Giant Steps (composition)

The original recording features Coltrane on tenor saxophone, Paul Chambers on double bass, Tommy Flanagan on piano, and Art Taylor on drums.

[7] On the original recording, Flanagan played a choppy start-stop solo in which he appears to struggle to improvise over Coltrane changes without preparation.

[2] The chords and patterns in "Giant Steps" reflect those found in Coltrane's compositions "Central Park West" and "Countdown", and his version of the Gershwins' song, "But Not For Me.

"[10] In a 2018 interview, Quincy Jones said that the work was based on an example in Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns.

[13] She also highlighted the "tasteful synchronicity and thoroughly flexible pacing" of Paul Chambers and Art Taylor in the original recording, along with the "frenetic leads" by Flanagan and Coltrane.

[1] The master studio recording was released on the 1960 album Giant Steps, which was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2001.

[14] "Giant Steps" has been covered by numerous artists, including Archie Shepp and Max Roach on The Long March (1979)[15] and Henry Butler on his debut album Fivin' Around (1986),[16] among others.

[18] The tune is popular among Latin jazz musicians, having been covered by Jorge Dalto, Gonzalo Rubalcaba,[19] Justo Almario & Alex Acuña, and Paquito D'Rivera,[20] among others.