John Coltrane, Giant Steps

     This is one of the best records I've ever heard in my life. Ain't that the truth. This was my first real jazz album that I bought when I was about 18, 19. Before that, all the jazz records I had were 70's jazz-rock fusion like Bitches Brew era Miles Davis, Weather Report, Return to Forever, and Mahavishnu Orchestra. All great stuff but not really jazz in the classical sense. So after I heard this album, I was basically opened to the great music of John Coltrane and straight-ahead jazz, and it really changed my life. I realized that music could go beyond notes and into the spiritual realm of the listener. I could compare Coltrane to say the greats of the classical world in terms of the passion of the music. I also learned a lot about phrasing from Trane, especially from hearing his classic 'sheets of sound'. This was Trane's 5th album as a leader and I think its one of his best works, displaying the great sound of the bebop era. The album makes use of many musicians: Tommy Flangan, Wynton Kelly, Paul Chambers, Art Taylor, Jimmy Cobb, Cedar Walton, Lex Humphries, and Neshui Ertegun as producer. In addition, this album has gotten rave reviews from just about

	every famous jazz publication in its time.

     What really stands out on this album is the first track 'Giant Steps', which every saxophonist will play today, probably every jazz musician ever will play this tune. It features a chromatic melody and a system of chord changes that Coltrane had worked out for many months in practice. Finally realized on record, we can see that these aren't simply regular changes. The chords are going by so fast, chords change twice, three, or four times in a single bar and it's challenge to improvise over. Coltrane seems to make easy work of making melody out of the changes, not simply playing licks. It's also important to note that Trane's saxophone tone here is the classic sound that all the saxophonists of today strive for. It is natural and smooth, but not smooth like smooth jazz, more like a round sound. I find this song to have the best saxophone tone. On the other tracks I find the saxophone to be a bit quite to stay steady in the mix with the other instruments. Probably just how they produced back then. I've played this song from the Real Book a couple times, just the head, and tried improvising over the chords on my own. It is not easy work! I have to practice more, lets just say that. I should learn Trane's solo note for note, that's for sure.
     The next tune is another famous jazz standard that everyone knows today called 'Cousin Mary'. This is more of whats called straight-ahead jazz. It's blues based and there's a walking bassline, and a bluesy head opening and closing the tune.This is like the classic straight-ahead music that we have today in New York. People like Kurt Rosenwinkel and Mike Moreno. Just straight-ahead guys really, but can play more avant-garde stuff when it is called upon them. This song really shows Trane's blues influence because he used to play blues growing up and playing in bands in the South.
     Another great tune that later became a standard is 'Mr. P.C.', which is dedicated to pianist Paul Chambers. This is another tune I've played before and its a great song to play. It starts with a simple theme and then you just go off improvising on the changes. It's another straight-ahead piece with a walking bass line and the classic cymbal and snare hits that are famous in jazz in this time. They're swinging so hard on this tune its just unbelievable how much they're killing here. At the end there's this great interplay between the sax playing lines and the drums going off on a solo, before the head comes back in, signaling the end of the tune.
     Another song that later became a standard is 'Countdown', not really a song but it opens up with a great drum solo. This shows the pure virtuosity of Trane, and playing with just the sax and drums is something he would later do in his free-jazz period. Doing this frees him from the restraints of harmony and chord changes. Musically you could say all it is is two simple II V I's in 6 keys. But the melody played at the end is so beautiful and smooth.
     Next, 'Spiral' isn't that famous of a song, but another great tune none the less. This song kind of takes off where 'Giant Steps' left off. There's all these chromatic chord changes, I'm not really sure what they are harmonically but they sound like a bunch of II V's. The piano solo here by Tommy Flanagan sounds a bit old school, like he's not really on the same page as Coltrane musically. Like Coltrane is playing in a more fresh with a ph style. And Flanagan is playing like guys back in the day, even before his day. Like I said, this is where Coltrane made use of his classic 'sheets of sound' on a studio recording. Trane was really pulling out all the stops, swinging super hard, and still playing musically and beautifully harmonically.
     'Syeeda's Flute Song' has a kind of Monkish type melody. Mainly the rhythm of the melody is what sounds like Thelionious Monk. After the Monkish head, Coltrane rips some soulful yet technical lines on the sax over the changes. The piano solo is very tasteful but I wouldn't say that he takes any chances or risks, very safe but very good if you know what I mean. This song also has a bass solo, one of the only ones on the album. It's a melodious bass solo and the bass's tone sounded great, no doubt being amp-flied by a microphone.
     Lastly, the ballad on the album is a song dedicated to Trane's first wife, entitled 'Naima'. It's another super famous tune that every jazz muso knows. It just has the most soulful melody as the opening and closing part of the song. This is the only ballad on the album. This is one of those songs that once you hear it, you'll remember it for the rest of your life. I have since heard many versions of it, one my favorites being big band arrangements of it. However, this plain original version with just a simple saxophone and piano solo is just great. Like I said, this album really changed my life and opened my ears to the music of jazz. Later on, I would listen to things like Ornette Coleman, Eric Dolphy, Archie Shepp, and Albert Ayler but it all started with this album. Before you take on the jazz avant-garde, you have to listen to John Coltrane. He's simply one of the greatest jazz musicians ever. His search for spiritual guidance has inspired many other musicians to do the same. To think that John Coltrane was playing 'Giant Steps' and would later be playing 'free-jazz' a few years later is simply astounding. Critics didn't like his change, they wanted him to stay like this. But he didn't. Instead he forged a new path with the likes of Ornette Coleman, playing different styles of jazz that would later signify the end of jazz, before jazz-rock fusion and smooth jazz took over. His influence on just about every jazz musician is huge and can't be denied. To hear this again makes me realize what makes jazz great. Long live Giant Steps. Viva John Coltrane.