“I Hear a Rhapsody” was written in 1940 by George Fragos, Jack Baker and Dick Gasparre. It became a hit for Jimmy Dorsey and later a jazz standard, recorded by Bill Evans and Jim Hall, Sonny Rollins and others.
The tune moves through minor and major key areas with ii-V progressions and secondary dominants. It’s often played at medium swing or as a ballad.
For improvisation, practice minor and major ii-Vs and connect them with guide tones. The Evans and Hall duet on Undercurrent is a beautiful model of interplay.
Practice slowly with a play-along. Learn the melody by ear.
Section by section: the opening phrases move through minor chords with a dramatic feel, so use melodic minor or Dorian sounds and lean on the sixth and ninth for color. When the harmony shifts toward the relative major, brighten your lines by targeting the major third. The middle section moves through ii-V progressions; practice guide-tone lines that connect each chord smoothly. Bill Evans and Jim Hall’s duet version shows how two instruments can trade the melody and harmony back and forth, a great model for small groups.
Practice tip: learn the melody by ear from the duet recording, then try playing it with a friend, one person on melody and one on chords, switching roles each chorus. It’s an excellent exercise in listening and supporting another player.
Using the I Hear a Rhapsody Lead Sheet PDF on gigs: keep a concert-pitch copy and a copy in your instrument’s key, label the intro and ending on the page, and note the tempo and feel the band usually plays. Small notes like these keep you calm when a tune gets called on the spot.
Is it hard to play? It’s intermediate. Recordings to study: Bill Evans and Jim Hall’s Undercurrent. Learn more about the duo recording on Bill Evans’s Wikipedia page, and find more standards on Minedit.