ORNETTE COLEMAN - Beauty Is a Rare Thing : The Complete Atlantic Recordings (1993) RM | Atlantic Jazz Gallery | 6CD | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

While it's true this set has been given the highest rating AMG awards, it comes with a qualifier: the rating is for the music and the package, not necessarily the presentation. Presentation is a compiler's nightmare in the case of artists like John Coltrane and Ornette Coleman, who recorded often and at different times and had most of their recordings issued from the wealth of material available at the time a record was needed rather than culling an album from a particular session. Why is this a problem? It's twofold: First is that listeners got acquainted with recordings such as The Shape of Jazz to Come, This Is Our Music, Change of the Century, Twins, or any of the other four records Ornette Coleman released on Atlantic during that period. The other is one of economics; for those collectors who believe in the integrity of the original albums, they need to own both those recordings and this set, since the box features one album that was only issued in Japan as well as six unreleased tunes and the three Coleman compositions that appeared on Gunther Schuller's Jazz Abstractions record. Politically what's interesting about this box is that though the folks at Rhino and Atlantic essentially created a completely different document here, putting Coleman's music in a very different context than the way in which it was originally presented, his royalty rate was unchanged -- he refused to do any publicity for this set when it was issued as a result. As for the plus side of such a collection, there is a certain satisfaction at hearing complete sessions in context. That cannot be argued -- what is at stake is at what price to the original recorded presentations. Enough complaining. As for the music, as mentioned, the original eight albums Coleman recorded for Atlantic are here, in one form or another, in their entirety: Shape of Jazz to Come, Change of the Century, The Art of the Improvisers, Twins, This Is Our Music, Free Jazz, Ornette, and Ornette on Tenor, plus To Whom Keeps a Record, comprised of recordings dating from 1959 to 1960. In fact all of the material here was recorded between 1959 and 1961. Given that there is a total of six completely unreleased compositions as well as alternate takes and masters, this is a formidable mountain of material recorded with not only the classic quartet of Coleman, Don Cherry, Charlie Haden, and Billy Higgins, but also the large double quartet who produced the two-sided improvisation that is Free Jazz with personalities as diverse as Eric Dolphy, Freddie Hubbard, and Scott LaFaro, as well as Coleman, Cherry, Haden, and Ed Blackwell, who had replaced Higgins on the music for To Whom Keeps a Record and This Is Our Music -- though Higgins does play on Free Jazz.

The progression of the recording sessions musically is one of dynamics, color, and, with the addition of Blackwell, firepower. As the listener moves from the first session that would become most of The Shape of Jazz to Come, listeners can hear how the interplay between Cherry and Coleman works lyrically not so much as a system, but as system of the creation of melody from dead fragments of harmony, thereby creating a harmonic sensibility that cares not for changes and chord progressions, but for the progression of music itself in the context of a quartet. From the sharp edges on "Focus on Sanity," through "Peace" and "Congeniality," through "Lonely Woman," Coleman's approach to harmony was one of disparate yet wholly compatible elements. This is the story as the sessions unfold, one kind of lyricism evolving into itself more fully and completely with time. On Change of the Century, Twins, and This Is Our Music, Coleman shifts his emphasis slightly, adding depth and dimension and the creation of melody that comes out of the blues as direct and simply stated as possible. By the time LaFaro enters the picture on Free Jazz and Art of the Improvisers, melody has multiplied and divided itself into essence, and essence becomes an exponential force in the creation of a new musical syntax. The recordings from 1960 and 1961, along with the unreleased masters and alternates, all show Coleman fully in possession of his muse. The trek of musicians through the band -- like Jimmy Garrison and Eric Dolphy, as well as people like Jim Hall and Bill Evans where Coleman appeared in Gunther Schuller's experiments -- all reveal that from The Shape of Jazz to Come through Ornette on Tenor, Coleman was trying to put across the fully developed picture of his musical theory of the time. And unlike most, he completely succeeded. Even on the unreleased compositions, such as the flyaway storm of "Revolving Doors" or "PROOF Readers" or the slippery blues of "The Tribes of New York," Coleman took the open-door approach and let everything in -- he didn't necessarily let it all out. The package itself is, as are all Rhino boxes, handsome and original; there are three double-CD sleeves that all slip into a half box, which slips, reversed, into the whole box. There is a 68-page booklet with a ton of photographs, complete session notes, and liners by Coleman (disappointingly brief, but he was pissed off at the label), a fantastic essay by the late Robert Palmer, recollections by all the musicians, and quotes from Coleman from interviews given through the decades. The sound is wonderful and the mastering job superb. In all -- aside from the breach of pop culture's own historical context, which is at least an alternate reality -- this is, along with John Coltrane's Atlantic set and the Miles & Coltrane box, one of the most essential jazz CD purchases.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
All Tracks & Credits :
Notas.
This six-CD set contains the entirely of Ornette Coleman's recorded output for the Atlantic label, including the contents of the following albums:
The Shape Of Jazz To Come
Change Of The Century
This Is Our Music
Free Jazz
Ornette!
Ornette On Tenor
The Art Of The Improvisers
Twins
To Whom Who Keeps A Record
Also included are six previously unreleased compositions (2-7, 2-9, 2-10, 2-12, 3-2, 5-1) and two selections from (composer) Gunther Schuller's Jazz Abstractions featuring Ornette Coleman on alto saxophone.

