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Analogue Productions (Atlantic Series) Celebrating the 75th Anniversary of Atlantic Records! John Coltrane's watershed 1960 featuring the iconic title track and 'Naima' One of the most influential jazz albums of all time! Hybrid Stereo SACD Mastered direct to DSD from the original master tape by Ryan K. Smith at Sterling Sound Released in 1960, Giant Steps was a watershed album for John Coltrane, solidifying the saxophone legend's reputation as one of the most influential and innovative musicians in jazz history, as well as delivering jazz to an increasingly mainstream audience, while garnering significant critical acclaim. Although this was John Coltrane's debut for Atlantic, he was concurrently performing and recording with Miles Davis. Within the space of less than three weeks, Coltrane would complete his work with Davis and company on another genre-defining disc, Kind of Blue, before commencing his efforts on this one. Coltrane (tenor sax) is flanked here by essentially two different trios. Recording commenced in early May of 1959 with a pair of sessions that featured Tommy Flanagan (piano) and Art Taylor (drums), as well as Paul Chambers - who was the only bandmember other than Coltrane to have performed on every date. When recording resumed in December of that year, Wynton Kelly (piano) and Jimmy Cobb (drums) were instated - replicating the alternate non-Bill Evans lineup featured on 'Freddie the Freeloader' on Kind of Blue, sans Miles Davis of course. At the heart of these recordings, however, is the laser-beam focus of Coltrane's tenor solos. All seven pieces issued on the original Giant Steps are Coltrane compositions. He was, in essence, beginning to rewrite the jazz canon with material that would be centered on solos - enabling the solo to become infinitely more compelling. This would culminate in a frenetic performance style using melodic phrasing that n
