John Coltrane Giant Steps / Settin' the Pace

Giant Steps was the result of three sessions. Two of them (May 4 & 5, 1959) were made with Tommy Flanagan on piano and Paul Chambers on bass (they had previously recorded with Trane on the album Kenny Burrell & John Coltrane on March 7, 1958; Jimmy Cobb was the drummer on that LP), plus Art Taylor on drums. On March 26, 1958, Trane would record a quartet album titled Settin' the Pace, with Red Garland on piano, plus Chambers and Taylor. (This album has been added here in its entirety as a bonus. Although a fifth tune, “By the Numbers”, was recorded that day, it was issued on the album The Last Trane, and hasn't been included on this CD due to time limitations.) The third Giant Steps session (December 2, 1959) had Miles Davis' Kind of Blue rhythm section: Wynton Kelly on piano, Chambers on bass and Cobb at the drums. Trane had participated on that sublime recording on March 2 and April 22, 1959 (Cannonball Adderley was the other musician involved). Although six titles were recorded on December 2, only one forms part of Giant Steps: the remarkable “Naima”. The rest of the tunes taped that day were later issued on the album Coltrane Jazz.