ORNETTE COLEMAN - "Free Jazz" (1996) FLAC (tracks), lossless

Tracklist :
1    Little Symphony    5:14
Ornette Coleman
2    Rise And Shine    6:12
Ornette Coleman
3    Kaleidoscope    6:34
Ornette Coleman
4    Revolving Doors    4:26
Ornette Coleman
5    The Legend Of Bebop    7:16
Ornette Coleman
6    Embraceable You 4:55
Composed By – G. Gershwin, I. Gershwin
7    Folk Tale    4:48
Ornette Coleman
8    Free Jazz    37:04
Ornette Coleman
Credits :
1-7
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
New York City, July 19, 26, August 2, 1960
1-8
The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet
Left Channel
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins
Bass – Scott LaFaro
Right Channel
Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy
Trumpet – Freddie Hubbard
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
New York City, December 21, 1960

THE ORNETTE COLEMAN QUARTET - Ornette (1962-2003) RM | Atlantic Jazz Masters | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Recorded a little over a month after his groundbreaking work Free Jazz, this album found Coleman perhaps retrenching from that idea conceptually, but nonetheless plumbing his quartet music to ever greater heights of richness and creativity. Ornette! was the first time bassist Scott LaFaro recorded with Coleman, and the difference in approach between LaFaro and Charlie Haden is apparent from the opening notes of "W.R.U." There is a more direct propulsion and limberness to his playing, and he can be heard driving Coleman and Don Cherry actively and more aggressively than Haden's warm, languid phrasing. The cuts, with titles derived from the works of Sigmund Freud, are all gems and serve as wonderful launching pads for the musicians' improvisations. Coleman, by this time, was very comfortable in extended pieces, and he and his partners have no trouble filling in the time, never coming close to running out of ideas. Special mention should be made of Ed Blackwell, with one of his finest performances. Ornette! is a superb release and a must for all fans of Coleman and creative improvised music in general. Brian Olewnick  
Tracklist :
1     W.R.U. 16'25
Ornette Coleman
2     T. & T. 4'35
Ornette Coleman
3     C. & D. 13'10
Ornette Coleman
4     R.P.D.D. 9'39
Ornette Coleman
- BONUS TRACK -
5    Proof Readers 10'25
Ornette Coleman
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Scott LaFaro
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Trumpet [Pocket] – Donald Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN DOUBLE QUARTET - Free Jazz (1961-2003) RM | Atlantic Masters | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

