Black Beauty: Miles Davis At Fillmore West CD

Personnel: Miles Davis (trumpet); Steve Grossman (soprano saxophone); Chick Corea (electric piano); Dave Holland (electric bass); Jack DeJohnette (drums); Airto Moreira (percussion).
Recorded live at the Fillmore West, San Francisco, California on April 10, 1970. Includes liner notes by Chick Corea.
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
BLACK BEAUTY is the initial live document of Miles Davis' electric music built out of blues, free jazz, and post-modern musical thought. The mood is one of controlled chaos, with each soloist in top form, and group interplay at a near-ESP level. The tracks morph naturally into one another; with well-placed phrases from Miles cueing the players' transitions.
The mercurial groove of "Directions," with Steve Grossman's wailing soprano, disintegrates into Stockhausenesque electronic static waves before unloading into the thick blues throttle of "Miles Runs The Voodoo Down." A trumpet solo on "I Fall in Love Too Easily" briefly slows the pace, but the rest is all forward motion. Dave Holland's rumbling bass and Jack DeJohnette's rolling backbeat power the group, while Airto Moreira furnishes exotic percussive colors. By the time Miles begins blasting trumpet runs at Chick Corea's electric piano on "Spanish Key," the worlds of jazz and improvisational rock have been united, undoubtedly leaving the audience feeling that they'd been struck by musical lightning.Spin (8/97, p.117) - "...features fine handoffs between Steve Grossman's squonking sax, Chick Corea's nastily distorted keyboards and Miles' milky, yearning, sometimes angry trumpet..."
Entertainment Weekly (8/01/97, p.75) - "...With his inimitable trumpeting--by turns melancholy, pungent, and lyrical--at the music's center, his electrified cohorts stretch the limits of jazz, rock, and funk..."
- Rating: A-
Down Beat (7/97, p.65) - 3 1/2 stars (out of 5) - "A gritty recording.... Steve Grossman's soprano is featured throughout, and the fascinating rhythm section of Jack DeJohnette on drums and Dave Holland...keeps the grooves honest and open..."
JazzTimes (10/97, p.87) - "...a volatile state of molten flux, expanding, shredding and spinning off...in an acrobatic display of without-a-net aplomb..."
Musician (8/97, p.87) - "...The ears-open interactivity of Davis' ensembles--that ability to engage in serious musical conversation while flying in the upper atmosphere--is enough to shame any current bebop-babbling jazz automaton..."