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Chapter 48: Giant Steps

50s & 60s jazz

This is as jazz as jazz gets, textbook-perfect execution of genre fundamentals. Double Mingus, double Coltrane, “Take Five.” An underrated gem from Miles Davis (a complex, prickly genius I’ll admit I sometimes struggle with.) If you’re new to jazz, this is not a bad place to start - like wine, there are steps to appreciating it. Tap your toe to the rhythm, internalize the swing, wrap your head around the chord changes, then let your wandering mind follow the lead of the solos, and you’re on your way…
1. Dexter Gordon

Second Balcony Jump

2. The Dave Brubeck Quartet

Take Five

3. Charles Mingus

Track B – Duet Solo Dancers

4. Hank Mobley

Three Coins In the Fountain

5. John Coltrane

Giant Steps

6. Miles Davis

Petits Machins (Little Stuff)

7. Sonny Rollins

St. Thomas

8. John Coltrane Quartet

Pt. I: Acknowledgement

9. Clifford Brown

Joy Spring

10. Charles Mingus

Goodbye Pork Pie Hat