During the last year of his life, Jimi Hendrix was allegedly under pressure to be more black -- that is, perform with black musicians and appeal to black fans. The guitarist's monumental psychedelic rock work with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell as the Jimi Hendrix Experience and their enormous popularity with white audiences did...

During the last year of his life, Jimi Hendrix was allegedly under pressure to be more black -- that is, perform with black musicians and appeal to black fans. The guitarist's monumental psychedelic rock work with bassist Noel Redding and drummer Mitch Mitchell as the Jimi Hendrix Experience and their enormous popularity with white audiences didn't satisfy these outside forces. He embraced bassist/vocalist Billy Cox and drummer/vocalist Buddy Miles and the three black musicians formed Band of Gypsys. Business pressures also gnawed at Hendrix, and Band of Gypsys was formed largely to record a live album for Capitol to fulfill a contractual obligation. The trio performed four concerts at The Fillmore East in New York on December 31, 1969, and January 1, 1970. Highlights of these historic performances as well as intriguing interviews are found on the 1999 documentary DVD Band of Gypsys. Hendrix, Cox, and Miles were miraculously captured on black-and-white videotape -- an unreliable format in its infancy. This rare, fuzzy-looking footage nonetheless is extraordinary in its power, particularly the primal epic "Machine Gun." Musically, Band of Gypsys did rely on soul, R&B, and funk, and this portion of Hendrix's legacy is arguably underappreciated by nearly all but the most rabid devotees. It's no surprise that Hendrix could easily and comfortably settle into these styles since he apprenticed on the chitlin circuit as a bandmember for acts like the Isley Brothers and Little Richard. Among those offering their comments on this DVD -- besides Hendrix's bandmates -- are engineer Eddie Kramer, Guns N' Roses' Slash, Lenny Kravitz, Living Colour's Vernon Reid, and Soul Train host Don Cornelius. The expanded DVD version of Band of Gypsys differs from VHS in that one of several special features lets the viewer watch the concert footage only, without interview interruption. ~ Bret Adams, All Music Guide