key changes involve just three keys – B, G and Eb. The track is noted for being a scary test piece for saxophone players. ‘Countdown’ is also in that league but the other tracks are more conventional.
All compositions were Coltrane originals: three pieces, ‘Naima’, ‘Cousin Mary’ and ‘Syeeda’s Song Flute’ are dedicated to Coltrane family members. ‘Naima’ is a dedication to his then wife. ‘Cousin Mary’, is a blues for Coltrane’s cousin Mary L. Alexander with whom he lived for almost twenty years. ‘Syeeda’s Song Flute’, is dedicated to Coltrane’s stepdaughter. Another blues ‘Mr. P.C.is dedicated to Paul Chambers. Chambers had played almost exclusively with Coltrane for four years. Of the sixty-seven tracks that Coltrane had made between 1955 and 1960, Chambers had been on thirty-seven, and especially on all the key dates. Coltrane described him as ‘one of the greatest players in jazz’.
Speed seemed one of the factors that intrigued Coltrane at this period. ‘Countdown’ is even faster than ‘Giant Steps’. It was tightly written music controlled by Coltrane’s precise sense of rhythm, and the innovation of starting with a drum solo and finishing with the melodic theme.
Coltrane was aware that his obsession with harmonic sequences could lead into a cul-de-sac. In an interview he said: ‘Giant Steps, everything I did on that was harmonic exploration, harmonic sequences that I wasn’t familiar with prior to that. I was working strictly from a chordal-sequential progression-pattern, and not melodically. It was easy to soon exhaust that harmonic thing. To write melodically is really the best way, because then you’re not going by this set rule or that set rule; it takes everything. It’s much more flexible and more far-reaching, for me, to write like that than to write from a harmonic basis. Now that I’m trying to write melody first, the melody will be that more important. Eventually I may derive some melodies which maybe have some quality, some lasting value of some sort.’
Giant Steps 60th Anniversary Deluxe Edition will be available as an 180-gram double-LP set and as a double-CD set. Both versions include the newly remastered version of the original album plus eight alternate takes. The recordings come packaged in a replica of the original sleeve and labels used for the album’s first stereo pressing, and the packages feature rare photos, original liner notes, and new liner notes written by Ashley Kahn. As a bonus, those who order the 2-LP set from Rhino.com will receive a limited edition 7-inch vinyl single disc featuring alternate takes of ‘Giant Steps’ and ‘Naima’.
It is difficult to work out who a release like this is aimed at. Anniversary editions are largely marketing exercises. If you are new to Coltrane, it is an expensive way of obtaining the tracks from the original release. It is possible to buy many of the Atlantic albums for much less than this deluxe edition will cost. Vinyl devotees who missed the album when it was first released might welcome the chance to acquire some of the black stuff if they are prepared to pay the high price.
As a musical package, there are few surprises here. The legacy of Coltrane’s stay with Atlantic has been well mined across the years through releases like The Heavyweight Champion.
Reviewed by Jack Kenny
