Equinox is a minor blues jazz composition by American saxophonist John Coltrane. It was released in 1964 on the album Coltrane's Sound, though it was recorded in 1960 at Atlantic Studios in New York. The tune is usually played in C minor, though the original studio take is in C# minor with a slow swing. It is a 12-bar minor blues with a 14-bar introduction and runs about 8 minutes and 33 seconds. The original recording features McCoy Tyner on piano, Elvin Jones on drums, and Coltrane on tenor sax; it opens with a Latin-flavored intro before Coltrane delivers a slow, meditative solo, with Jones using dramatic drum rolls. The title was given by Coltrane's wife Naima, who named the piece after the equinox, the twice yearly event when day and night are equal. Prior to the album, Coltrane performed it live, including a Monterey Jazz Festival appearance in 1960, and some Atlantic takes were lost in a 1978 warehouse fire; it never became as central to his repertoire as Naima or My Favorite Things.
