“When Sunny Gets Blue” was composed by Marvin Fisher with lyrics by Jack Segal in 1956. Johnny Mathis recorded an early version, and it became a jazz ballad favorite through recordings by singers and instrumentalists who love its tender melody and sophisticated harmony.
The form is a 32-bar AABA. The harmony moves through ii-V progressions, secondary dominants and chromatic passing chords, supporting a gentle, wistful melody. It’s almost always played as a slow ballad.
Section by section: in the A sections, play close to the melody and decorate it with neighbor tones, using guide tones to outline the ii-Vs. Pay attention to chromatic passing chords; a single note that moves by half step with the harmony creates a beautiful inner line. In the bridge, where the harmony moves to a new key area, raise your dynamic slightly and build toward the return. In the final A, settle back down and end softly.
Practice at a slow ballad tempo, around 55 BPM. Learn the melody from a vocal recording and pay attention to the lyrics, which describe a sad girl whose sunny nature is hidden by sorrow. Pianists should practice warm, voice-led voicings.
Transposing tip: singers often perform it in different keys, so learn it in at least two.
Using the When Sunny Gets Blue Lead Sheet PDF on gigs: keep a concert-pitch copy and a copy in your instrument’s key, label the intro and ending on the page, and note the tempo and feel the band usually plays. Small notes like these keep you calm when a tune gets called on the spot.
Practice checklist for the When Sunny Gets Blue Lead Sheet PDF: play the melody from memory, play roots through the form, play guide tones, improvise one chorus of chord tones only, and finally record yourself soloing over a play-along. Listening back is the fastest way to spot what to fix next.
Is it hard to play? It’s intermediate. Recordings to study: Johnny Mathis’s version and jazz instrumental ballad recordings. Learn more about the composer on Marvin Fisher’s Wikipedia page, and find more jazz ballads on Minedit.