John Coltrane’s Giant Steps Solo: Fractal Geometry in Action! (The Nature of Fractal Music Series)

John Coltrane's iconic solo on his groundbreaking jazz composition, Giant Steps, is a wonderful example of fractal music. I started this animation project in an effort to explore different ways of looking for evidence of fractal structure in Trane's famous solo.

Here is a new article that includes a fractal analysis of the solo:

Instead of just visualizing the saxophone, I thought it would be super fun to be able to see how the entire quartet interacted.These are the giants you hear in this recording:

John Coltrane – tenor saxophone
Tommy Flanagan – piano
Paul Chambers – bass
Art Taylor – drums

Ideally, the piano and drums could use a bit more work (I'm still refining the process), but the consensus among my musical colleagues was that it's time to release this version into the wild.

Happy listening!
Harlan

#coltrane #animation #fractal #visualization #johncoltrane #jazzsaxophone #jazzmusic #jazzsolo #improvisation #fractalgeometry

[stockicide]

For some reason, the visuals help me to concentrate and appreciate the notes more.
Thanks for posting!

[Nedddd]

Coltrane had a lot to say. Amazing use of tech.

[jimmythebold]

the chord progression for 'countdown' and 'giant steps' are two of the HAPPIEST sounding chord progressions ever. i warm up with countdown EVERY DAY. so fun!! thank you, saint john coltrane!!

[raaron]

This really is a great representation of how I hear music in my head. Different colors and stuff but pretty damn close to how I visualize it

[ogami]

Those are indeed some giant steps, really cool visualization!

[spell]

Wow. Watched it 3 times already, still can't get it enough. I wish there was more Coltrane visualization.

[JoeSorce]

Wow... Different perspective for me to see it visually after hearing it so many, many times over the years. It is much more visceral than standard notation.
Well Done!

[michaeldusso]

VIBRATION, FREQUENCY, ORBS.
Everything is in constant motion. We each dance to our own, unique, NATURAL, asymmetrical rhythms, and our individual reactions to all other things is predicated on how closely synchronized various rhythms are. It’s a veritable asymmetrical, spontaneous ballet being played out across the vast ether of infinity…..dance on !!!.

[bryandominik]

Let's also appreciate the bass there. REALLY cooking.

[OneHourShower]

This is amazing Harlan. You should make more of these. :)

[frankandjudyinserra]

Every sense heightened to appreciate Trane just makes him better.

[joelaffolter]

Thanks for the video. It's always nice to hear music again in a different context. The visualization is very well done and Coltrane appears under another angle. Long life to Trane, may he still bring us much happiness to all of us through his recordings and for future generations.

[igk]

amazin, I want to see every jazz song like this

[elinaflit]

Wow... Amazing!! Really thrilling to see the genius of Coltrane in action. Thanks for sharing this! 👏👏👏

[BenicioArchives]

This is so amazing. I'm a big jazz fan and I've never seen anything like this before, great job!!! 😄

[Takeuchix]

This is the embodiment of the essence of consciousness.

[hillerm]

I didn’t realize how much he reuses the same lines until now. It’s also interesting to see when he uses scales, when he uses pentatonic, and when he uses arpeggio.

[brandywinecrypto]

OMG THIS IS AWESOME !!! DO IT AGAIN & AGAIN !!!

[xyhmo]

This is so useful. Some features become clearer than ever, such as the ratio of small steps vs big jumps in the walking bass, or how much it's up and down vs going in one direction, etc.

[tomofthedepths]

Amazing job. Congrats! I also want to admire that super crazy bass line moving up and down.