Dave Holland With Miles Davis When did Holland Meet Miles davis? In 1968, Miles Davis and Philly Joe Jones heard him at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, Did Miles Davis influence Hollands music? Holland's first recordings with Davis were in September 1968, and he appears on half of the album Filles de Kilimanjaro Did Davis tour with Holland? I don't know. What were the recorded Davis and Holland recorded together? he appears on the albums In a Silent Way and Bitches' Brew. All three of his studio recordings with Davis were important in the evolution of jazz fusion. Are there any other interesting aspects about this article? In the first year of his tenure with Davis, Holland played primarily upright bass. By the end of 1969, he played electric bass guitar ( Did Holland play wood instruments? I don't know. Did Miles Davis make a statement about Hollands music? Jones told Holland that Davis wanted him to join his band (replacing Ron Carter).
What band did Miles Davis want Holland to join?
What band did Miles Davis want Dave Holland to join?
In 1968, Miles Davis and Philly Joe Jones heard him at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, playing in a combo that opened for the Bill Evans Trio. Jones told Holland that Davis wanted him to join his band (replacing Ron Carter). Davis left the UK before Holland could contact him directly, and two weeks later Holland was given three days' notice to fly to New York for an engagement at Count Basie's nightclub. He arrived the night before, staying with Jack DeJohnette, a previous acquaintance. The following day Herbie Hancock took him to the club, and his two years with Davis began. This was also Hancock's last gig as Davis's pianist, as he left afterwards for a honeymoon in Brazil and was replaced by Chick Corea when he could not return for an engagement due to illness. Holland's first recordings with Davis were in September 1968, and he appears on half of the album Filles de Kilimanjaro (with Davis, Corea, Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams).  Holland was a member of Davis's rhythm section through the summer of 1970; he appears on the albums In a Silent Way and Bitches' Brew. All three of his studio recordings with Davis were important in the evolution of jazz fusion. In the first year of his tenure with Davis, Holland played primarily upright bass. By the end of 1969, he played electric bass guitar (often treated with wah-wah pedal and other electronic effects) with greater frequency as Davis moved away from acoustic jazz.  Holland was also a member of Davis's working group during this time, unlike many of the musicians who appeared only on the trumpeter's studio recordings. The so-called "lost quintet" of Davis, Shorter, Corea, Holland and DeJohnette was active in 1969 but never made any studio recordings as a quintet. A 1970 live recording of this group plus percussionist Airto Moreira, Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time, was issued in 2001. Steve Grossman replaced Shorter in early 1970; Keith Jarrett joined the group as a second keyboardist thereafter, and Gary Bartz replaced Grossman during the summer of 1970. By the end of the summer, rhythm and blues bass guitarist Michael Henderson had replaced Holland. CANNOTANSWER
Holland was a member of Davis's rhythm section through the summer of 1970;
Dave Holland (born 1 October 1946) is an English jazz double bassist, composer and bandleader who has been performing and recording for five decades. He has lived in the United States for over 40 years.

His work ranges from pieces for solo performance to big band. Holland runs his own independent record label, Dare2, which he launched in 2005.

Biography
Born in Wolverhampton, England, Holland taught himself how to play stringed instruments, beginning at four on the ukulele, then graduating to guitar and later bass guitar. He quit school at the age of 15 to pursue his profession in a pop band, but soon gravitated to jazz. After seeing an issue of Down Beat where Ray Brown had won the critics' poll for best bass player, Holland went to a record store, and bought a couple of LPs featuring Brown backing pianist Oscar Peterson. He also bought two Leroy Vinnegar albums (Leroy Walks! and Leroy Walks Again) because the bassist was posed with his instrument on the cover. Within a week, Holland traded in his bass guitar for a double bass and began practicing with the records. In addition to Brown and Vinnegar, Holland was drawn to the bassists Charles Mingus and Jimmy Garrison.

After moving to London in 1964, Holland played double bass in small venues and studied with James Edward Merrett, principal bassist of the Philharmonia Orchestra and, later, the BBC Symphony Orchestra. Merrett trained him to sight read and then recommended he apply to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Holland received a full-time scholarship for the three-year programme. At 20, Holland was keeping a busy schedule in school, studios and Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, London's premier jazz club, where he often played in bands that supported such touring American jazz saxophonists as Coleman Hawkins, Ben Webster and Joe Henderson. He also linked up with other British jazz musicians, including guitarist John McLaughlin, saxophonists Evan Parker and John Surman, South Africa-born London-based pianist Chris McGregor, and drummer John Stevens, and performed on the Spontaneous Music Ensemble's 1968 album Karyobin. He also began a working relationship with Canada-born, England-based trumpeter Kenny Wheeler that continued until Wheeler's death in 2014.

