Giant Steps is a studio album by the jazz saxophonist John Coltrane. It was released in February 1960 through Atlantic Records.[1] It was Coltrane's first album as leader for the label, with which he had signed a new contract the previous year. The record is regarded as one of the most influential jazz albums of all time, and many of its tracks have become practice templates for jazz saxophonists.[7][8] 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.[9]
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.", takes its name from the initials of bassist Paul Chambers, who played on the album. A fourth, "Cousin Mary", is named in honor of Mary Lyerly, Coltrane's younger cousin.
Background
In 1959, Miles Davis's business manager Harold Lovett negotiated a recording contract for Coltrane with Atlantic, the terms of which included a $7,000 annual guarantee (equivalent to $77,312in 2025).[10] Initial sessions for this album, the second recording date for Coltrane under his new contract after a January 15 date led by Milt Jackson, took place on March 26, 1959.[11] Coltrane was dissatisfied with the results of this session with Cedar Walton and Lex Humphries, and hence they were not used for the album,[12] but appeared on subsequent compilations and reissues. Principal recording for the album took place on May 4 and 5, two weeks after Coltrane had participated in the final session for Davis's Kind of Blue.[13] The track "Naima" was recorded on December 2 with Coltrane's bandmates, the rhythm section from the Miles Davis Quintet, who would provide the backing for most of his next album, Coltrane Jazz.[14]
Coltrane's improvisation exemplifies the melodic phrasing that came to be known as sheets of sound, and features his explorations into third-related chord movements that came to be known as Coltrane changes.[15] The Giant Steps chord progression consists of a distinctive set of chords that create key centers a major third apart. Jazz musicians have since used it as a practice piece, its difficult chord changes presenting a "kind of ultimate harmonic challenge", and serving as a gateway into modern jazz improvisation. Several pieces on this album went on to become jazz standards, most prominently "Naima" and "Giant Steps".[12][16]
In 2021, Stuart Nicholson of Jazzwise wrote, "So much has been written about Coltrane that it might appear you need a doctorate of music to go anywhere near his recordings. Nothing could be further from the truth, as Giant Steps demonstrates so eloquently. His music contains universal values that still speak to us now – the essential humanity of his work, the sheer joy of music making and the power and energy of his playing that even today can be both moving and uplifting. These are values that can be enjoyed by anyone and everyone, just as Coltrane intended."[29]
↑Ostrow, Marty; Howard, Ira, eds. (January 23, 1960). "New Darin Album"(PDF). The Cash Box. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. p.51. Archived(PDF) from the original on October 13, 2023.
↑Ostrow, Marty; Howard, Ira, eds. (February 13, 1960). "February Album Releases"(PDF). The Cash Box. New York: The Cash Box Publishing Co. p.46. Archived(PDF) from the original on October 13, 2023.
↑Brackett, Nathan; Hoard, Christian David (November 19, 2004). "The New Rolling Stone Album Guide". Simon and Schuster. Retrieved November 19, 2025– via Google Books.
↑Swenson, J., ed. (1985). The Rolling Stone Jazz Record Guide. US: Random House/Rolling Stone. p.46. ISBN0-394-72643-X.
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