ii–V–I with Sevenths

ii7–V7–IM7 · Major two-five-one · C major · ii7–V7–IM7

ii–V–I with Sevenths is a chord pattern you can play in any key. The degrees are ii7–V7–IM7.

The basic cadence of jazz standards. Pressed slowly at a swing tempo around 80 BPM, the colour of each chord comes through.

Patterns are common chord moves. They are not the chart of a recorded hit.

Patterns are named by theory. Play them in any key that fits your voice.

Each song page has a chord chart, fingerings, and the same song in every key.

The pattern

ii7 – V7 – IM7

Dm7 · G7 · Cmaj7

Chord chart

Chord chart
1	Dm7	G7	Cmaj7	·

How to sing it

Jazz singers lean slightly behind the beat over these three chords. Enter a beat late on the V7 and stretch the note as you land on the last chord, and it swings. Around 80 BPM is comfortable.

In every key

In every key
Keys	Chord chart
C major · Written in this key	Dm7 · G7 · Cmaj7
Db major	Ebm7 · Ab7 · Dbmaj7
D major	Em7 · A7 · Dmaj7
Eb major	Fm7 · Bb7 · Ebmaj7
E major	F#m7 · B7 · Emaj7
F major	Gm7 · C7 · Fmaj7
F# major	G#m7 · C#7 · F#maj7
G major	Am7 · D7 · Gmaj7
Ab major	Bbm7 · Eb7 · Abmaj7
A major	Bm7 · E7 · Amaj7
Bb major	Cm7 · F7 · Bbmaj7
B major	C#m7 · F#7 · Bmaj7

Heard in

Fly Me to the Moon · Bart Howard (best known from Frank Sinatra). It starts one slot earlier, vi–ii–V–I, as part of a cycle that keeps descending in fifths; this pattern is the last three chords of that cycle.
All the Things You Are · Jerome Kern · Oscar Hammerstein II. Chains this cadence through several keys over 36 bars. Unlike this pattern, which repeats in one key, the song plays the same cadence in a different key each time.
Autumn Leaves · Joseph Kosma · Johnny Mercer. The A section opens with a major ii–V–I and soon moves to a minor ii–V–i. Usually played in B♭ major, and the whole tune is a chain of this cadence.

These songs use this pattern. This is not their chord chart: real recordings differ in key, rhythm and the chords they add.