Giant Steps

**jster** · 10-02-2011, 04:53 PM

Here is a question: what are some good recordings of GS other than the original?

**rlemos** · 10-02-2011, 05:11 PM

Originally Posted by jster

Here is a question: what are some good recordings of GS other than the original?

Hi,

From my article in JUST JAZZ GUITAR that I referenced earlier, here are some guitarist versions of Giant Steps on CD.

Straight Ahead:

Jimmy Bruno, Burnin (my favorite!)
Mark Elf, Mark Elf Trio
Mike Stern, Give And Take
John Scofield, Now (John Patitucci is leader)

Jazz Bossa:

Pat Metheny, Trio Live
Howard Roberts, The Magic Band II

Solo Guitar:

Joe Pass, Virtuoso 2
Jimmy Bruno, “Solo”

Jazz Fusion:

Greg Howe, A Guitar Supreme: Giant Steps In Fusion Guitar
Jennifer Batten, Above Below And Beyond
Scott Henderson, Vital Tech Tones

I would also have to add to this list the incredible YouTube video of 12-year old

:

Regards,

Ron

**Shadow of the Sun** · 10-03-2011, 01:17 AM

Jaco Pastorius has a really unique take on Giant Steps that is mainly bass and steel drums. Worth listening to at least once.

**a22** · 10-03-2011, 03:29 AM

Originally Posted by rlemos

Hi,

From my article in JUST JAZZ GUITAR that I referenced earlier, here are some guitarist versions of Giant Steps on CD.

Straight Ahead:

Jimmy Bruno, Burnin (my favorite!)
Mark Elf, Mark Elf Trio
Mike Stern, Give And Take
John Scofield, Now (John Patitucci is leader)

Jazz Bossa:

Pat Metheny, Trio Live
Howard Roberts, The Magic Band II

Solo Guitar:

Joe Pass, Virtuoso 2
Jimmy Bruno, “Solo”

Jazz Fusion:

Greg Howe, A Guitar Supreme: Giant Steps In Fusion Guitar
Jennifer Batten, Above Below And Beyond
Scott Henderson, Vital Tech Tones

I would also have to add to this list the incredible YouTube video of 12-year old

:

Regards,

Ron

wow, nice list, thanks! I've heard many of these versions and I can hear the changes and solo to them, but only in my head! :P

**jster** · 10-03-2011, 07:12 AM

Originally Posted by rlemos

I would also have to add to this list the incredible YouTube video of 12-year old

:

I mean really. I'm a pretty damned secure guy. Quite comfortable with all my limitations. Quite happy to watch others far surpass me. But 12 year olds smoking through GS? Aren't there forum rules against posting stuff like this? Mods, can we do something about it?

**JonnyPac** · 10-03-2011, 02:02 PM

OUCH! That kid must have been studying jazz as a sperm!

**JakeAcci** · 10-03-2011, 02:12 PM

If it makes you guys feel any better, he wasn't really hitting the faster changes in the first 8 bars of the form. Andres is the shit though!

Johnny I like that you did a second take for your quip

**JonnyPac** · 10-03-2011, 02:16 PM

Dang...

I went to band camp with the 16 year old Aaron Parks- That's a lifetime of humble pie. That kid was amazing and has really done well since- very good composer too (then and now).

Nuff Said · 10-04-2011, 05:08 AM

Its great to see the young Andreas Varady playing Jazz, best of luck to him in his future playing.

Nuff Said

**Philco** · 10-04-2011, 06:53 AM

Originally Posted by JonnyPac

OUCH! That kid must have been studying jazz as a sperm!

I think his dad was one of his teachers. He also plays in his band.
He is covering a lot of the Benson chops now. Quite amazing when you think of the size of his hands. He's got the picking thing down as well.

**JonnyPac** · 10-05-2011, 04:13 PM

I just went and played three solid choruses of GS at 208BPM. That's about the max tempo for me right now. Faster I start getting sloppy and relying on "fast licks" without much creative control.

...oh well, it's good enough I guess.

**FatJeff** · 10-05-2011, 05:18 PM

I think of GS as one of those long-term tunes. I'm trying to assimilate as much about the changes and theory and licks and all that as I can right now, but ultimately, 300 clicks won't come for quite a long time. :-)

**gcb** · 10-05-2011, 07:35 PM

Received yesterday from Amazon Wolf Marshall's "Giant Steps for Guitar".

