Bellarosa is a jazz composition co written by Elmo Hope and Sonny Rollins. It was first recorded on June 9, 1953 during a Lou Donaldson Clifford Brown session at WOR Studios, with Lou Donaldson on alto, Clifford Brown on trumpet, Elmo Hope on piano, Percy Heath on bass, and Philly Joe Jones on drums. A second session on August 28, 1953 at Audio-Video Studios featured John Lewis, Gigi Gryce, Charlie Rouse, Percy Heath, and Art Blakey. The tune appears on the New Faces New Sounds 10-inch LP released in 1953 and later on the Memorial Album released by Blue Note in 1956. The piece is played at a gentle walking tempo and features II-V chord progressions, with Clifford Brown delivering one of his first recorded solos. The composition is in the jazz genre with swing and bebop influences, and its title is said to reference Rosemary, a friend of Elmo Hope, according to Sonny Rollins and Bertha Hope. The track is commonly listed in the key of E flat.
