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Album
Giant Steps
John Coltrane →243,994 listeners3,535,772 plays
jazzsaxophonebebopjohn coltranefree jazz
about this album
Giant Steps is the fifth studio album by jazz musician John Coltrane as leader. It was released in February 1960 on Atlantic Records. This was his first album as leader for Atlantic Records, with which he had signed a new contract the previous year. The initial sessions for this album—Coltrane’s second recording date under his new contract, following a January 15 session led by Milt Jackson—were held on March 26, 1959. Coltrane was dissatisfied with the performances from that date, which featured pianist Cedar Walton and drummer Lex Humphries, and the material was ultimately left off the original album, later appearing on compilations and reissues. The main recording sessions took place on May 4 and 5, shortly after Coltrane had completed work on Kind of Blue. One track, “Naima,” was recorded separately on December 2 with the rhythm section of the Miles Davis Quintet, musicians who would also form the core ensemble for much of Coltrane’s subsequent album, Coltrane Jazz. The record is regarded as one of the most influential jazz albums of all time. Many of its tracks have become practice templates for jazz saxophonists. In 2004, it was one of fifty recordings chosen that year by the Library of Congress to be added to the National Recording Registry. It attained gold record status in 2018, having sold 500,000 copies. Two tracks, "Naima" and "Syeeda's Song Flute", are respectively named after Coltrane's wife at the time and her daughter, whom he adopted. A third, "Mr. P.C.",
