The legacy of John Coltrane’s landmark album Giant Steps continues with a reissue marking its 60th anniversary this year.
The deluxe reissue features a newly remastered edition of the album along with alternate takes and outtakes from the original recording sessions.
The double LP, double CD and digital editions will be released Sept. 18 by Rhino. The vinyl copies include eight bonus tracks, while the CD version contains a whopping 28 of them.
You can watch a trailer for the Giant Steps reissue and hear the newly remastered version of Naima below.
Giant Steps pushed the boundaries of jazz upon its release, introducing and popularizing new ways of approaching harmony, chord progressions and improvisation. Over the past six decades, Coltrane’s compositions have thus frequently been used as teaching material for students of jazz.
“People like to talk about Giant Steps as a test for young horn players and how he’s breaking new ground with some of the pieces,” Coltrane’s son Ravi Coltrane said in a statement. “But it’s the accessibility that stands out for me. The accessibility, despite how challenging some of the material is. It’s still all very listenable and very joyful. John’s music is a joy to study and to play. It’s a joy to listen to.”
Most of the album’s recording took place May 4–5, 1959, just two weeks after Coltrane had taken part in the final session for Kind of Blue. He then regrouped on Dec. 2 to record Naima.
The album features Coltrane on tenor sax, Tommy Flanagan and Wynton Kelly on piano, Paul Chambers on bass and Art Taylor and Jimmy Cobb on drums. Other musicians are featured on alternate takes, including Cedar Walton and Lex Humphries.