Am I Blue?: Lead Sheet

This lead sheet gives you the exact harmonic and melodic blueprint that professional jazz musicians have relied on for decades. The inclusion of alternate chord substitutions means your players can learn both the original songbook version and the sophisticated reharmonizations that appear on classic jazz recordings.

A melancholy minor-key ballad with the emotional warmth and slightly wistful character typical of 1920s popular song. The melody has a natural conversational flow, and the harmonic movement creates space for meaningful improvisation and expressive playing.

Jazz musicians learning to read and interpret lead sheets, band and combo members building their standard repertoire, and improvising soloists who need to understand both the original changes and the modern alterations used in performance. Any ensemble preparing jazz material will benefit from having access to accurately sourced arrangements with clear harmonic options.

• Compare this lead sheet against a classic recording (the fake book's discography section points you to reliable versions) to hear how the melody and harmony sit within a real jazz context.
• Work through the chord substitutions section to understand which alterations serve the tune's harmony best; not every substitution works in every context or tempo.
• Pay attention to the rhythmic notation of the melody as written; even small variations in phrasing between the original and later jazz versions can change the tune's character significantly.

Include this alongside other standards from the Just Real Books series when building a jazz concert set or when teaching students how to approach lead sheet reading in a real-world context. It works well as a vehicle for showcasing solo improvisation in smaller ensemble settings, or as a piece where rhythm section players can hear how chord substitutions affect accompaniment choices.

• Reading lead sheet notation and interpreting melody and chord symbols
• Understanding and applying chord substitutions in jazz contexts
• Comparing original arrangements against recorded jazz versions to understand performance practice
• Building improvisation skills on a standard tune with multiple harmonic options