As jazz's first extended, continuous free improvisation LP, Free Jazz practically defies superlatives in its historical importance. Ornette Coleman's music had already been tagged "free," but this album took the term to a whole new level. Aside from a predetermined order of featured soloists and several brief transition signals cued by Coleman, the entire piece was created spontaneously, right on the spot. The lineup was expanded to a double-quartet format, split into one quartet for each stereo channel: Ornette, trumpeter Don Cherry, bassist Scott LaFaro, and drummer Billy Higgins on the left; trumpeter Freddie Hubbard, bass clarinetist Eric Dolphy, bassist Charlie Haden, and drummer Ed Blackwell on the right. The rhythm sections all play at once, anchoring the whole improvisation with a steady, driving pulse. The six spotlight sections feature each horn in turn, plus a bass duet and drum duet; the "soloists" are really leading dialogues, where the other instruments are free to support, push, or punctuate the featured player's lines. Since there was no road map for this kind of recording, each player simply brought his already established style to the table. That means there are still elements of convention and melody in the individual voices, which makes Free Jazz far more accessible than the efforts that followed once more of the jazz world caught up. Still, the album was enormously controversial in its bare-bones structure and lack of repeated themes. Despite resembling the abstract painting on the cover, it wasn't quite as radical as it seemed; the concept of collective improvisation actually had deep roots in jazz history, going all the way back to the freewheeling early Dixieland ensembles of New Orleans. Jazz had long prided itself on reflecting American freedom and democracy and, with Free Jazz, Coleman simply took those ideals to the next level. A staggering achievement. Steve Huey
Tracklist :
1     Free Jazz 37:03
Ornette Coleman   
2     First Take 17:06
Ornette Coleman   
Credits :
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden, Scott LaFaro
Bass Clarinet – Eric Dolphy
Drums – Billy Higgins, Ed Blackwell
Trumpet – Freddie Hubbard
Trumpet [Pocket] – Don Cherry

ORNETTE COLEMAN - "Harlem's Manhattan" 1961 (1999) APE (image+.cue), lossless

Notable for the inclusion of the opening track "Proof Readers," Harlem's Manhattan showcases the Ornette Coleman band lineup of Don Cherry, Ed Blackwell, and either Scott LaFaro on bass -- his style is so distinctive you can hear him on the middle portion of the disc -- and Jimmy Garrison. These recordings are stellar both in presentation as well as musicianship. LaFaro's playing on "Check Up" and "W.R.U." offers an incredible insight into these sides as LaFaro completely understood the circular notion of rhythm in Coleman's early work.
-> This comment is posted on Allmusic by Thom Jurek, follower of our blog 'O Púbis da Rosa' <-
Tracklist :
1    Proof Readers 10'28
2    R.P.D.D 9'41
3    W.R.U. 16'27
4    Check Up 10'13
5    Eos 6'37
6    Cross Breeding 11'20
7    Harlem's Manhattan 8'11
Credits :
Ed Blackwell - Drums
Don Cherry - Trumpet (Pocket), Cornet, Flute, Multi Instruments, Piano, Vocals
Ornette Coleman - Composer, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor), Trumpet, Violin
Jimmy Garrison, Scott LaFaro - Bass

ORNETTE COLEMAN - Twins (1971-2008) FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Ornette Coleman's Twins (first issued on LP in 1971) has been looked at as an afterthought in many respects. A collection of sessions from 1959, 1960, and 1961 with different bands, they are allegedly takes from vinyl LP sessions commercially limited at that time to 40 minutes on vinyl, and not initially released until many years later. Connoisseurs consider this one of his better recordings in that it offers an overview of what Coleman was thinking in those pivotal years of the free bop movement rather than the concentrated efforts of The Art of the Improvisers, Change of the Century, The Shape of Jazz to Come, This Is Our Music, and of course the pivotal Free Jazz. There are three most definitive selections that define Coleman's sound and concept. "Monk & the Nun" is angular like Thelonious Monk, soulful as spiritualism, and golden with the rhythm team of bassist Charlie Haden and drummer Billy Higgins driving the sweet and sour alto sax of Coleman and piquant trumpeting of Don Cherry. "Check Up" is a wild roller coaster ride, mixing meters, tempos, and dynamics in a blender in an unforgettable display of sheer virtuosity, and featuring bassist Scott LaFaro. "Joy of a Toy" displays the playful Ornette Coleman in interval leaps, complicated bungee jumps, in many ways whimsical but not undecipherable. It is one of the most intriguing of all of Coleman's compositions. Less essential, "First Take" showcases his double quartet in a churning composition left off the original release This Is Our Music, loaded with interplay as a showcase for a precocious young trumpeter named Freddie Hubbard, the ribald bass clarinet of Eric Dolphy, and the first appearance with Coleman's groups for New Orleans drummer Ed Blackwell. "Little Symphony" has a great written line with room for solos in a joyful hard bop center with the quartet of Coleman, Cherry, Haden, and Blackwell. All in all an excellent outing for Coleman from a hodgepodge of recordings that gives a broader view of his vision and the music that would come later in the '60s. Michael G. Nastos  
Tracklist :
1    The Ornette Coleman Double Quartet–    First Take 17'06
Alto Saxophone [L] – Ornette Coleman
Bass Clarinet [R] – Eric Dolphy
Bass [L] – Scott Lafaro
Bass [R] – Charlie Haden
Drums [L] – Billy Higgins
Drums [R] – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Tom Dowd
Trumpet [Pocket Trumpet] [L] – Don Cherry
Trumpet [R] – Freddie Hubbard
2    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Little Symphony 5'17
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Phil Iehle, Tom Dowd
Trumpet – Don Cherry
3    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Monk And Nun 5'56
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Cornet – Don Cherry
Drums – Billy Higgins
Engineer [Recording] – Bones Howe
4    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Check Up 10'13
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Scott Lafaro
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Tom Dowd
Trumpet [Pocket Trumpet] – Don Cherry
5    The Ornette Coleman Quartet–    Joy Of A Toy 4'55
Alto Saxophone – Ornette Coleman
Bass – Charlie Haden
Drums – Ed Blackwell
Engineer [Recording] – Tom Dowd
Trumpet – Don Cherry

