Those potent genes were passed on to Sunni, who grew up in a household where the musical throw-downs of family get-togethers were more of an influence than the droning of mind-numbing television. And it wasn’t unusual for the little girl to crawl up in her mother’s lap at the piano or to accompany her to the taping of a gospel music TV program, in each case soaking up all the sights and sounds.

By the age of 5, however, Sunni’s own musical personality was starting to take shape; to the amazement of her country-and-gospel-rooted kinfolk, she began showing an interest in Big Band and swing music, genres that hit their peak generations before her time. Even as she got older, and the music of her preteen peers began competing for attention, Sunni chose Glen Miller, Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra over Britney Spears and Carrie Underwood.

It was her attraction to the brassy sound of the Big Band era, as well as the Nashville sound of Boots Randolph and Ace Cannon that led Sunni to choose the saxophone over all the other instruments. And like everything else she has attempted in her short life, she has put her whole heart into it, insisting on becoming the best she can be thanks to ongoing private instruction and an eagerness to perform in virtually any setting.

In fact, you can catch Sunni Lynn in action when she takes the stage at the TCB Theatre, which is in its third season at the family’s Elvis Museum in Pigeon Forge.