| Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West | ||||
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| Live album by | ||||
| Released | 1973 | |||
| Recorded | April 10, 1970 | |||
| Venue | Fillmore West San Francisco | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 79:20 | |||
| Label | CBS/Sony | |||
| Producer | Teo Macero | |||
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| Miles Davis live chronology | ||||
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Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West is a live double album by the American jazz trumpeter, composer, and bandleader Miles Davis. It was recorded on April 10, 1970, at the Fillmore West in San Francisco, shortly after the release of the trumpeter's Bitches Brew album and the recording of Jack Johnson (1971). Black Beauty was produced by Teo Macero, Davis' longtime record producer. A jazz-rock and fusion[1] album, Black Beauty captured one of Davis' first performances at a rock venue during the early stages of his electric period. At the concert, he led his band—saxophonist Steve Grossman, bassist Dave Holland, keyboardist Chick Corea, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira—through one continuously performed set list which functioned as a musical suite for soloists to improvise throughout. He signaled changes from one piece to the next with phrases played on his trumpet.
Black Beauty was first released only in Japan by CBS/Sony in 1973 without individual songs specified in the track listing. Columbia Records, Davis' American record label, had difficulty identifying the compositions for royalty purposes, and the album was not released in the United States until 1997. Critics were generally positive toward Black Beauty, although some were critical of its sound quality and Grossman's solos; Corea said the recording was an accurate document how that particular band of Davis' played live.