The Theme is an instrumental hard bop piece credited to Miles Davis, who is listed as its sole writer. The Miles Davis Quintet, with John Coltrane, Red Garland, Paul Chambers and Philly Joe Jones alongside Davis, recorded it in two sessions on 11 May and 26 October 1956 at Van Gelder Studio in Hackensack. It was released on the Prestige album Workin' with the Miles Davis Quintet. The piece appears twice on that album, as Take 1, about two minutes long, and Take 2, about one minute, both short performances placed between longer spontaneous pieces. Davis made the record to fulfil his contractual obligations, with lengthy tracks released over four albums: Cookin', Relaxin', Workin' and Steamin'. Later versions include a 1965 recording by Shirley Scott and a 2017 version by the Pat Senatore Trio.
