John Coltrane: "Giant Steps"

Tonight an iconic recording and a classic. Tenor saxophone master John Coltrane and his seminal recording "Giant Steps". Coltrane performs here with a hand picked quartet with the magnificent Tommy Flanagan on piano who with his light touch and lyricism provides a perfect foil for Coltrane's intensity. Coltrane's favorite bassist is here...Mr. P.C. aka Paul Chambers and drum great Arthur Taylor whom Coltrane liked for his tough swing and great cymbal ride. All the compositions are by Coltrane and they cover the gamut of feelings from blasting intensity to the soft ballad styling of "Naima" dedicated to Mrs. Coltrane to the playfulness of Syeeda's Song Flute, for his daughter.. All of this was recorded in New York for Atlantic Records on May 8, 9,1959. "Naima" was from a later recording date with Coltrane, Wynton Kelly on piano, Chambers on bass and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Coltrane chose the sequence of tunes and liked this later version of Naima and chose it for the album. That's it...tonight's Jazz feature: "Giant Steps".