Sonnymoon for Two Chords

NOTE: ALL MY EDUCATIONAL MATERIALS ARE MOVING TO THE JAZZ IMPROV INSTITUTE at https://www.jazzimprov.net/ . This page will be retired end of 2024.

Here are the chords outlined for all different instruments for Sonny Rollin’s Sonnymoon for Two. You can download the chords by clicking the download button underneath the PDF.

On the recording, you will hear a very “plain” blues during the first head – the changes below are the soloing changes and include turnarounds in measure 8 and measures 11 and 12. As always, listen to the rhythm/soloist for turnarounds. By plain, they didn’t use any turn arounds on the head. You may hear some people add a diminished chord on the second half of the sixth measure, I have omitted that given that I didn’t hear the diminished chord on the head or in the soloing on the recording I worked off of. I used the recording off his album, “The Freelance Years.” Also, on the recording, the rhythm section did a ramp up in the bass line in measure 4 – that has been omitted from these chord changes for teaching purposes, but you are welcome to follow the recording in that sense. Have fun soloing over these twelve bar blues!

Rhythm Chart

Here is the rhythm chart for Sonnymoon for Two. The head is as written, then the solo changes start at measure 13. Measure 18 of the solo changes has a diminished chord which is on some (but not all) recordings.