01	Directions						10:46
	02	Miles Runs The Voodoo Down						12:22
	03	Willie Nelson						06:22
	04	I Fall In Love Too Easily						01:34
	05	Sanctuary						04:00
	06	It's About That Time						10:01
	07	Bitches Brew						12:52
	08	Masqualero						09:07
	09	Spanish Key / Theme						12:15

Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West
Artist Miles Davis
Album Title Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West
Date of Release Apr 10, 1970 (release) inprint
AMG Rating
Genre Jazz
Tones Volatile, Nocturnal, Sophisticated, Intimate, Passionate, Ethereal, Uncompromising
Styles Fusion, Jazz-Rock
Type live
Time 79:20
Library View Click here to see this album in MARC format
Product Purchase Click here to buy this album
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A month after losing Wayne Shorter to the beginnings of Weather Report, Miles Davis added young saxophonist Steve Grossman to the fold that included drummer Jack DeJohnette, bassist Dave Holland, electric pianist Chick Corea, and percussionist Airto Moreira. Just in time, too, since Bitches Brew had just been released. What is most interesting about this performance is how abstract it is, even by the standards exacted on In a Silent Way and Bitches Brew. Opening with Joe Zawinul's "Directions," with a small three-note vamp, Davis creates a spaciousness for Grossman to hit the stratosphere and for both Holland and DeJohnette to literally fall freely as a rhythm section as long as they could find a groove. The band seems to open too far; they can't seem to find each other in the maelstrom. Davis lays out, watching it all, directing from the sidelines. On "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down," since there is a discernible though minimal melody and groove, the band brings it in tighter, focusing on Davis smattering blues notes and Corea's distorted chord voicings. This is where the band hits their stride, and keeps it through "Willie Nelson" and the Sammy Cahn tune, an odd choice for this part of the program, "I Fall in Love Too Easily." From the opening of "Sanctuary" through "It's About That Time," "Bitches Brew," "Masqualero," and "Spanish Key/The Theme," the music become a kind of suite that doesn't really stop. It may pause in spots, but it loops through modal figures before disintegrating completely. There is no harmony to speak of and melody has become an extinct concept. What matters most is the nuance of groove and rhythm, and Davis found both in this band, though Grossman's playing is too busy and too green; he plays everything he knows in every solo. It's a small complaint, as this is an exciting document of a band trying to come to grips with the power of a music they don't even fully understand yet. — Thom Jurek

1. Directions (Zawinul) - 10:46
2. Miles Runs the Voodoo Down (Davis) - 12:22
3. Willie Nelson (Davis) - 6:23
4. I Fall in Love Too Easily (Cahn/Styne) - 1:35
5. Sanctuary (Shorter) - 4:01
6. It's About That Time (Davis) - 9:59
7. Bitches Brew (Davis) - 12:53
8. Masqualero (Shorter) - 9:07
9. Spanish Key/The Theme (Davis) - 12:14


Billy Cobham: Crosswinds
Art Blakey: Anthenagin
Karl Berger: We Are You
Clora Bryant: Gal With a Horn: Clora Bryant / 4
John Coltrane: Best of John Coltrane [Atlantic]
Toshiko Akiyoshi: Road Time
Chick Corea & Return to Forever: Light as a Feather
Back Door: 8th Street Nites
Gato Barbieri: Chapter 3: Viva Emiliano Zapata
Anthony Braxton: In the Tradition, Vol. 1

Bob Belden - Producer
Miles Davis - Trumpet
Jack DeJohnette - Drums
Dave Holland - Bass, Bass (Electric)
Steve Grossman - Sax (Soprano)
Steven Berkowitz - Reissue Series
Airto Moreira - Percussion
Chick Corea - Piano (Electric), Liner Notes
Kevin Gore - Reissue Series
Teo Macero - Producer
Tom "Curly" Ruff - Digital Mastering
Hope Chasin - Packaging Manager
Seth Rothstein - Director, Project Director
Cozbi Sanchez-Cabrera - Art Direction, Reissue Art Director
Tadayuki Naitoh - Photography, Cover Photo
Teruhisa Tajima - Cover Design
Sandy Speiser - Liner Notes, Photography
Randall Martin - Reissue Design
Rene Arsenault - Associate Producer, Production Assistant
Seth Foster - Engineer
Shuichi Yoshida - Cover Design

z Columbia 5717
2001 SCD Columbia/Legacy 65138
1997 CD Columbia/Legacy 65138
1994 CD Tristar 80864
1974 LP Columbia/Legacy ?