Countdown is a hard bop jazz standard composed by John Coltrane - it first appeared on his fifth studio album Giant Steps, released in 1960. The track was recorded on May 4, 1959 at Atlantic Studios in New York and released by Atlantic Records with Nesuhi Ertegün as producer. Countdown is a contrafact of Miles Davis's Tune Up, reharmonized using Coltrane changes. It is a compact 16-bar piece whose tonal centers cycle through D major, C major, and B flat major, building intensity with rapid harmonic movement. The original recording is noted for its resolute intensity and its impact on modernizing jazz, and the tune has been performed and recorded by many artists over the years.
