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.
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Focus on SanityOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:48 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 2 | ChronologyOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:04 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 3 | PeaceOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 09:04 | 20 MB | 0 MB |
| 4 | CongenialityOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:46 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 5 | Lonely WomanOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 22:12 | 50 MB | 0 MB |
| 6 | Monk and the NunOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:57 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 7 | Just for YouOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:13 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 8 | EventuallyOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:21 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 9 | Una Muy BonitaOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:00 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 10 | Bird FoodOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:29 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 11 | Change of the CenturyOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:43 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 12 | Music AlwaysOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:31 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 13 | The Face of the BassOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:57 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 14 | ForerunnerOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:15 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 15 | FreeOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:22 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 16 | The Circle With a Hole in the MiddleOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:54 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 17 | Ramblin'Ornette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:36 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 18 | Little SymphonyOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:14 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 19 | The Tribes of New YorkOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:34 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 20 | KaleidoscopeOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:34 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 21 | Rise and ShineOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:10 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 22 | Mr. and Mrs. PeopleOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:42 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 23 | I Heard It Over the RadioOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:23 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 24 | P.S. Unless One Has (Blues Connotation No. 2)Ornette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:55 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 25 | Revolving DoorsOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:28 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 26 | Brings GoodnessOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:39 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 27 | Joy of a ToyOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:56 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 28 | To UsOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:36 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 29 | Humpty DumptyOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:21 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 30 | The Fifth of BeethovenOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:37 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 31 | Motive for Its UseOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:41 | 13 MB | 0 MB |
| 32 | Moon InhabitantsOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:35 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 33 | The Legend of BebopOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 07:17 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 34 | Some OtherOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 07:23 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 35 | Embraceable YouGeorge Gershwin, Ira Gershwin | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:52 | 11 MB | 0 MB |
| 36 | AllOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:32 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 37 | Folk TaleOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:45 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 38 | PoiseOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 39 | Beauty Is a Rare ThingOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 07:11 | 16 MB | 0 MB |
| 40 | Proof ReadersOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 10:25 | 23 MB | 0 MB |
| 41 | W.R.U.Ornette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 16:27 | 37 MB | 0 MB |
| 42 | Check UpOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 10:08 | 23 MB | 0 MB |
| 43 | T. & T.Ornette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 0 MB |
| 44 | C. & D.Ornette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 13:12 | 30 MB | 0 MB |
| 45 | R.P.D.D.Ornette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 09:40 | 22 MB | 0 MB |
| 46 | The Alchemy of Scott LafaroOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 09:49 | 22 MB | 0 MB |
| 47 | EosOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:35 | 15 MB | 0 MB |
| 48 | EnfantOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 06:26 | 14 MB | 0 MB |
| 49 | EcarsOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 07:35 | 17 MB | 0 MB |
| 50 | Cross BreedingOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 11:17 | 25 MB | 0 MB |
| 51 | Harlem's ManhattanOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 08:11 | 18 MB | 0 MB |
| 52 | MapaOrnette Coleman | Ornette Coleman | Play | 09:06 | 20 MB | 0 MB |
| 53 | AbstractionGunther Schuller | Ornette Coleman | Play | 04:10 | 9 MB | 0 MB |
| 54 | P.S. Unless One Has (Blues Connotation) | Ornette Coleman | Play | 05:17 | 12 MB | 0 MB |
| 55 | Variants on a Theme of Thelonious Monk (Criss-Cross) | Ornette Coleman | Play | 15:22 | 35 MB | 0 MB |
| 389 mins | 890 MB | |||||
| 0 mins | 0 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ray Avery | Photography |
| 2 | Yves Beauvais | Liner Notes |
| 3 | Ed Blackwell | Drums |
| 4 | Alvin Brehm | Bass |
| 5 | Don Cherry | Cornet, Liner Notes, Trumpet, Trumpet (Pocket) |
| 6 | William Claxton | Photography |
| 7 | Ornette Coleman | Composer, Liner Notes, Primary Artist, Sax (Alto), Sax (Tenor) |
| 8 | Eddie Costa | Vibraphone |
| 9 | Robert DiDomenica | Flute |
| 10 | Eric Dolphy | Clarinet (Bass), Flute, Sax (Alto) |
| 11 | Joel Dorn | Photography |
| 12 | Tom Dowd | Engineer |
| 13 | George Duvivier | Bass |
| 14 | Nesuhi Ertegun | Producer |
| 15 | Bill Evans | Piano |
| 16 | Sticks Evans | Drums |
| 17 | Geoff Gans | Art Direction |
| 18 | Jimmy Garrison | Bass |
| 19 | George Gershwin | Composer |
| 20 | Ira Gershwin | Composer |
| 21 | Danny Goldberg | Photography |
| 22 | Charlie Haden | Bass, Liner Notes |
| 23 | Jim Hall | Guitar |
| 24 | Billy Higgins | Drums |
| 25 | Freddie Hubbard | Trumpet |
| 26 | Stephen Innocenzi | Remastering |
| 27 | Michael Kull | Photography |
| 28 | Scott LaFaro | Bass |
| 29 | Mel Lewinter | Photography |
| 30 | John Lewis | Producer |
| 31 | Charles Libove | Violin |
| 32 | Peter Lopez | Photography |
| 33 | Michael Mazzarella | Research |
| 34 | Patrick Milligan | Photography |
| 35 | Michael Ochs | Photography |
| 36 | Robert Palmer | Liner Notes, Photography |
| 37 | Bob Parent | Photography |
| 38 | Brigid Pearson | Design |
| 39 | Gary Peterson | Photography |
| 40 | Gunther Schuller | Arranger, Composer, Conductor |
| 41 | Brian Schuman | Photography |
| 42 | Herb Snitzer | Photography |
| 43 | Gary Stewart | Photography |
| 44 | Joe Tekula | Cello |
| 45 | Harry Zaratzian | Viola |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |