 John Coltrane "Giant Steps"
(Atlantic CD, Mobile Fidelity CD, Atlantic LP) 1959
All right, how am I supposed to start
this thing off? There are just too many possible "All-Time Greats" to pick from.
Maybe you pick an album that is so rewarding, that no matter how many times you
listen to it, you can't seem to get tired of it. For me one album that
definitely fits that description is Giant Steps, because I've played the
damn thing literally hundreds of times and I could listen to it hundreds more. I
even told Luke (that's "Crazy Luke" over at Farwell Music) to put aside
any, and every, clean Giant Steps LP he runs into cause I'll buy as many
back-ups as I can get. (Maybe I'm the one who's crazy- eh?)
Let me state for the record that, while
I consider myself a big Coltrane fan, I love the early stuff and can't really
get into the later stuff. Oh I've tried and I continue to try every so often.
But so far, my tiny little brain hasn't been able to absorb what Trane was doin'
in the last four years of his life. So while I own almost all of his later
recordings I don't fully understand them musically- at least not yet. For those
of you who do, Mazeltov! For me, after Giant Steps, everything starts
going downhill. So if anyone reading this is a big Coltrane fan who really digs
the impulse stuff after A Love Supreme, I'd love to hear from you. Maybe
you can shed some light on recordings like Meditations and
Interstellar Space, cause I want to believe that there is some music in
there- even if it's pretty well hidden. I'm even willing to do a little work, if
necessary, to find it. How's that for dedication?
Anyway, Giant Steps was
Coltrane's first (and for me, best) record for Atlantic and marked a
major peak in his career. All of the songs are Coltrane originals, and virtually
all have become accepted jazz standards. Even if you're not a jazz fan, listen
to the whole album several times through and you might find yourself whistling
these tunes in the shower. The songs are catchy, full of hooks and very
memorable, making this album quite accessible to just about anyone.
By 1959 Coltrane's mastery of the horn
was nearly complete, something that becomes obvious as you hear him pull off one
perfect solo after another. If you have ever heard athletes refer to being in
"The Zone, " a place of heightened sense perception and focus where
everything seems to be happening in slow motion, allowing them to perform at an
almost super-human level (a regular occurrence for Michael Jordan, for
example), Coltrane appears to have found "The Zone" on Giant
Steps. Every track is a masterpiece, with not one note out of place. While
Coltrane has been criticized for being prone to unnecessarily long solos that
can make some feel like they are listening to a jazz marathon, you will find
none of that here. This is as efficient as John Coltrane ever got, packing more
nutrition and less fat into each song than at any other time in his career. The
mood of the album is cheerful and uplifting. There is a kind of joyful
exuberance present on many of these tracks, especially "Cousin Mary" and "Syeeda's
Song Flute" that would rarely reappear on any of Coltrane's later recordings.
The sound quality, while not quite as
good as some of the earlier recordings for Prestige or Blue Note, is not bad
either. The best digital sound available is from Mobile Fidelity, who with their
"Gain System" re-mastering process, manage to capture a bit more of the detail
present on the original LP than does the standard Atlantic CD. But if you can't
get the MoFi, don't worry. This album is so good you could enjoy it on 8-track
tape. (Ok, maybe I'm stretching just a bit). I especially hope that
you'll try it if you’re not into jazz. If you don't get into it on the first
listen, don't give up too fast, it needs to soak in a little. Play it a bunch of
times while you drive or do something else and hopefully it will stick. If after
ten plays you still don't get it, go seek therapy, I can't help you.
-Dave
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