With Miles Davis
In 1968, Miles Davis and Philly Joe Jones heard him at Ronnie Scott's Jazz Club, playing in a combo that opened for the Bill Evans Trio. Jones told Holland that Davis wanted him to join his band (replacing Ron Carter). Davis left the UK before Holland could contact him directly, and two weeks later Holland was given three days' notice to fly to New York for an engagement at Count Basie's nightclub. He arrived the night before, staying with Jack DeJohnette, a previous acquaintance. The following day Herbie Hancock took him to the club, and his two years with Davis began. This was also Hancock's last gig as Davis's pianist, as he left afterwards for a honeymoon in Brazil and was replaced by Chick Corea when he could not return for an engagement due to illness. Holland's first recordings with Davis were in September 1968, and he appears on half of the album Filles de Kilimanjaro (with Davis, Corea, Wayne Shorter and Tony Williams).

Holland was a member of Davis's rhythm section through the summer of 1970; he appears on the albums In a Silent Way and Bitches' Brew.  In the first year of his tenure with Davis, Holland played primarily upright bass. By the end of 1969, he played electric bass guitar (often treated with wah-wah pedal and other electronic effects) with greater frequency as Davis moved away from acoustic jazz.

Holland was also a member of Davis's working group during this time, unlike many of the musicians who appeared only on the trumpeter's studio recordings. The so-called "lost quintet" of Davis, Shorter, Corea, Holland and DeJohnette was active in 1969 but never made any studio recordings as a quintet. A 1970 live recording of this group plus percussionist Airto Moreira, Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time, was issued in 2001. Steve Grossman replaced Shorter in early 1970; Keith Jarrett joined the group as a second keyboardist thereafter, and Gary Bartz replaced Grossman during the summer of 1970. By the end of the summer, rhythm and blues bass guitarist Michael Henderson had replaced Holland.

ECM and the 1970s
After leaving Davis's group, Holland briefly joined the avant-garde jazz group Circle, with Corea, Barry Altschul and reed player Anthony Braxton. This started a decades-long association with the ECM record label. After recording a few albums, Circle disbanded when Corea departed. 1972 saw the recording of Conference of the Birds, with Sam Rivers, Altschul and Braxton – Holland's first recording as a leader, and the beginning of a long musical relationship with Rivers. The title of the album is taken from that of a 4,500-line epic poem by Persian Sufist writer, Farid al-Din Attar.

Holland worked as a leader and as a sideman with many other jazz artists in the 1970s. On June 15, 1972 he played with Thelonious Monk at the Village Vanguard which was one of Monk's last concerts. Holland recorded several important albums with Anthony Braxton between 1972 and 1976 – including New York, Fall 1974 (1974) and Five Pieces (1975) – that were released on Arista Records.
Holland also recorded duo sessions with saxophonist Sam Rivers and fellow bassist Barre Phillips, and the solo bass album Emerald Tears. Also in the 1970s he appeared with performers including Stan Getz and the Gateway Trio with John Abercrombie and DeJohnette. The Gateway trio released two influential modern jazz albums in 1975 and 1977, and reformed in 1994 for a recording session which yielded another two albums. As a sideman, Holland appeared on rock and pop recordings as well, working with singer Bonnie Raitt on her 1972 album Give It Up.

The 1980s 
Holland formed his first working quintet in 1983, and over the next four years released Jumpin' In, Seeds of Time, and The Razor's Edge, featuring alto saxophonist Steve Coleman, trumpeter Wheeler and trombonist Julian Priester (or Robin Eubanks). Subsequently, he formed the Dave Holland Trio (with Coleman and DeJohnette) for the 1988 album Triplicate, and teamed with Coleman, electric guitarist Kevin Eubanks and drummer Marvin "Smitty" Smith for Extensions. He also recorded Life Cycle, an album of compositions played on solo cello.

The bassist also continued to collaborate with his peers, often connecting with figures from the previous generation of jazz icons. In 1989, Holland teamed with drummer Billy Higgins and pianist Hank Jones to record The Oracle, and joined drummer Roy Haynes and guitarist Pat Metheny in 1989 to record Question and Answer.