VICTOR FELDMAN - The Arrival of Victor Feldman (1958-1998) RM / FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

Victor Feldman had first recorded as a leader when he was 13 and a swing-based drummer. In 1957, he moved from his native London to the United States, and by early 1958 (when he was 23) was in great demand as a pianist and vibraphonist. For his second American release and debut for the Contemporary label, Feldman is completely in the spotlight. Joined by the brilliant bassist Scott La Faro (whose playing is a strong reason to acquire the album) and drummer Stan Levey, Feldman performs a mostly boppish set including "Serpent's Tooth," "There Is No Greater Love," Dizzy Gillespie's "Bebop," a Chopin waltz and three of his diverse originals. An excellent showcase for the still-developing Victor Feldman. by Scott Yanow
Tracklist:
1 Serpent's Tooth 3:24
Written-By – Miles Davis
2 Waltz  5:00
Arranged By – Victor Feldman
Written-By – Frederic Chopin
3 Chasing Shadows 3:15
Written-By – Victor Feldman
4 Flamingo 3:15
Written-By – Edmund Anderson, Theodore Grouya
5 S' Posin 4:25
Written-By – Andy Razaf, Paul Denniker
6 Bebop 2:43
Written-By – Dizzy Gillespie
7 There Is No Greater Love 4:20
Written-By – Isham Jones, Marty Symes
8 Too Blue 4:10
Written-By – Victor Feldman
9 Minor Lament 3:55
Written-By – Victor Feldman
10 Satin Doll 4:53
Written-By – Duke Ellington
Credits:
Bass – Scott LaFaro
Drums, Cover [photograph] – Stan Levey
Vibraphone, Piano – Victor Feldman

HAMPTON HAWES – For Real! (1961-1992) RM | FLAC (tracks+.cue), lossless

 Although For Real! was at least Hampton Hawes' 11th record as a leader, it was his first (and one of his relatively few) that included a horn player. The pianist matches quite well with the hard bop tenor of Harold Land (heard in his early prime), and the quartet outing, which also includes drummer Frank Butler, has an extra bonus in the playing of the brilliant bassist Scott LaFaro. Performing three bop standards (including "Crazeology") and three originals (two of which were co-written by Land), pianist Hawes sounds inspired by the other players and is in top form throughout the generally memorable outing. Scott Yanow
Tracklist :
1 Hip 6:14
Written-By – Hampton Hawes
2 Wrap Your Troubles In Dreams 9:20
Written-By – Billy Moll, Harry Barris, Ted Koehler
3 Crazeology 6:40
Written-By – Bennie Harris
4 Numbers Game 8:04
Written-By – Hampton Hawes, Harold Land
5 For Real 11:21
Written-By – Hampton Hawes, Harold Land
6 I Love You 3:50
Written-By – Cole Porter
Credits
Bass – Scott La Faro
Drums – Frank Butler
Piano – Hampton Hawes
Tenor Saxophone – Harold Land