John Coltrane
Giant Steps

"The only thing to expect from John Coltrane is the unexpected" (Zita Carno)

The entire magmatic sound universe of John Coltrane seems encapsulated in this concise yet precise definition by pianist Zita Carno.

A description that faithfully captures the image of the most influential and controversial tenor saxophonist of modern jazz as an incomparable navigator, capable of leading the listener to the illuminating discovery of unexplored and imponderable musical territories, where the only coordinates to be found are the imaginative and visionary sensitivity and extraordinary intensity.
"Giant Steps" is this and so much more. It is both a destructive earthquake and a renewing momentum. It is past, present, and future. It is a pure distillate of jazz, as you think it should be, as you want it to be, as you cannot imagine it could be. "Giant Steps" is "the" jazz.

At the end of the '50s, Coltrane was completing his experiences with Monk and Davis to finally focus on his debut for Atlantic. Indeed, he had just finished the sessions of "Kind Of Blue" where, with Miles, he theorized and applied schemes of modal atemporality, borrowed from Indian music, in the frantic search for a formal structure characterized by broad and unconditional harmonic freedom: this was the key moment when the history of Afro-American music began to be rewritten.
Aware of his artistic maturation, Coltrane revolutionized the established canons of improvisation, with a new and very personal rhythmic impetus, an interest in harmonics and double notes, reaching the creation of the famous "sheets of sound" (sheets of sound, as defined by journalist Ira Gitler), which are those long legato notes, sharp as bayonets, that emerge forcefully from the fabric of the piece.
A revolution centered, therefore, especially on solos, transformed into frenetic polytone torrents organized in modal improvisation on a particularly dense and complex harmonic fabric. This atmosphere magnificently pours into the two sessions organized in May 1959, during which Coltrane was accompanied by the sumptuous Tommy Flanagan on piano, Art Taylor on drums, and Paul Chambers on double bass.
Almost all of the album's tracks emerged from these sessions, except for "Naima", chosen from the subsequent December sessions, with Wynton Kelly on piano and Jimmy Cobb on drums (practically, therefore, the same personnel as "Kind Of Blue", excluding Miles... which already says it all).

The result consists of seven tracks, all compositions by Coltrane himself, practically perfect, pushed to the limit and inspired from the first to the last note. The album opens with the title-track, and the sense and weight of a stylistic evolution that does not allow for glances towards the past is immediately perceptible.
The title is an evident reference to the wide leaps in key modulation required by the piece, technically very challenging, due to a harmonic loop that demands very fast ascending and descending changes, and equally rapid adjustments of the "musical thinking"; the "bouncy" harmonica is also particularly audible in the bass line.

Coltrane leads the dance, delivering a powerful, full, and decisive sound, with exceptionally uniform intensity and emission over a three-octave range. A sober and exquisite solo by Flanagan finally acts as a counterpoint to the flood that pours from the tenor sax. "Cousin Mary", dedicated to a cousin of Coltrane, is intended by the author to be a descriptive piece, and is characterized by a swinging feel and a subtle and pleasant bluesy aroma, despite the total absence of conventional blues progressions.
Following is the tight "Countdown", 141 seconds of demonic sound flow that projects jazz decades ahead: something that others have not managed to do in an entire career. In "Spiral", a single pedal bass ties together a marvelous chord progression, while midway through, Flanagan and Chambers craft two electrifying solos. A simple, yet particularly captivating line characterizes "Syeeda's Song Flute", inspired by Coltrane's ten-year-old daughter and crafted like a children's song. Then comes the elegance and infinite class of "Naima". The tender piece, dedicated to Coltrane's wife, is articulated, as in "Spiral", through a series of suspended chords on a bass pedal, and rests on the discreet and refined accompaniment of Kelly, Chambers, and Cobb: it is impossible to remain indifferent to the mastery with which the tenor saxophonist combines extraordinary melodic creativity with profound emotional density, both in composition and execution.
"Naima" reveals a man deeply aware of his emotions and passions, eager and capable of delving into his soul to let the whirlwind of his most intimate feelings burst outward. The closing is reserved for "Mr. P.C.", a tribute to the art of Paul Chambers, here in the spotlight alongside Flanagan, in the space carved out amid the usual Coltrane-like tidal wave.

In conclusion, an absolute masterpiece, to be owned in this original Atlantic version or, even better, in the Deluxe Edition packed with succulent alternate takes. Highly recommended, alternatively, is the “Heavyweight Champion” box set with all seven albums released for Atlantic.