ENDEIT

Standards

Sugar chords & key

Stanley Turrentine

Key
C minor
Form
A
Bars
16
Groove
Medium swing
Time signature
4/4

“Sugar” is a jazz standard by Stanley Turrentine. It is usually played in C minor as a medium swing, and the 16-bar A form repeats as one section. Harmonically it contains no major ii–V–I cadences and 2 minor ii–V–i, uses 7 different chords. In this atlas it appears on 4 album tracks.

Chord changes

Showing in: Concert (C) — C minor

A
Cm7
Dm7♭5G7♭9♭13
Cm7
G7♭9♭13
Cm7
Cm7
Dm7♭5
G7♭9♭13
Cm7
G♭7♯11
Fm7
E♭7
Dm7♭5
G7♭9♭13
A♭7♯11
G7♭9♭13

Changes as commonly played (concert pitch). Your band's version may differ.

Harmonic analysis

0Major ii–V–I
2Minor ii–V–i
3ii–V moves
2Tritone substitutions
0Dominant chains
7Different chords

Most used chords

  • Cm7×5
  • G7♭9♭13×5
  • Dm7♭5×3
  • G♭7♯11×1
  • Fm7×1
  • E♭7×1

Recorded on these albums

1960 Bing & Satchmo
Bing Crosby & Louis Armstrong
1995 On The Sentimental Side
Billie Holiday
2004 The Love Songs
Billie Holiday
2026 What Does It Take to Bloom?
Somi

Historic 78 rpm recordings

  • SUGAR (THAT SUGAR BABY O'MINE) WINGY MANONE'S ORCH. · Wingy Manone · Nick Fatool · Stanley… archive.org ↗
  • SUGAR VIC LEWIS AND HIS AMERICAN JAZZMEN · Bobby Hackett · Joe Marsala ·… archive.org ↗
  • SUGAR TEDDY WILSON AND HIS ORCHESTRA · BILLIE HOLIDAY · Pinkard · Mitchell… · 1935 archive.org ↗
  • Sugar Yukl's Wabash Five · Pate Legare · George Thow · Joe Yukl · Eddie… · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • Sugar Yank Lawson and his Orchestra · Pinkard · Mitchell · 1945 archive.org ↗
  • SUGAR (THAT SUGAR BABY O'MINE) WINGY MANONE'S ORCHESTRA · Wingy Manone · Nick Fatool · Stanley… · 1946 archive.org ↗
  • Sugar Maurice Rocco and his Rockin' Rhythm · Cozy Cole · Mack Stuart ·… · 1946 archive.org ↗
  • SUGAR SIDNEY BECHET & SON ORCHESTRE · Pinkart · 1949 archive.org ↗

Standards with similar changes

Similarity of the chord progression, independent of key.

TitleComposerKeyFormGroove
Bohemia After Dark 33% Oscar Pettiford G minor AABA · 32 Up-tempo swing
Tempus Fugit 24% Bud Powell D minor AABA · 32 Up-tempo swing
Sway 22% Ruiz-Gimbel G minor AABA · 32 Latin
Got A Match? 20% Chick Corea D minor A · 16 Up-tempo swing
Idle Moments 20% Grant Green C minor A · 16 Slow swing
The Peacocks 20% Jimmy Rowles B♭ minor AABA · 32 Ballad
Petit Fleur 20% Sidney Bechet G minor ABCD · 48 Medium swing

Frequently asked questions

What key is Sugar in?

Sugar is usually played in C minor. For B♭ instruments that is D minor, for E♭ instruments A minor.

Who wrote Sugar?

Sugar was written by Stanley Turrentine.

What is the form of Sugar?

Sugar has 1 sections (A) with 16 bars in total.

How fast is Sugar played?

The usual groove is Medium swing.

What are the chord changes to Sugar?

The opening bars are Cm7 | Dm7b5 G7b9b13 | Cm7 | G7b9b13. The full chart above can be transposed to any key.