"Footprints" is an instrumental jazz standard composed by Wayne Shorter, who is its sole writer. Shorter first recorded it for his album Adam's Apple (Blue Note), on 24 February 1966, with Herbie Hancock, Reggie Workman and Joe Chambers. The first commercial release was a different recording by the Miles Davis Quintet, issued on Miles Smiles.
Harmonically the piece is a 12-bar blues in C minor, though triple time and an avant-garde turnaround (F#m9(b5), F7(#11), E9(b5), A7(#9), Cm7) disguise its form. It is often notated in 3/4 or 6/8, but it is not a jazz waltz: the feel alternates between simple and compound meter. On Miles Smiles, Ron Carter's 4/4 bass figure and Tony Williams' drumming explore an African-based 12/8 set against 4/4. The tune has been widely covered, and a notable version is Kenny Barron's, on his 2004 album Images.
