Time Further Out continues the Dave Brubeck Quartet's exploration of unusual time signatures that began on their 1959 album Time Out. The tracks are ordered by the number of beats per bar, starting with "It's a Raggy Waltz" and "Bluette" in 3/4; "Charles Matthew Hallelujah", a tribute to his newborn son, in 4/4; "Far More Blue" and "Far More Drums" in 5/4; "Maori Blues" in 6/4; "Unsquare Dance" in 7/4; "Bru's Boogie Woogie" in 8/8; and concluding with "Blue Shadows in the Street" in 9/8. The time signatures are listed on the album's cover, where they are referred to as "tempos". Like Time Out, Time Further Out's cover features a work of modern art: a painting by Catalan-Spanish artist Joan Miró.

John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes and was at the forefront of free jazz.