The Art of the Improvisers

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. 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. Recording sessions in 1959 took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California; those in 1960 and 1961 at Atlantic Studios in New York City.

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic
The Penguin Guide to Jazz Recordings
The Rolling Stone Album Guide

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".

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