Now Available: Ornette Coleman, Beauty Is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings

If you're ever playing Word Association with a jazz fan and you say “saxophonist,” don't be surprised if the immediate response is “Ornette Coleman.” Not that there aren't plenty of other jazz men who play the sax, but Coleman is definitely among the most well-respected and…oh, we'll just say it: he's one of the best. As such, we weren't exactly surprised when we - or, more specifically, Rhino Handmade - released Coleman's Beauty Is a Rare Thing: The Complete Atlantic Recordings and promptly watched the limited-edition set go out of print.
Wow, has it really been 22 years since then? Yep, it sure has. And if you're thinking, “You know, it's probably about time you guys reissued that thing,” then we're pleased to tell you that we think you're right, which is why Beauty Is a Rare Thing is back in print as of today. It's been repackaged for the reissue, so don't go throwing away your original copy, but if you've never owned this set before, you'll find all six of Coleman's Atlantic albums (The Shape of Jazz to Come, Change of the Century, This is Our Music, Free Jazz, Ornette! and Ornette on Tenor), plus two tracks which originally appeared on Gunther Schuller's album John Lewis Presents Contemporary Music: Jazz Abstractions - Compositions by Gunther Schuller and Jim Hall, as well as six previously unreleased performances.
In short, if you're a jazz fan and, in particular, a saxophone aficionado, then this is about as must-own as a set can get.
Here's the full track listing:
Disc One:
1. "Focus on Sanity"
2. "Chronology"
3. "Peace"
4. "Congeniality"
5. "Lonely Woman"
6. "Monk and the Nun"
7. "Just for You"
8. "Eventually"
9. "Una Muy Bonita"
10. "Bird Food"
11. "Change of the Century" 12. "Music Always"
Disc Two:
1. "The Face of the Bass"
2. "Forerunner"
3. "Free"
4. "The Circle with a Hole in the Middle"
5. "Ramblin'"
6. "Little Symphony"
7. "The Tribes of New York"
8. "Kaleidoscope"
9. "Rise and Shine"
10. "Mr. and Mrs. People"
11. "Blues Connotation" 12. "I Heard It Over the Radio"
Disc Three:
1. "P.S. Unless One Has (Blues Connotation No. 2)"
2. "Revolving Doors"
3. "Brings Goodness"
4. "Joy of A Toy"
5. "To Us"
6. "Humpty Dumpty"
7. "The Fifth of Beethoven"
8. "Motive for Its Use"
9. "Moon Inhabitants"
10. "The Legend of Bebop"
11. "Some Other" 12. ""Embraceable You"" 13. "All"
Disc Four:
1. "Folk Tale"
2. "Poise"
3. "Beauty Is A Rare Thing"
4. "First Take" 5. "Free Jazz"
Disc Five:
1. "Proof Readers"
2. "W.R.U."
3. "Check Up"
4. "T & T"
5. "C & D"
6. "R.P.D.D."
7. "The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro"
Disc Six:
1. "EOS"
2. "Enfant"
3. "Ecars"
4. "Cross Breeding"
5. "Harlem's Manhattan"
6. "Mapa"