Beauty and the Beast is an instrumental jazz composition by Wayne Shorter, who is credited as its sole writer. It was recorded at The Village Recorder in Los Angeles on 12 September 1974 and released in January 1975 as the second track of the album Native Dancer by Wayne Shorter featuring Milton Nascimento, issued on Columbia Records and produced by Jim Price. Shorter plays soprano saxophone on the track, with Jay Graydon on bass, Robertinho Silva on drums and Airto Moreira on percussion. The album blends jazz, rock, funk and Brazilian rhythms, and the track runs about five minutes. The album received favourable reviews from critics, and the composition has since been recorded by other musicians, including Raul de Souza, Jim Mullen, Tim Whitehead and Antonio Adolfo. Lyrical versions by Mark Murphy and Janice Borla also exist.
