Secondary Dominant - Use in Jazz

Use in Jazz

In jazz harmony, a secondary dominant is any Dominant chord (major-minor 7th chord) which occurs on a weak beat and resolves downward by a perfect 5th. Thus, a chord is a secondary dominant when it is functioning as the dominant of some harmonic element other than the key's tonic, and promptly resolves to that element. This is slightly different from the traditional use of the term, where a secondary dominant does not have to be a 7th chord, occur on a weak beat, or resolve downward. If a non-diatonic dominant chord is used on a strong beat, it is considered an extended dominant. If it doesn't resolve downward, it may be a borrowed chord.

Secondary dominants are used in jazz harmony in the Bebop blues and other blues progression variations, as are sub V and turnarounds.