The 1990s and 2000s 
During the 1990s, Holland renewed an affiliation, begun in the 1970s, with Joe Henderson, joining the tenor saxophonist on So Near (So Far), a tribute to Miles Davis, and Porgy & Bess. Holland also reunited with vocalist Betty Carter, touring and recording the live album Feed the Fire (1993). Fellow Davis alumnus Herbie Hancock invited Holland to tour with him in 1992, subsequently recording The New Standard. Holland joined Hancock's band again in 1996. He was also part of the sessions for River: The Joni Letters, winner of the 2008 Grammy Award for Album of the Year.

As a leader, Holland formed his third quartet and released Dream of the Elders (1995), which introduced the vibraphonist Steve Nelson to his ensembles. Holland formed a quintet that includes tenor saxophonist Chris Potter, trombonist Robin Eubanks and, a more recent addition, drummer Nate Smith. Their recordings include Points of View, Prime Directive, Not for Nothin, Extended Play: Live at Birdland and Critical Mass. In addition to releasing four quintet albums on ECM, Holland debuted his Big Band, which released What Goes Around in 2002. The album won Holland his first Grammy as a leader, in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category. The second Big Band recording, Overtime (2005), again won the Grammy in the Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album category; it was released on Holland's Dare2 label, which he formed that year.

In 2009, Holland was a co-founder of an all-star group called the Overtone Quartet. The group consisted of Holland on bass, Chris Potter on tenor saxophone, Jason Moran on piano, and Eric Harland on drums. The group toured extensively throughout the United States and Europe.

Awards and honors
He won the Critics Poll in Down Beat magazine for Musician of the Year, Big Band of the Year, and Acoustic Bassist of the Year (he also garnered top bassist in the 2006 poll). The Jazz Journalists' Association honored him as Musician and Acoustic Bassist of the Year. He was the recipient of the Miles Davis Award at the Montreal Jazz Festival.

The National Endowment for the Arts named Holland as one of its five Jazz Masters Fellows in 2017; the award recognizes artists for their lifetime achievements and exceptional contributions toward the advancement of jazz.

Holland has received honorary doctorates from the New England Conservatory, Boston, where he held a full-time teaching position in 1987–88 and where he has been visiting artist in residence since 2005; Berklee College of Music, Boston; and the Birmingham Conservatoire, in England. He was also named Fellow of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama (London). From 1982 to 1989, Holland served as the artistic director of the Banff Summer Jazz Workshop through the Banff School of Fine Arts in Alberta, Canada. In addition, he has taught workshops and master classes around the world at universities and music schools and is President of the UK-based National Youth Jazz Collective.

Discography

As leader 
 Conference of the Birds (ECM, 1972)
 Emerald Tears (ECM, 1977) – solo bass
 Life Cycle (ECM, 1982) – solo cello
 Jumpin' In (ECM, 1983)
 Seeds of Time (ECM, 1984)
 The Razor's Edge (ECM, 1987)
 Triplicate (ECM, 1988)
 Extensions (ECM, 1990)
 Ones All (VeraBra, 1993) – solo bass
 Dream of the Elders (ECM, 1995) – quartet
 Points of View (ECM, 1998) – quintet
 Prime Directive (ECM, 1999) – quintet
 Not for Nothin' (ECM, 2001) – quintet
 What Goes Around (ECM, 2002) – with big band
 Extended Play: Live at Birdland (ECM, 2003) – quintet [2CD]
 Overtime (Dare2/Sunnyside, 2005) – with big band
 Critical Mass (Dare2/Sunnyside, 2006) – quintet
 Pass It On (Dare2/EmArcy/UMe, 2008) – sextet
 Pathways (Dare2, 2010) – octet
 Prism (Dare2, 2013) – quartet
 Aziza (Dare2, 2016) – quartet
 Uncharted Territories (Dare2, 2018) – quartet with Evan Parker
 Without Deception (Dare2, 2020)
 Another Land (Edition Records, 2021)

Compilation
Rarum, Vol. 10: Selected Recordings (ECM, 2004)