**jster** · 10-11-2011, 03:17 PM

I got my Aebersold play along book and CD in the mail yesterday. He goes through all 12 keys. Do you guys think that is worthwhile for a guitar player? Please say no.

I'm making pretty good progress on the tune. I'm getting through the key centers. And I'm getting the 4 note arpeggios in there. The lesson on this site also talks about the 1235 motives. If I can get those working and the speed up and have it sound decent, is that enough? Or am I supposed to do more? When guys say GS is a work in progress, how high are they aiming? What do they expect from the undergrads at Berklee?

Thanks in advance.

**FatJeff** · 10-12-2011, 09:07 AM

Originally Posted by jster

I got my Aebersold play along book and CD in the mail yesterday. He goes through all 12 keys. Do you guys think that is worthwhile for a guitar player? Please say no.

Sorry, but yes - at least if you want to carry over the same ideas to other tunes like 26-2, Body and Soul, Satellite, Countdown, etc. Coltrane's harmonic ideas in GS are really just another generic device you can use, like tritone substitution.

Anyway, other keys on the guitar = easy, right? Just move the shapes around.

**mr. beaumont** · 10-12-2011, 09:49 AM

Well, all of us who've been working, how's the progress going?

I'm at the point now where I'm quite comfortable with it over a moderate tempo, or bossa feel (think the way Pat Metheny did it on Trio 99->00)--now I just need to bring it up to a nice brisk swing.

It's funny how logical the whole thing really is...I avoided it for so long...kinda angry at myself!

**FatJeff** · 10-12-2011, 09:59 AM

I've been focused on other things related to school in the past couple of days, although GS has occupied perhaps 15 minutes a day in my practice schedule. Once I get my two gigs tonight out of the way and then an exam tomorrow morning, I'll be refocusing on my Trane studies for the next several weeks. In case anyone's interested, here are the tunes I'm supposed to have nailed by the middle of next month:

Giant Steps
Satellite
26-2
Freedom Jazz Dance
Conception
Countdown
ESP
Speak No Evil
Moment's Notice

None of those are easy!

Anyway I have a sheet with perhaps a dozen licks to play over Giant Steps that I'm working on. They're coming along - although fairly slowly. I'm trying to play them in all keys and in various places on the fretboard, so that I'm not locked into once particular way to play them. Daily practice is the key here, for me at least.

If anyone wants me to scan in the licks and post them I'll be happy to do so.

**mr. beaumont** · 10-12-2011, 10:11 AM

I sure wouldn't mind seeing them--I'm up for any approaches...

**FatJeff** · 10-12-2011, 02:41 PM

Here is a PDF of the handouts we got in class, and a couple of licks I wrote myself (which may be of questionable utility).

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...5OWI1&hl=en_US

**mr. beaumont** · 10-12-2011, 02:55 PM

This is great stuff, thanks for sharing.

Lots of playing to do now.

**brwnhornet59** · 10-12-2011, 07:08 PM

Originally Posted by FatJeff

Sorry, but yes - at least if you want to carry over the same ideas to other tunes like 26-2, Body and Soul, Satellite, Countdown, etc. Coltrane's harmonic ideas in GS are really just another generic device you can use, like tritone substitution.

Anyway, other keys on the guitar = easy, right? Just move the shapes around.

+1 to that.

Thanx for the pdf Jeff!!!!

**whatswisdom** · 10-12-2011, 08:32 PM

Originally Posted by FatJeff

Here is a PDF of the handouts we got in class, and a couple of licks I wrote myself (which may be of questionable utility).
https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&p...5OWI1&hl=en_US

FatJeff: Thanks, dude! I'm building a nice GS portfolio for some hands-on. Great.

**jmstritt** · 10-13-2011, 05:50 PM

It has gotten easier for me as I have kept going with it. I am at the point where I feel about as comfortable with it as any tune I know, expect that I only have it in one key. The next challenges will taking on the remaining 11!

FatJeff, If you don't mind me asking, where do you go to school? It sounds like a pretty fascinating place!

PS. Moment's Notice, and Speak No Evil are two of my favorite tunes to play, and I think after I get Giant Steps in a couple more keys, I will start working on 26-2. That is another tune that I love, but have never been able to muster up the courage for. Now that I have GS pretty much down it has really built up some confidence.