1993 box set by Ornette Coleman
Beauty Is a Rare Thing Rhino Records
Producer Yves Beauvais
Beauty Is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings is a
Rhino Records on November 16, 1993.
[1] [2]
Background
Prior to signing with Atlantic in 1959, Coleman and his group had recorded Something Else!!!! and Tomorrow Is the Question! for the Los Angeles -based label Contemporary Records . Coleman had not been completely pleased with either, and he found audiences dwindling at the Hillcrest Club (not the Hillcrest Country Club ) in Los Angeles where he played regularly.[3] However, one evening, pianist John Lewis of the Modern Jazz Quartet saw the Coleman group and immediately became an evangelist for Ornette's new approach, securing Coleman both a summer residency at the Tanglewood Music Center and a recording contract with the MJQ's label, Atlantic, through the label's executive in charge of jazz, Nesuhi Ertegun .[4]
in New York City on July 19 and 26, and August 2, 1960, and January 31, and March 22 and 27, 1961, and at A&R Studios in New York on December 19, 20 and 21, 1960. The producer of the original recording sessions was Nesuhi Ertegun.
Content
The box presents the material in chronological recording order. The set includes the total tracks from all six of his Atlantic albums, Twins (October 1971), and the
Japan -only
To Whom Who Keeps A Record (1975). Two additional tracks were released on the
Gunther Schuller album
John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Jazz Abstractions โ Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall of 1961, and six previously unreleased performances appear here for the first time. The insert booklet contains text by
Robert Palmer , forewords by Coleman and trumpeter
Don Cherry , as well as various quotes of reaction to Coleman's music by
Paul Bley ,
Miles Davis ,
Roy Eldridge ,
Gil Evans ,
Maynard Ferguson ,
Dizzy Gillespie ,
Charlie Haden ,
Herbie Hancock ,
Joe Henderson , John Lewis,
Shelly Manne ,
Jackie McLean ,
Charles Mingus , and
Thelonious Monk .
Reception
The AllMusic review by Thom Jurek states that "this is, along with John Coltrane 's Atlantic set and the Miles and Coltrane box , one of the most essential jazz CD purchases".[5]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz in all editions prior to its ninth awarded the set one of its rare crown accolades.
[7]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Ornette Coleman, except as noted.
Disc two Title Original release 1. "The Face of the Bass" Change of the Century 6:55 2. "Forerunner" Change of the Century 5:13 3. "Free" Change of the Century 6:20 4. "The Circle with a Hole in the Middle" The Art of the Improvisers 4:52 5. "Ramblin'" Change of the Century 6:35 6. "Little Symphony" Twins 5:14 7. "The Tribes of New York" previously unreleased 4:33 8. "Kaleidoscope" This Is Our Music 6:34 9. "Rise and Shine" previously unreleased 6:11 10. "Mr. and Mrs. People" previously unreleased 4:40 11. "Blues Connotation" This Is Our Music 5:17 12. "I Heard It Over the Radio" previously unreleased 6:24
Disc three Title Writer(s) Original release 1. "P.S. Unless One Has (Blues Connotation No. 2)" To Whom Who Keeps a Record 5:53 2. "Revolving Doors" previously unreleased 4:26 3. "Brings Goodness" To Whom Who Keeps a Record 6:38 4. "Joy of A Toy" Twins 4:55 5. "To Us" To Whom Who Keeps a Record 4:32 6. "Humpty Dumpty" This Is Our Music 5:21 7. "The Fifth of Beethoven" The Art of the Improvisers 6:37 8. "Motive for Its Use" To Whom Who Keeps a Record 5:39 9. "Moon Inhabitants" The Art of the Improvisers 4:31 10. "The Legend of Bebop" The Art of the Improvisers 7:15 11. "Some Other" To Whom Who Keeps a Record 7:20 12. "Embraceable You " This Is Our Music 4:55 13. "All" To Whom Who Keeps a Record 4:30
Disc four Title Original release 1. "Folk Tale" This Is Our Music 4:47 2. "Poise" This Is Our Music 4:37 3. "Beauty Is a Rare Thing" This Is Our Music 7:13 4. "First Take" Twins 17:03 5. "Free Jazz" Free Jazz 37:03
Disc five Title Original release 1. "Proof Readers" previously unreleased 10:25 2. "W.R.U." Ornette! 16:24 3. "Check Up" Twins 10:10 4. "T & T" Ornette! 4:35 5. "C & D" Ornette! 13:10 6. "R.P.D.D." Ornette! 9:38 7. "The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro" The Art of the Improvisers 9:50
Disc six Title Writer(s) Original release 1. "EOS" Ornette on Tenor 6:35 2. "Enfant" Ornette on Tenor 6:26 3. "Ecars" Ornette on Tenor 7:35 4. "Cross Breeding" Ornette on Tenor 11:17 5. "Harlem's Manhattan" The Art of the Improvisers 8:10 6. "Mapa" Ornette on Tenor 9:05 7. "Abstraction" Gunther Schuller Jazz Abstractions 4:07 8. "Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss Cross)" Schuller Jazz Abstractions 15:22
Notes
Beauty Is a Rare Thing was reissued in March 2015.[8]
Personnel
Additional personnel
References
Studio albums Compilation albums Live albums Related articles