As co-leader 
 with John McLaughlin, John Surman, Stu Martin and Karl Berger – Where Fortune Smiles (Dawn, 1971)
 with Chick Corea and Barry Altschul – ARC (ECM, 1971)
 with Derek Bailey – Improvisations for Cello and Guitar (ECM, 1971)
 with Barre Phillips – Music from Two Basses (ECM, 1971)
 Dave Holland / Sam Rivers (Improvising Artists, 1976)
 Sam Rivers / Dave Holland Vol. 2 (Improvising Artists, 1976)
 Norman Blake/Tut Taylor/Sam Bush/Butch Robins/Vassar Clements/David Holland/Jethro Burns (HDS, 1975)
 with Karl Berger – All Kinds of Time (Sackville, 1976)
 with Evan Parker, Paul Rutherford and Paul Lovens – The Ericle of Dolphi [recorded 1976 and 1986] (Po Torch, 1989)
 Vassar Clements, John Hartford, Dave Holland (Rounder, 1985)
 with Hank Jones and Billy Higgins – The Oracle (EmArcy, 1990)
 with Steve Coleman – Phase Space (Rebel-X/DIW, 1991)
 with Gordon Beck, Jack DeJohnette and Didier Lockwood – For Evans Sake (JMS, 1992)
 with Mino Cinelu and Kevin Eubanks – World Trio (Intuition, 1995)
 ScoLoHoFo (John Scofield, Joe Lovano, Dave Holland and Al Foster) – Oh! (Blue Note, 2003)
 with Gonzalo Rubalcaba, Chris Potter and Eric Harland – The Monterey Quartet: Live at the 2007 Monterey Festival (Monterey Jazz Festival, 2009)
 with Pepe Habichuela – Hands (Dare2, 2010)
 with Sam Rivers and Barry Altschul – Reunion: Live in New York (Pi, 2012)
 with Kenny Barron – The Art of Conversation (Impulse!, 2014)
 with Zakir Hussain and Chris Potter - Good Hope (Edition Records, 2019)

As Gateway
With John Abercrombie and Jack DeJohnette
 Gateway (ECM, 1975)
 Gateway 2 (ECM, 1977)
 Homecoming (ECM, 1994)
 In the Moment (ECM, 1996)

As Circle 
With  Chick Corea and Barry Altschul
 Circling In (Blue Note, 1970)
 Circulus (Blue Note, 1970)
 Circle 1: Live in Germany Concert] (CBS/Sony Japan, 1970)
 Paris Concert (ECM, 1971)
 Circle 2: Gathering (CBS/Sony Japan, 1971)

As sideman 

With Karl Berger
 Tune In (Milestone, 1969)
 Transit (Black Saint, 1986)
 Crystal Fire (Enja, 1992)
 Conversations (In+Out, 1994)

With Anouar Brahem
 Thimar (ECM, 1998) – recorded in 1997
Blue Maqams (ECM, 2017)

With Anthony Braxton
The Complete Braxton (Freedom, 1973) – recorded in 1971
 Town Hall 1972 (Trio, 1972)
 Trio and Duet (Sackville, 1974)
 New York, Fall 1974 (Arista, 1974)
 Five Pieces 1975 (Arista, 1975)
Quartet: Live at Moers Festival (Ring, 1976) – recorded in 1974
 Creative Orchestra Music 1976 (Arista, 1976)
 The Montreux/Berlin Concerts (Arista, 1977) – recorded in 1975–76
 Dortmund (Quartet) 1976 (hatART, 1991)

With Steve Coleman
 Rhythm People (Novus/RCA, 1990)
 Black Science (Novus/RCA, 1991)
 Rhythm in Mind (Novus/RCA, 1991)

With Chick Corea
 Is (Groove Merchant, 1969)
 Sundance (Groove Merchant, 1969)
 The Song of Singing (Blue Note, 1970)

With Miles Davis
 Filles de Kilimanjaro (Columbia, 1968)
 In a Silent Way (Columbia, 1969)
 Bitches Brew (Columbia, 1969)
 Live at the Fillmore East, March 7, 1970: It's About That Time (Columbia, 1970)
 Miles Davis at Fillmore: Live at the Fillmore East (Columbia, 1970)
 Black Beauty: Live at the Fillmore West (Columbia, 1970)
 Live-Evil (Columbia, 1970)
 Big Fun (Columbia, 1969–1972)
 1969 Miles – Festival de Juan Pins (Columbia, 1993)
 Live in Europe 1969: The Bootleg Series Vol. 2 (Columbia/Legacy, 2013)
 Miles at the Fillmore - Miles Davis 1970: The Bootleg Series Vol. 3 (Columbia/Legacy, 2014)
 Miles Davis at Newport 1955-1975: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4 (Columbia/Legacy, 2015)

With Robin Eubanks
 Karma (JMT, 1991)
 Mental Images (JMT, 1994)

With Billy Hart
 Enchance (Horizon, 1977)
 Oshumare (Gramavision, 1985)

With Joe Henderson
 Black Is the Color (Milestone, 1972)
 Multiple (Milestone, 1973)
 So Near, So Far (Verve, 1993)
 Porgy & Bess (Verve, 1997)

