| Countdown | |
| Type: | composition |
| Artist: | John Coltrane |
| Album: | Giant Steps |
| Recorded: | May 4, 1959 |
| Studio: | Atlantic Studios, New York |
| Genre: | Jazz, hard bop |
| Label: | Atlantic Records |
| Composer: | John Coltrane |
| Producer: | Nesuhi Ertegün |
"Countdown" is a hardbop[1] [2] [3] [4] jazz standard composed by American jazz saxophonist John Coltrane that was first featured on his fifth studio album, Giant Steps, in 1960. The song is a contrafact of Miles Davis's "Tune Up", which is reharmonized to the Coltrane changes.[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]
| B♭Δ7 D♭7 | G♭Δ7 A7 | DΔ7 | ||
| D-7 E♭7 | A♭Δ7 B7 | EΔ7 G7 | CΔ7 | |
| C-7 D♭7 | G♭Δ7 A7 | DΔ7 F7 | B♭Δ7 | |
| E-7 | F7 | B♭Δ7 | A7 |
| B♭Δ7 D♭7 | G♭Δ7 F7 | B♭Δ7 A7 | ||
| DΔ7 B♭Δ7 | G♭Δ7 DΔ7 | B♭Δ7 G♭Δ7 | D♭Δ7 |
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]