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Giant Steps


Dave Horne

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Dave - that is simply AWESOME!! I've been working on a stride version of Giant Steps for that last year or so and this makes me smile ear to ear! Who is the band?
Instrumentation is meaningless - a song either stands on its own merit, or it requires bells and whistles to cover its lack of adequacy, much less quality. - kanker
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I believe it might be the Anachronic Jazz Band but they've disbanded a long time ago. I'll check back with my friend to see if he knows more.

No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message.

 

In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments.

 

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That's great. I like how it goes into a blues in the middle. That's an authentic sound if ever there was one. I can't wait to show it to a bunch of different people.

Kawai C-60 Grand Piano : Hammond A-100 : Hammond SK2 : Yamaha CP4 : Yamaha Montage 7 : Moog Sub 37

 

My latest album: Funky organ, huge horn section

https://bobbycressey.bandcamp.com/album/cali-native

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Dave - that is simply AWESOME!! I've been working on a stride version of Giant Steps for that last year or so and this makes me smile ear to ear! Who is the band?

 

I confirmed using Google that it is the Anachronic Jazz Band.

No guitarists were harmed during the making of this message.

 

In general, harmonic complexity is inversely proportional to the ratio between chording and non-chording instruments.

 

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An honest band name. If I ever do play Giant Steps again I'd try something like that, or maybe as a ballad. :)

 

First time I played Giant Steps onstage, it was a sub with a female singer. Good news: She did it quite slowly. Bad news: It was transposed. Good news: She had some scribbled music for me. Bad news: The "sheet" didn't include the melody, just the chord symbols, written in a rather unclear, asymmetrical way.

Horrible news: She came more than an hour late to the club, and there wasn't time to reharse anything.

Good *and* bad news: There were exactly six people in the club.

 

How did it go?

I did play the damn song. But without a written melody, I didn't give my best in comping. In fact, it was a gig full of challenges... I should post a full report someday. :D

 

 

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She sang Giant Steps? There are no lyrics, so did she make something up like Jon Hendricks?

 

GS works well as a bossa

Get a copy of the Vocal Real Book. There are lyrics to Giant Steps. They are horrible.
A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable.
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Rahsaan Roland Kirk does my all-time favourite version of Giant Steps (outside of Coltrane's) on The Return of the 5000 lb. Man and it's a vocal version. The lyrics aren't nearly as bad as what I remember of the Vocal Real Book version.
Instrumentation is meaningless - a song either stands on its own merit, or it requires bells and whistles to cover its lack of adequacy, much less quality. - kanker
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She sang Giant Steps? There are no lyrics, so did she make something up like Jon Hendricks?

 

GS works well as a bossa

Get a copy of the Vocal Real Book. There are lyrics to Giant Steps. They are horrible.

 

Just Googled it and found these lyrics by the New York Voices. Ick.

 

You just broke the news

Giant steps in giant shoes

Dignified as you strive

Ever more satisfied

 

You Know

 

It's an easy climb

Stepping ten miles at a time

Make the move as you prove

Giant steps lose the blues

 

Doesn't make any damn sense.

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Giant Steps can be sung, but the intervals aren't naturally vocal oriented.

 

Jon Hendricks wrote some killer stuff, lyrics and lyrics to solos, even though it's not always my kinda thing.

 

Bad lyrics, especially to songs that don't need to be sung, are the worst - like the belated lyrics added to Tunesia.

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She sang Giant Steps? There are no lyrics, so did she make something up like Jon Hendricks?

 

GS works well as a bossa

Get a copy of the Vocal Real Book. There are lyrics to Giant Steps. They are horrible.

 

Just Googled it and found these lyrics by the New York Voices. Ick.

 

You just broke the news

Giant steps in giant shoes

Dignified as you strive

Ever more satisfied

 

You Know

 

It's an easy climb

Stepping ten miles at a time

Make the move as you prove

Giant steps lose the blues

 

Doesn't make any damn sense.

Those are better than the lyrics in the Vocal Real Book
A ROMpler is just a polyphonic turntable.
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Jon Hendricks has vocal chops, but the lyrics he wrote to all those bop heads are just painfully lame.
Some of it was for sure, but all of it? Better than some lyrics people try to fit to past tunes. As I said, not my kinda thing, since I'm not into the vocal thing, but I wouldn't dismiss everything he wrote. At least he had the spirit of the music right for some of it.
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She sang Giant Steps? There are no lyrics, so did she make something up like Jon Hendricks?

That singer, who's a friend to this day (..sort of) sang the Real Vocal Book version. I absolutely adore the Roland Kirk version, but - aren't the lyrics the same? I'm not sure, and I don't have the album anymore. BW the intro with the celesta is priceless!

 

GS works well as a bossa

That's how I'm playing it these days! It's a lot of fun. I'm also going to record it as a medium/fast funk.

For a showy fast-swing version, I feel I already gave my best here:

Walking in your steps

 

 

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Well one thing is for sure..you will never hear a disco version of this tune....8)

 

That sounds a little like a challenge. :D It would be in such exquisitely bad taste that it's almost appealing.

Very tempting but I'll spare those who were Disco shellshocked. :laugh::cool:

PD

 

"The greatest thing you'll ever learn, is just to love and be loved in return."--E. Ahbez "Nature Boy"

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I absolutely adore the Roland Kirk version, but - aren't the lyrics the same? I'm not sure, and I don't have the album anymore. BW the intro with the celesta is priceless!

Nope, they're different. I have it on vinyl and as I remember it starts: "Life when we were kids/ Was like playing Giant Steps". I'll happily transcribe Rahsaan's lyrics if any are interested. Any excuse to pull out the vinyl and listen to it again. :D

 

OT - on the same album Rahsaan has a tune called Theme For The Eulipians. IMO everything anyone needs to know about jazz you can learn from that one tune. Magnificent. The album also contains the only vocal version of Goodbye Porkpie Hat I've heard that I can stomach. Yes, that includes Joni Mitchell's. The link in my post above goes to Amazon's listing where you can hear samples of all the tunes on the album.

Instrumentation is meaningless - a song either stands on its own merit, or it requires bells and whistles to cover its lack of adequacy, much less quality. - kanker
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I absolutely adore the Roland Kirk version, but - aren't the lyrics the same? I'm not sure, and I don't have the album anymore. BW the intro with the celesta is priceless!

Nope, they're different. I have it on vinyl and as I remember it starts: "Life when we were kids/ Was like playing Giant Steps". I'll happily transcribe Rahsaan's lyrics if any are interested. Any excuse to pull out the vinyl and listen to it again. :D

 

Well, on my Real Vocal Book, it starts *exactly* like that!

Then there's the "think of life as chess.." thing, etc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The only upside to vocalists writing (usually horrble) lyrics to jazz heads is that it keeps them from scatting for at least a chorus or 2. One must be thankful for the little things.

Turn up the speaker

Hop, flop, squawk

It's a keeper

-Captain Beefheart, Ice Cream for Crow

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Well one thing is for sure..you will never hear a disco version of this tune....8)

 

That sounds a little like a challenge. :D It would be in such exquisitely bad taste that it's almost appealing.

 

Like this right?

 

 

--Dave

 

Make my funk the P-funk.

I wants to get funked up.

 

My Funk/Jam originals project: http://www.thefunkery.com/

 

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