With Eric Kloss
 To Hear Is to See! (Prestige, 1969)
 Consciousness! (Prestige, 1970)
 One, Two, Free (Muse, 1972)

With Dave Liebman
First Visit (Philips, 1973)
 Fire (Jazzline, 2018) – recorded in 2016

With Joe Lovano
 From the Soul (Blue Note, 1992)
 Trio Fascination: Edition One (Blue Note, 1997)

With Sam Rivers
 Sizzle (Impulse!, 1975)
 Waves (Tomato, 1978)
 Contrasts (ECM, 1981)

With Kenny Wheeler
 Gnu High (ECM, 1975)
 Deer Wan (ECM, 1977)
 Double, Double You (ECM, 1984)
 Flutter By, Butterfly (Soul Note, 1988)
 Music for Large & Small Ensembles (ECM, 1990)
 The Widow in the Window (ECM, 1990)
 Angel Song (ECM, 1997)
 What Now? (CAM Jazz, 2005)

With others
 Claudia Acuña, Rhythm of Life (Verve, 2002)
 George Adams, Sound Suggestions (ECM, 1979)
 Geri Allen, The Life of a Song (Telarc, 2004) (with Jack DeJohnette)
 Franco Ambrosetti, Tentets (Enja, 1985)
 Kenny Barron, Scratch (Enja, 1985)
 Terence Blanchard, Wandering Moon (Sony Classical, 2000)
 Paul Bley, Paul Bley & Scorpio (Milestone, 1973)
 Michael Brecker, Tales from the Hudson (Impulse!, 1996)
 Nick Brignola, Baritone Madness (Bee Hive, 1977) with Pepper Adams
 Gary Burton, Like Minds (Concord, 1998)
 Uri Caine, Toys (JMT, 1996)
 Betty Carter, Feed the Fire (Verve, 1993)
 James Carter, The Real Quiet Storm (Atlantic, 1995)
 Vassar Clements, Once In A While (Flying Fish, 1992)
 Joe Farrell, Joe Farrell Quartet (CTI, 1970)
 Bill Frisell, With Dave Holland and Elvin Jones (Nonesuch, 2001)
 Hal Galper, Inner Journey (Mainstream, 1973)
 Laszlo Gardony, The Legend of Tsumi (Antilles, 1989)
 Jim Hall, Jim Hall & Basses (Telarc, 2001)
 Herbie Hancock, The New Standard (Verve, 1996)
 River: The Joni Letters (Verve, 2006)
 Roy Haynes, Birds of a Feather: A Tribute to Charlie Parker (Dreyfus Jazz, 2001) – Grammy nominated
 Roland Hanna, Child of Gemini (MPS, 1971)
 Charles Lloyd, Voice in the Night (ECM, 1998)
 John Hartford, Morning Bugle (Warner Bros. 1972)
 Lee Konitz, Satori (Milestone, 1974)
 Pat Metheny, Question and Answer (Geffen, 1990) (with Roy Haynes)
 Chris Potter, Unspoken (Concord, 1997)
 Wayne Shorter, Moto Grosso Feio (Blue Note, 1970)
 Tomasz Stańko, Balladyna (ECM, 1976)
 Gary Thomas, While the Gate Is Open (JMT, 1990)
 Collin Walcott, Cloud Dance (ECM, 1975)
 Richard Teitelbaum, Muun Music Universe, Vol. 1: The Peace Church Concerts (CMC/India Navigation, 1974)

Filmography

Concert films
 1992 Renaud Le Van Kim: Miles Davis and Friends (Bravo)
 2000 DeJohnette, Hancock, Holland and Metheny Live in Concert
 2005 Dave Holland Quintet Live in Freiburg
 2008 Herbie Hancock & The New Standard Allstars in Japan (Jazz Door)
 2009 Dave Holland Quintet: Vortex
 2009 Dave Holland Quintet Live from the Zelt-Musik-Festival, Freiburg 1986

Featured in documentaries
 2001 Mike Dibb: The Miles Davis Story (Channel 4)
 2004 Murray Lerner: Miles Electric A Different Kind of Blue (Eagle Rock) about the Isle of Wight Festival 1970

References

External links

 Official website
 Dave Holland on ECM's official website, with reviews
 Dave Hollands ECM recordings on trovar.com
 Audio Interview with Dave Holland
 Review of the album Critical Mass from JazzChicago.net
 Dave Holland: Jazz at the Bass Level, Oregon Music News
 Dave Holland at All About Jazz
 Discography on Discogs

1946 births
Living people
Alumni of the Guildhall School of Music and Drama
Avant-garde jazz musicians
British jazz double-bassists
Male double-bassists
English jazz composers
Male jazz composers
English male composers
Grammy Award winners
Miles Davis
People from Wolverhampton
New England Conservatory alumni
New England Conservatory faculty
Big bands
ECM Records artists
Circle (jazz band) members
21st-century double-bassists
Spontaneous Music Ensemble members
Gateway (band) members
Sackville Records artists
Improvising Artists Records artists
Black Beauty: Miles Davis at Fillmore West is a live double album by 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 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.

Background 
Black Beauty was recorded in concert at the Fillmore West in San Francisco on April 10, 1970, when Davis performed as the opening act for the Grateful Dead. The performance took place soon after his studio album Bitches Brew had been released to stores, and he played some songs from the album. Davis led an ensemble that featured soprano saxophonist Steve Grossman, bassist Dave Holland, keyboardist Chick Corea, drummer Jack DeJohnette, and percussionist Airto Moreira. After the departure of saxophonist Wayne Shorter from the group earlier that year, Grossman was enlisted by Davis to participate in an April 7 recording session for his next album Jack Johnson (1971) before joining the live band.

The April 10 show was the second of four concerts Davis played at the Fillmore West that month and one of his first concerts in a rock venue, having performed at New York City's Fillmore East a month earlier. His change to rock venues, suggested by Columbia Records president Clive Davis, helped the label market Bitches Brew to the counterculture audience. According to Holland, the trumpeter's music around this time became well received by the rock audiences they encountered. "I heard quite recently from one of the [Grateful Dead's] ex-members that they were very nervous that they had to play up next to Miles", Holland said. "It was a time when people were not that worried about musical categories. And this was some pretty strong in-your-face music. People loved it." Davis said the Fillmore West shows were an "eye-opening experience" for him. While he became friendly with Grateful Dead frontman Jerry Garcia, who was a fan of Davis' music, there were several thousands of mostly young, white hippies who were generally unfamiliar with him, Davis recalled.

Composition and performance 

The songs in the band's set list were: "Directions", "Miles Runs the Voodoo Down", "Willie Nelson", "I Fall in Love Too Easily", "Sanctuary", "It's About That Time", "Bitches Brew", "Masqualero", "Spanish Key", and "The Theme". They were performed as one continuous and uninterrupted piece of music, a practice Davis had begun in 1967. He later explained in his autobiography that performing these kinds of long musical suites without breaks allowed more space for improvisations in concert.

Most of the band's improvisations on Black Beauty centered around vamps or themes Davis introduced and restated during the performance. According to Davis scholar Paul Tingen, the record is filled with "coded phrases" he played on his trumpet to signify a change from one composition to the next. "The music would be continuous so Miles wouldn't have to speak and announce things to the audience", DeJohnette recalled. "He'd just speak with his horn and just cue the numbers by stating the front part of the melody, and then we automatically knew, which was great, because he wanted it to be a seamless kind of thing." Holland, who played both acoustic and electric bass at the show, elaborated on the tradition of using such musical signals in jazz and their use in Davis' group:

According to Los Angeles Times critic Don Heckman, the resulting textures heard in Black Beautys music exhibited "an almost pointillistic quality, with bits and pieces of sounds darting in and out of the overall texture, and Davis' trumpet skimming through the mix". In Spin, Erik Davis highlighted Grossman's "squonking sax", Corea's "nastily distorted" keyboards, and Davis' "milky, yearning, sometimes angry" trumpet playing. Because they were playing around a preceding vamp or theme when Davis signaled the next, Tingen said the musical shifts heard on the record had the effect of post-production crossfades, similar to those used by producer Teo Macero on the studio recordings In a Silent Way (1969), Bitches Brew, and Jack Johnson. Macero claimed Davis conceived his onstage approach from him: "It was because of me, because we always overlapped sections in our edits."

Some of the songs, including "I Fall in Love Too Easily", "Masqualero", and "The Theme", were from Davis' 1950s and 1960s repertoire. "The Theme" was originally recorded in 1955 by his first great quintet and was used to close most of his concerts from the late 1950s to 1970, after which he began to favor "Sanctuary" as a closing number. "Masqualero" was performed in a similar rock-influenced fashion as the newer material, with DeJohnette and Holland carrying aggressive vamps and Corea playing distorted riffs on his electric piano. John Szwed believed the music paid homage to Davis' past, "respecting space, solos, form, and fixed rhythms, though there are also hints throughout that [the band] will soon find some other way to organize this music to play it live." In Corea's opinion, the record was an accurate document of how this particular band of Davis' played in concert.

