I still remember when I first heard “Giant Steps,” by John Coltrane. I was still in high school being an idiot, as we would all do! And during lunch time, I’d be hanging out with some music friends of mine. We’d listened to different types of music from Pink Floyd all the way to Dexter Gordon, including Frank Zappa. There were absolutely no musical boundaries, TRUST ME! One day during lunch, one of the guys had brought along his Squire butterscotch coloured telecaster guitar practicing some chords, and somehow out of nowhere brought up John Coltrane. I remember telling him that I’ve never heard of such a musician. And recommended me “Blue Train” without hesitation. Now did I listen to him? OF COURSE NOT! I started out with “Giant Steps,” listening to this album in the dark, with somewhat of a good pair of headphones. This was an experience that I’ll never forget for the rest of my life. And keep in mind, I WAS ONLY 17 YEARS OLD! Not bad musical taste for a teenager, hun? To kick things off,  it’s such a great record to welcome you into the ubiquitous world of jazz. Because Coltrane tends to explore different musical directions while accompanying a great beat. You’ve got this sense of Coltrane welcoming you aboard onto his musical spaceship, and taking you into this new melodic world of the unknown. And while listening to this record, and I wouldn’t be surprised with any other record, he’s trying to reach into your musical soul, and nourish it with nothing but beautiful melodies. You can hear him giving everything that he’s got within this record. And I don’t find that it was something rushed, and kicked off right away into the mainstream, almost what I like to call “fast music.”  It’s where your musical hits will get played during a couple of months, and then die. NO! In this record, there’s this sense of creativity that’s constantly being explored.

The opening track immediately blew my mind. “Giant Steps, ” is where you can hear Coltrane’s beautiful musical notes ringing out of his tenor saxophone. It has such a great energy that keeps the beat going. Perfectly grasping you into knowing what the world of jazz is awaiting for you. “Namia,” is beautiful, not only for it’s smooth melody, but the impression on how Coltrane’s not breaking a sweat when playing this song. LEGENDARY!  However, that does not mean that it’s an easy melody that can be played by anyone. Because in the back of my mind, I guarantee that there’s a-lot of effort to construct this magnificent piece with perfect timing. But, “Mr. P.C.,” is a great way to end the record, as if Coltrane is now telling you that this musical voyage has drawn to a conclusion, and now feel free to explore the world of jazz. And let me just point out how it ends with the same energy as its title track. But Art Taylor is such a kick ass drummer where he performs some mini drum solos that gets perfectly integrated within the song, without going completely off course.