Jazz Daniel's #3 - On The Sunny Side Of The Street
- galdornay
- Feb 16
- 2 min read
Hello and welcome back to another issue of "Jazz Daniel's"!
In this third issue, we will explore the great standard "On The Sunny Side Of The Street".
This is another great standard to know for jam sessions! and it is also a "singers favorite" kind of tune! It will be recommended to learn this standard in a few keys (as always....) for this issue we will concentrate on one of the most common keys - C Major.
this standard also uses some "Secondary Dominant" in it's chord progression, so this will be a great opportunity to practice on those!
as always, we will cover the following topics:
A Brief History Of The Sunny Side Of The Street
“On the Sunny Side of the Street” was written in 1930 by composer Jimmy McHugh and lyricist Dorothy Fields for a Broadway revue. Released at the start of the Great Depression, its cheerful message of optimism struck a chord with audiences. The song soon moved beyond the stage and became closely associated with Louis Armstrong, whose early recordings helped turn it into a jazz standard. Since then, it has been recorded by countless artists and remains a staple of the Great American Songbook, valued for its hopeful spirit and timeless melody.
Here are some great versions to check out: Louis Armstrong - Wonderful World:
The one that ruled them all!
Frank Sinatra - Come Swing With Me!:
For the lyrics lover!
Oscar Peterson - Oscar Peterson plays the Jimmy McHugh Song Book:
The bluesy side on the street.
Dizzy Gillespie - Sunny Side Up:
Going full horns!
How To Play The Melody
Here is the lead sheet for "On The Sunny Side Of The Street
In the video below, I will perform the melody, not exactly as written, but with some rhythmic and melodic variations to make it a bit more interesting.
How To Play The Harmony
In the video below, I will perform the chords of the tune as outlined on the lead sheet. I'll go through it twice: the first time using primarily swing-style strumming, and the second time employing more of a comping style.
How To Play A Chord Melody
A chord-melody is a playing style that merges the melody and harmony of a standard. In the video below, I'll present a simple chord melody of "Autumn Leaves."
And here is the notation:
A Solo Etude Over On The Sunny Side Of The Street
in this section you will find a video and the notation for a small solo I wrote over the chord changes of On The sunny Side Of The Street
And here is the notation:
Download Section
Here you can find all the notation as PDF files for you to download!
I hope this Second Issue of "Jazz Daniel's" was interesting and helpful! And if you have any more questions, looking for online guitar classes or just want to chat, Feel free to send me a message on my website!
Gal Dornay
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