Giant Steps

The reputation of Giant Steps can make it sound like an examination before the record has even begun. The title performance is only one part of a seven-composition programme. Blues frameworks, a brief concentrated statement and a slow melody sit beside its rapid changes. All seven pieces are Coltrane originals, making the album a portrait of compositional choices as well as an encounter with a formidable tenor saxophonist.

Released in 1960, the album was largely recorded in May 1959 with Tommy Flanagan, Paul Chambers and Art Taylor. Naima comes from a different session with Wynton Kelly and Jimmy Cobb alongside Chambers. Coltrane also participated in Kind of Blue during 1959. These overlapping activities complicate a simple story in which harmonic density had to be exhausted before he discovered any other approach. Several possibilities were already available to him.

Continuity across quick changes

In the title piece, the harmony moves rapidly between three tonal centres. Remember the theme’s outline before attempting to name every chord. The saxophone can suggest a continuing line while its accompaniment repeatedly changes the ground beneath it. That relationship makes the performance more interesting than a demonstration of having survived a difficult progression. Complexity of preparation need not eliminate a listener’s sense of forward motion.

Unequal lengths, different designs

Countdown lasts roughly two and a half minutes here, while Syeeda’s Song Flute exceeds seven. One concentrates its material; the other allows it more room. Cousin Mary and the closing Mr. P.C. bring blues structures into the same sequence. These contrasts resist the idea of seven equally difficult studies. Theme, duration and placement each contribute to the shape of the album.

The ballad is not the ending

Naima occupies the penultimate position. Let Mr. P.C. follow it, and the ballad becomes part of a change of momentum rather than a final farewell. Its different pianist and drummer add another distinction within the programme. After hearing all seven pieces, return to the opening: the famous technical challenge now belongs to a wider set of choices made by the composer and bandleader.