Jazz ii – V – I

General info

Progression

Jazz ii – V – I

Pattern

ii – V – I

Type

Major

Mode

major

Genre

Jazz

Chord count

3

Brief character

ii–V–I: a predominant–dominant–tonic progression central to jazz-standard harmony

Progression composition

Construction logic

In ii – V – I, roots move by descending fifths. Predominant ii prepares dominant V, and V resolves to tonic I. Jazz standards commonly use seventh chords, such as Dm7 – G7 – Cmaj7 in C major.

How it sounds

Character

Major functional progression

Perceptual context

Depends on melody, rhythm, tempo, register, and texture

Stability

High — resolves to tonic

Completeness

Closed — ends with dominant-to-tonic motion

Harmonic functions

Tonic establishes a stable centre, predominant prepares dominant, and dominant directs the motion back toward tonic.

Tensions & resolutions

Predominant ii prepares V, and the dominant tritone directs the voices toward I. Roots descend by fifths, producing the functional sequence predominant → dominant → tonic.

Harmonic context

Diatonic chords, scales, modes and cadences in the selected key:

The progression transposes to any key — the structure (degrees) stays the same, only the specific chords change.

Variability

• Extension: ii7 – V7 – Imaj7 (seventh chords)
• Replace ii → bII7 (tritone substitution)
• Extension: ii – V – I – vi (add a turnaround)
• Simplification: IV – V – I (replace ii with IV)