Giant Steps Super Deluxe 2020 edition

[Dan Sapen]

Listening now. 192/24 downloaded from Prostudiomasters. First, no booklet....this, I want to do something about. However, I can say that the sound is dramatically improved compared to the last remaster. The mix is opened up, the highs not so much extended as unveiled, with a great deal of the muted cymbal/snare tones, and their airspace, available; same with the bite and delicious harmonic spectrum of 'Trane's sax. Attack and pitch of the bass is greatly improved, and one can hear clearly the responsiveness of Tommy Flanagan's piano, as well as the effort he makes to keep up with the changes on the title track; oddly, he is more interactive and in time on some of  the alternate takes, though the tenor is most on point on the classic version.

 

So, the alternate takes: Valuable. Trane taking different approaches, with varying success, at the harmonic gymnastics of Giant Steps and Countdown, while making the statements beautiful and ear-catching, more witty and linear on some, more   aggressively risk-taking on others. The Deluxe is not just for completists - it is a great document of the results of this experiment: landmark technical and aesthetic statement, yes, but as Ravi Coltrane says, accessible at the same time. I'm a Coltrane nut and student for years, and have written on the psychological and philosophical implications of Trane and Miles (Freud's Lost Chord); but this remaster, with the alternate takes, is a revelation.