The original pop version is actually a masterclass in performance and compositional techniques. Let’s briefly explore it so we can see the foudnations that the Jazz and changes are built on.

The song starts in the Key of E minor and modulates up in halfsteps throughout the course of the song. This might have been something that you picked up on by ear, however, did you also notice that as the song progresses it builds in dynamics, speed and texture?

Note: if you listen carefully, the first time through the word “Sunny” is sang as two 16th notes and as the tempo increases, it’s changed to two 8th notes. This is to obviously make it sound smoother at the higher speed. The real book always has the 8th note version notated even though I much prefer the feel of starting with two 16ths. You can make your own mind up as to which rhythm you like to use.

Take another listen, but this time check out this live performance with legendary jazz bassist, Ron Carter.

Check out the changes for the first few times through… (Don’t be intimidated, these are mostly chords diatonic to E minor with the exception of one tritone substitution and the chromatic/James Bond-esque turnaround)

The song starts with a 4 bar phrase played twice. The phrase is reminscent of the common iii-vi-ii-V-I pattern but in a minor key and starting on the I.

So we get i – bIII – bVI – ii* – V    or    Em – G7 – Cmaj7 –  F#m7b5 – B7

It’s important to note that the F#m7b5 is quite a dissonant sound, so in most of Bobby’s renditions he voices the chord without the 5th. It sounds more like a minor chord as the b5 isn’t there to colour it.

Once the opening 4 bars have been played twice, we get to bars 9-12. Bars 9-12 are virtually identical but instead of the ii-v (F#m7b5 to B7) we simply get an F7 chord. This might look a little bit out of place in the key of E minor but its just a tritone substitution.

The bar of F#m7b5 to B7 can be simplified to a whole bar of B7, which is ther TRITONE SUBBED for F7. A tritone subsitution is a popular substitution technique used for dominant chords where you swap a dominant chord for the dominant chord a tritone (Three tones) away. This works because the chords share some very important notes with eachother.

Then come the final 4 bars which is just a minor ii-v -i with a turnaround at the end. For a turnaround he either plays the ascending chromatic line or goes to the V chord of the key up a half step that we will modulate to.

Here is a rough transcription of what he’s playing, you can see his chord voicings as well as the ascending chromatic line at the end. Have a play through.

Have a practice playing through a few times. Lock-in on the rhythm and get the sound of the changes in your ear. You ans aslo try improvising along using E minor scales and following the chords with arpeggios.Wes Montgomery style octaves work fantastically over this tune.

Next we’ll explore how jazzers took it one step further and made the changes closer to what you might find in other standards.