The Art of the Improvisers

Studio album by

Ornette Coleman

Released

November 2, 1970

Recorded

May 22 and October 9, 1959
July 26, 1960
January 31 and March 27, 1961

Genre

Jazz

Length

45:18

Label

Atlantic 1572

Producer

Nesuhi Ertegun

Ornette Coleman chronology

Crisis
(1969)

The Art of the Improvisers
(1970)

Twins
(1971)

The Art of the Improvisers is an album credited to jazz composer and saxophonist Ornette Coleman, released by Atlantic Records in 1970.^[1] The album was assembled without Coleman's input, comprising outtakes from recording sessions of 1959 to 1961 for The Shape of Jazz to Come, Change of the Century, This Is Our Music, Ornette!, and Ornette on Tenor.^[2] Recording sessions in 1959 took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California; those in 1960 and 1961 at Atlantic Studios in New York City.

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Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[3]
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings	^[4]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[1]

Thom Jurek, writing in AllMusic, characterized the album as "basically one of Coleman's most uptempo records for Atlantic, but also one of his most soulful. It deserves serious re-evaluation".^[3]

Track listing

All compositions by Ornette Coleman.

Side one

No.	Title	Date	Length
1.	"The Circle with a Hole in the Middle"	October 9, 1959	4:54
2.	"Just for You"	May 22, 1959	3:53
3.	"The Fifth of Beethoven"	July 26, 1960	6:39
4.	"The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro"	January 31, 1961	9:52

Side two

No.	Title	Date	Length
1.	"Moon Inhabitants"	July 26, 1960	4:33
2.	"The Legend of Bebop"	July 26, 1960	7:18
3.	"Harlem's Manhattan"	March 27, 1961	8:09

Personnel

Ornette Coleman — alto saxophone; tenor saxophone on "Harlem's Manhattan"
Don Cherry — pocket trumpet; cornet on "Just for You"
Charlie Haden — bass on 1959 and 1960 tracks
Scott LaFaro — bass on "The Alchemy of Scott LaFaro"
Jimmy Garrison — bass on "Harlem's Manhattan"
Billy Higgins — drums on 1959 tracks
Ed Blackwell — drums on 1960 and 1961 tracks

References

^ ^a ^b The Rolling Stone Album Guide. Random House. 1992. p. 152.
^ Ornette Coleman discography accessed November 28, 2011
^ ^a ^b Jurek, T. AllMusic Review accessed November 28, 2011
^ Cook, Richard; Morton, Brian (2008). The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings (9th ed.). Penguin. p. 274. ISBN 978-0-141-03401-0.

v t e Ornette Coleman
Discography
Studio albums	Something Else!!!! (1958) Tomorrow Is the Question! (1959) The Shape of Jazz to Come (1959) Change of the Century (1960) This Is Our Music (1961) Free Jazz (1961) Ornette! (1962) Ornette on Tenor (1962) Chappaqua Suite (1965) The Empty Foxhole (1966) New York Is Now! (1968) Love Call (1968) Science Fiction (1971) Skies of America (1972) Dancing in Your Head (1976) Body Meta (1976) Soapsuds, Soapsuds (1977) Of Human Feelings (1982) Song X (1986) In All Languages (1987) Virgin Beauty (1988) Tone Dialing (1995) Sound Museum: Hidden Man (1996) Sound Museum: Three Women (1996)
Compilation albums	The Art of the Improvisers (1970) Twins (1971) To Whom Who Keeps a Record (1975) Broken Shadows (1982) Beauty Is a Rare Thing (1995)
Live albums	Town Hall, 1962 (1965) At the "Golden Circle" Vol. 1 & 2 (1966) Ornette at 12 (1968) Crisis (1969) Friends and Neighbors: Live at Prince Street (1970) The Belgrade Concert (1971) Opening the Caravan of Dreams (1985) Prime Design/Time Design (1986) Colors: Live from Leipzig (1997) Sound Grammar (2006)
Related articles	Jayne Cortez (ex-wife) Denardo Coleman (son) Prime Time "Broadway Blues" (composition) "Lonely Woman" (composition)

This page was last edited on 6 November 2023, at 15:36