Beauty Is a Rare Thing

Beauty Is a Rare Thing
Compilation album by Ornette Coleman
Released	1993
Recorded	May 22, 1959-March 27, 1961
Genre	Jazz
Length	424:09
Label	Rhino/Atlantic
Producer	Nesuhi Ertegun

Beauty Is a Rare Thing is an compilation album collecting all recordings by the American jazz composer and saxophonist Ornette Coleman made for the Atlantic label between 1959 and 1961.^[1] The box set includes The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959), Change of the Century (1959), This Is Our Music (1960), Free Jazz (1961), Ornette! (1961), Ornette on Tenor (1962), The Art of the Improvisers (1970) and Twins (1971) plus two tracks from Gunther Schuller's Jazz Abstractions (1961) along with several previously unrelased performances.

Contents 1 Reception 2 Track listing 3 Personnel 4 References

Reception

The Allmusic review by Thom Jurek awarded the album 5 stars stating "this is, along with John Coltrane's Atlantic set and the Miles and Coltrane box, one of the most essential jazz CD purchases".^[2]

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]

Track listing

All compositions by Ornette Coleman except as indicated

Disc One:

1. "Focus on Sanity" - 6:49
2. "Chronology" - 6:04
3. "Peace" - 9:02
4. "Congeniality" - 6:44
5. "Lonely Woman" - 4:57
6. "Monk and the Nun" - 5:53
7. "Just for You" - 3:51
8. "Eventually" - 4:20
9. "Una Muy Bonita" - 5:59
10. "Bird Food" - 5:28
11. "Change of the Century" - 4:41
12. "Music Always" - 5:29

• Recorded in Los Angeles, California on May 22, 1959 (tracks 1-8) and in New York City on October 8, 1959 (tracks 9-12).

Disc Two:

1. "The Face of the Bass" - 6:55
2. "Forerunner" - 5:13
3. "Free" - 6:20
4. "The Circle With a Hole in the Middle" - 4:52
5. "Ramblin'" - 6:35
6. "Little Symphony" - 5:14
7. "The Tribes of New York" - 4:33
8. "Kaleidoscope" - 6:34
9. "Rise and Shine" - 6:11
10. "Mr. and Mrs. People" - 4:40
11. "Blues Connotation" - 5:17
12. "I Heard It Over the Radio" - 6:24

• Recorded in New York City on October 8 (track 1) and 9 (tracks 2-5), 1959 and July 19, 1960 (tracks 6-12)

Disc Three:

1. "P.S. Unless One Has (Blues Connotation No. 2)" - 5:53
2. "Revolving Doors" - 4:26
3. "Brings Goodness" - 6:38
4. "Joy of a Toy" - 4:55
5. "To Us" - 4:32
6. "Humpty Dumpty" - 5:21
7. "The Fifth of Beethoven" - 6:37
8. "Motive for Its Use" - 5:39
9. "Moon Inhabitants" - 4:31
10. "The Legend of Bebop" - 7:15
11. "Some Other" - 7:20
12. "Embraceable You" (George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin) - 4:55
13. "All" - 4:30

• Recorded in New York City on July 19 (tracks 1 & 2) and July 26 (tracks 3-13), 1960

Disc Four:

1. "Folk Tale" - 4:47
2. "Poise" - 4:37
3. "Beauty Is a Rare Thing" - 7:13
4. "First Take" - 17:03
5. "Free Jazz" - 37:03

• Recorded in New York City on August 2 (tracks 1-3) and December 21 (tracks 4 & 5), 1960

Disc Five:

1. "Proof Readers" - 10:25
2. "W.R.U." - 16:24
3. "Check Up" - 10:10
4. "T. & T." - 4:35
5. "C. & D." - 13:10
6. "R.P.D.D." - 9:38
7. "The Alchemy of Scott Lafaro" - 9:50

• Recorded in New York City on January 31, 1961

Disc Six:

1. "Eos" - 6:35
2. "Enfant" - 6:26
3. "Ecars" - 7:35
4. "Cross Breeding" - 11:17
5. "Harlem's Manhattan" - 8:10
6. "Mapa" - 9:05
7. "Abstraction" (Gunther Schuller) - 4:07
8. "Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross)" (Schuller) - 15:22

• Recorded in New York City on December 20, 1960 (tracks 7 & 8), March 22 (track 1) and March 27 (tracks 2-6), 1961

Personnel

• Ornette Coleman - alto saxophone, tenor saxophone
• Don Cherry - pocket trumpet
• Freddie Hubbard - trumpet (Disc Four, tracks 4 & 5)
• Eric Dolphy - alto saxophone, bass clarinet, flute (Disc Four, tracks 4 & 5 and Disc Six, track 8)
• Alvin Brehm (Disc Six, track 7), George Duvivier (Disc Six, track 8), Jimmy Garrison (Disc Six, tracks 1-6), Charlie Haden (Discs One to Four), Scott LaFaro (Disc Four, tracks 4 & 5, Disc Five and Disc Six, tracks 7 & 8) - bass
• Ed Blackwell (Discs Three to Five and Disc Six, tracks 1-6), Sticks Evans (Disc Six, tracks 7 & 8), Billy Higgins (Disc One and Two and Disc Four, tracks 4 & 5) - drums
• Charles Libove, Roland Vamos - violin (Disc 6, track 7 & 8)
• Harry Zaratzian - viola (Disc Six, tracks 7 & 8)
• Joseph Tekula - cello (Disc Six, tracks 7 & 8)
• Jim Hall - guitar (Disc Six, tracks 7 & 8)
• Robert DiDomenica - flute (Disc Six, track 8)
• Eddie Costa - vibraphone (Disc Six, track 8)
• Bill Evans - piano (Disc Six, track 8)
• Gunther Schuller - arranger, conductor (Disc Six, tracks 7 & 8)

References