Release and reception 
Black Beauty was originally released only in Japan in 1973. It contained four side-long tracks spread across a double album, grouping the songs as medleys titled "Black Beauty Part I", "Black Beauty Part II", and so on, all of which credited Davis as the composer. He did not want the actual segments specified on the track listing out of a distaste for critics and listeners who arduously analyzed his music; according to DeJohnette's wife Lydia, "Miles really felt that critics and people spent too much time in their mental mind, analyzing and talking for hours about something that really just is." Columbia spent several years identifying some of the individual compositions to ensure royalty payment for the actual composers. The Japanese release also mistakenly credited Michael Henderson—Davis' other bassist during this period—rather than Holland in the liner notes.

The record was only available in the United States as an import until 1997, when it was remastered on CD in 20-bit resolution and released by Legacy Recordings as a limited edition digipak. Robert Christgau reviewed the reissue that year in The Village Voice:

Davis biographer Jack Chambers was more critical, finding the sound quality and Grossman's performance poor, especially on the first disc, where he indulged in a "nervous downpour of notes that is narrow in range and unimaginative". In general, Chambers complained that the concert's largely improvised format was risky and inauspicious: "It can inspire creative bridges and emotive playing melded into a spontaneous suite or degenerate into a babble of voices bogged down in search of the musical means to get from one theme to the next." In Tingen's opinion, the quality of the mix was "substandard" and Grossman's solos sounded "nervous and shrill", but he still recommended Black Beauty as "a powerful document of an exciting phase in Miles's electric explorations, when the direction of his live performances was catching up with his studio explorations". Writing for Down Beat, John Corbett found the recording "gritty" but the grooves free and pure-sounding. Sputnikmusic's Hernan M. Campbell was more enthusiastic, deeming it "the perfect live album for not just any fan of Miles Davis, but jazz fans in general".

Track listing 
All compositions were credited to Miles Davis, except where noted.

1973 double LP

Personnel
Credits are adapted from the album's liner notes.

Musicians 
Chick Corea – electric piano
Miles Davis – trumpet
Jack DeJohnette – drums
Steve Grossman – saxophone
Dave Holland – bass
Airto Moreira – percussion

Production 
 Bob Belden – reissue production
 Steve Berkowitz – reissue coordination
 Hope Chasin – art direction
 Chick Corea –  reissue liner notes
 Kevin Gore – reissue coordination
 Teo Macero – production
 Randall Martin – reissue design
 Tadayuki Naitoh – front cover photo
 Seth Rothstein  – reissue executive production
 Tom Ruff – reissue mastering
 Cozbi Sanchez-Cabera – reissue art direction
 Sandy Speiser – liner photos
 Teruhisa Tajima – cover design
 Shuichi Yoshida – cover design

See also 

 1970s in jazz
 Agharta (album)

References

Bibliography

Further reading

External links 
 
 
 

1973 live albums
Albums produced by Teo Macero
Columbia Records albums
Albums recorded at the Fillmore
Live jazz fusion albums
Grateful Dead
Miles Davis live albums
Sony Music Entertainment Japan albums Randy Hall is an American singer, guitarist, and record producer who collaborated with Miles Davis during the 1980s. Hall helped Davis arrange The Man with the Horn, and its title track featured lead vocals by Hall, who also played guitar, synthesizer and celesta on the track.

Career

Early career
Randy Hall grew up in Chicago. His first instrument was the piano, but at the age of 13 he switched to guitar, taking lessons from British jazz guitarist Peter Budd. Despite Budd's best efforts, Hall adopted a playing technique similar to Wes Montgomery, whereby the thumb is used as a pick. Hall can play fast and explosively, as in the opening number "One Phone Call/Street Scenes" on the ESP 2 DVD A Tribute to Miles.

Hall met Miles's nephew (and future drummer) Vince Wilburn Jr in kindergarten and the two became lifelong friends. Wilburn's mother Dorothy, was Miles's sister. The two friends started playing together and at the age of 16 joined a local band called Time, Space and Distance.

That soon gained them a reputation around Chicago and they did session work for local groups, including the Dells. When Hall and Wilburn were around 17 years old, Pete Cosey, who had played in Miles's band from 1973 to 1975, began giving them lessons. They did gigs with him, festivals, and other events. Pete played bass and Randy played guitar. In 1975, Hall went to study music at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. When Hall returned to Chicago, he joined a new band called Data, which included Wilburn, bassist Richard Patterson, keyboardist Robert Irving III, and saxophonist Glenn Burris. All of these musicians later worked with Miles Davis, with Patterson becoming the last bassist in a Miles Davis band and the others working on Davis' comeback album The Man with the Horn. Irving and Wilburn also joined Davis' band in the 1980s.

