it takes a while to get into Ornette. I wasn't sure at first, but the rhythm section were so good I knew there was something worthwhile going on. The Atlantic label albums were out of print when I was first getting into jazz in the late 70's, so had to manage with the Live At The Golden Circle albums on Blue Note that were all I could find in the library and an unofficial live recording called 'The Unprecedented Music Of Ornette Coleman' which has one of the few live recordings of 'Lonely Woman'
I recently read something on Facebook that said that Ornette and David 'Fathead; Newman used to practice Charlie Parker tunes back in their early years in Forth Worth and learnt all the solos, but Ornette would also improvise on those tunes in the style that he's known for now.
The only recordings of him playing anything close to bebop are rather rough and were recorded when he was playing with Paul Bley at The Hillcrest in LA - Bley drily remarked that you could tell when they were playing because all the regulars were standing outside..