Rapture – Harold Land

Rapture shows Harold's lyrical side, and it was one of his most requested compositions. It's a very interesting 34-measure AAB form composition [8-8-18], where the two-chord A section—four measures each of two contrasting major 7th chords—could point to one of them as being the tonal center of the composition, but not so. The B section goes in a very different direction, starting with a dominant cycle that lands in the fifth measure seemingly in F minor: is this the tonal center? Not yet. F minor is reinforced again by returning to it in the ninth measure of the B section, but then it turns and goes to E flat major before eventually ending up in C major (which we are calling the implied key). Instead of stopping there, Harold continues to add to the mystery by changing it into a dominant 7th flat 9 suspended two-measure chord that goes back to start the A section again, as a sort of "break" for the first soloist. Once you've got it together, the form is a lot of fun to solo over. Solos are on the head form; at the end of the out head, Cmaj7 is held out for four rather than two measures, followed by the bass ostinato from the intro and concluding with the first melodic phrase which ends on D♭maj7.

On this recording the bass ostinato is slightly different from the way it is on the lead sheet. The second note is on beat 2 rather than the "and" of 1. The intro is also played only once. In later versions Harold changed the rhythm and repeated the intro, as shown on our lead sheet. In this quintet arrangement the horns are voiced throughout, mostly in fourths and fifths with some thirds on the "pickup" figures.

The groove on this recording is not a bossa; Tootie Heath plays a slightly funky beat on the toms, with cymbal on beats 2 and 4. He switches to another, somewhat funky groove at the B section, with hi-hat on 1 and 3. The bass is indicated "2-feel" here on the lead sheet, but Reggie Johnson varies the rhythm quite a lot in both the B section and the solos. On later versions the ostinato is also used in the solos.

Pianists and drummers should get the Concert Condensed Score.

Our Minus You version, rather slower than the original recording, is a fourth lower. Without a key signature this difference of key is tricky to describe; our parts label the key as G, as this is the last chord.

Don Sickler plays the melody on flugelhorn, with overdubbed accompanying muted trumpet fills on not only the in and out head but also on the first chorus of the flugelhorn solo. Meanwhile pianist Cecilia Coleman also plays fills on the A sections of the head.