"Countdown" is a hardbop[1][2][3][4] jazz standard composed by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane which was first featured on his fifth studio album, "Giant Steps", in 1960. The song is a contrafact of Miles Davis' Tune Up which is reharmonized to the Coltrane changes.[3][5] The original recording has been described as having "resolute intensity . . . [that] does more to modernize jazz in 141 seconds than many artists do in their entire careers".[6]
| "Countdown" | |
|---|---|
| Composition by John Coltrane | |
| from the album Giant Steps | |
| Released | 1960 (1960) |
| Recorded | May 4, 1959 |
| Studio | Atlantic Studios, New York |
| Genre | Jazz, hard bop |
| Length | 2:25 |
| Label | Atlantic Records |
| Composer(s) | John Coltrane |
| Producer(s) | Nesuhi Ertegün |
| E-7 F7 | B♭Δ7 D♭7 | G♭Δ7 A7 | DΔ7 |
| D-7 E♭7 | A♭Δ7 B♭7 | EΔ7 G7 | CΔ7 |
| C-7 D♭7 | G♭Δ7 A7 | DΔ7 F7 | B♭Δ7 |
| E-7 | F7 | B♭Δ7 | A7[note 1] |
| E-7 F7 | B♭Δ7 D♭7 | G♭Δ7 F7 | B♭Δ7 A7 |
| DΔ7 B♭Δ7 | G♭Δ7 DΔ7 | B♭Δ7 G♭Δ7 | D♭Δ7 |
The song is a 16-bar form. Each four bars incorporates the same tonal centers of Tune Up, which are D major, C major, and B♭ major.
Each tonal center begins with the ii chord but then cycles through two different keys before arriving at the I chord. The ii chord is followed by a dominant 7 chord that is a half step above—using the first four bars as an example, this would be Em7 and F7. This dominant 7 chord resolves in a V-I manner—F7 to B♭Δ7. The next key center is cycled to by playing the dominant 7th chord a minor third up from the last key center—D♭7 to G♭Δ7 to A7 to DΔ7. The next four bars, and new key, starts by making the I chord the ii of the next key.[7]