"Footprints" is a

jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive List ...

composed by saxophonist Wayne Shorter and first recorded for his album ''

Adam's Apple The Adam's apple is the protrusion in the neck formed by the angle of the thyroid cartilage surrounding the larynx, typically visible in men, less frequently in women. The prominence of the Adam's apple increases in some men as a secondary mal ...

'' in 1966. The first commercial release of the song was a different recording on the

Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American jazz trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th century music, 20th-century music. Davis ado ...

album '' Miles Smiles'' recorded later in 1966, but released earlier. It has become a

Rhythm

Although often written in or , it is not a jazz waltz because the feel alternates between simple meter and compound meter. On '' Miles Smiles'', the band playfully explores the correlation between African-based (or ) and . Drummer Tony Williams freely moves from swing, to the three-over-two cross rhythm—and to its correlative. The ground of four main beats is maintained throughout the piece. The bass switches to at 2:20.

Ron Carter Ronald Levin Carter (born May 4, 1937) is an American jazz double bassist. His appearances on 2,221 recording sessions make him the most-recorded jazz bassist in history. He has won three Grammy Awards, and is also a Cello, cellist who has reco ...

’s figure is known as ''tresillo'' in Afro-Cuban music and is the duple-pulse correlative of the figure. This may have been the first overt expression of systemic, African-based cross-rhythm used by a straight ahead jazz group. During Davis’s first trumpet solo, Williams shifts to a jazz ride pattern while Carter continues the bass line. The following example shows the and forms of the bass line. The slashed noteheads indicate the main beats (not bass notes), where one ordinarily taps their foot to "keep time." :

Harmony

Harmonically, "Footprints" takes the form of a 12-bar

C minor C minor is a minor scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. Its key signature consists of three flats. Its relative major is E major and its parallel major is C major. The C natural minor scale is: Cha ...

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...

, but this is masked not only by its triple time signature but by its avant garde turnaround. In the key of C minor, a normal turnaround would be Dm⁷⁽⁵⁾, G⁷, Cm⁷. But Shorter doubles the harmonic rhythm of the turnaround, and the progression reads: Fm⁹⁽⁵⁾, F⁷⁽¹¹⁾, E⁹⁽⁵⁾, A⁷⁽⁹⁾, Cm⁷. In jazz jam sessions and for educational purposes, players often choose D⁷⁽¹¹⁾ D⁷⁽¹¹⁾ Cm⁷ as turnaround, which also fits with the original melody.

Notable covers

Kenny Barron Kenneth Barron (born June 9, 1943) is an American jazz pianist and composer who has appeared on hundreds of recordings as leader and sideman and is considered one of the most influential mainstream jazz pianists since the bebop era. Early life ...

included the composition in his 2004 studio album '' Images''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Footprints (Composition) 1966 compositions Real Book Song