Hall, Irving and Wilburn performed with other local musicians, including bassist Darryl Jones (who joined Miles's band in 1983) and guitarist Jean-Paul Bourelly, who played on the Amandla album. In 1979, Data disbanded and a new band was formed, AL7, which included Hall, Wilburn, Irving, Burris, bassist Felton Crews (who also joined Miles's band) and Hall's sister Saundra, a vocalist.

AL7 performed part-time, their main preoccupation being rehearsing and writing material. They also worked with arranger Tom Washington (known as Tom Tom 84), who was connected with another local band, Earth, Wind & Fire. Tom Tom 84 recorded several demos with AL7, including a track called "Space," which had been written by Robert Irving III.

Collaboration with Miles Davis
Miles Davis's record label, Columbia Records, flew four of the AL7 band members - Hall, Wilburn, Crews, and Irving - from Chicago to New York City, booked them iton a top-flight hotel and arranged recording sessions. Glenn Burris later joined the four and although he was at many of the sessions, he did not play. Instead, the four Chicago musicians were joined by a young saxophonist Bill Evans, who had been recommended to Miles by ex-band member Dave Liebman.

The musicians worked on the music at Miles's house most days and in the studio and recorded more than a dozen tracks, although Davis did not play on any of them at that stage. One of them was "Shout," a disco-funk track written by Hall, Irving, and Burris. Another was "The Man with the Horn," a tribute ballad to Miles written by Hall and Irving, which became the title track for Davis's comeback album. Randy Hall also played guitar, synthesiser and celeste on the track.

The release of The Man with the Horn gave Hall a lot of exposure and as a result of his singing on the title track, he was invited to join the soul/funk band Pleasure. Occasionally, Hall was asked by Miles Davis to compose some songs.

Post-Miles Davis
After leaving Pleasure, Hall carved out a successful career as an artist/producer and in 1984, he released a solo album, I Belong to You, produced by Ray Parker, Jr. (of Raydio and "Ghostbusters" fame). The album included contributions from Irving, Wilburn, Crews and Burris. In 1985, Hall was in Ray Parker Jr's studio (Ameraycan) in Los Angeles, recording a follow-up solo album, Love You Like A Stranger. Once again, Crews and Irving were involved in the sessions. Meanwhile, Miles had left Columbia Records after almost thirty years and signed with Warner Bros. Records, with Warner's head of jazz Tommy LiPuma given the responsibility of handling Miles's musical development. During the initial stages, LiPuma was happy for Miles to choose his own musical direction. Miles decided that he wanted Hall to produce his first album for Warner Bros.

Hall decided to work with a number of people from the Love You Like A Stranger sessions on the new Miles Davis album. One of these people was Atalla Zane Giles, who had played guitar, keyboards, bass and sang on the album. Giles was asked to compose, arrange and produce the new album with Hall. Engineer Reggie Dozier was asked to join the project, as were keyboardist Adam Holzman (who later joined Davis's band), bassist Cornelius Mims, percussionist Steve Reid, Burris and Wilburn. More than a dozen tunes were recorded during the sessions, which took place between October 1985 and January 1986, and the plan was to release an album called Rubberband. One of the tracks was called "Give It Up," the same name as a hit tune for Pleasure. The Rubberband material was not released until 2019.

Davis later worked work with Marcus Miller to record Tutu. Davis's performances from a couple of the Rubberband sessions were used to create new tracks on the Doo-Bop album. Two tunes from the Rubberband sessions were due to appear on a retrospective set called The Last Word, but were ultimately not included.

In more recent years Hall has been working with Elliott Small. Hall produced, wrote the music, and played piano and guitar on Small's album This Season's Collection. Hall also wrote the lyrics for two songs on the album: "Share Your Love" and "Delightful".

Hall currently lives in Las Vegas, where he has a production studio, and he performs locally, nationally, and internationally.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

External links
 Album and Singles Discography at Discogs.
 Facebook Profile

Living people
African-American songwriters
American jazz composers
American male jazz composers
Songwriters from Illinois
Columbia Records artists
Jazz musicians from Illinois
Berklee College of Music alumni
American music arrangers
Year of birth missing (living people)
21st-century African-American people
American male songwriters