Carlos Santana is known for his long, drawn-out solos that soar into the highest registers of the guitar. But it would be reductive to say that Carlos Santana is a rock 'n' roll guitarist. Incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz and blues...
[more]Carlos Santana is known for his long, drawn-out solos that soar into the highest registers of the guitar. But it would be reductive to say that Carlos Santana is a rock 'n' roll guitarist. Incorporating Afro-Cuban rhythms with jazz and blues influences, his sound is undoubtedly multiple. For more than 40 years, technical virtuosity and spiritual intensity have guided his improvisational style -- he's birthed a musical amalgamation that vacillates between piercing, fast-paced frenzies and slow, meditative streams of emotion.
In his small hometown of Autlan, Mexico, young Carlos grew up listening to the traditional Mariachi music played by his father (a Mariachi violinist). Although this early training taught him the basics of musical theory, the young Santana wasn't satisfied with tradition; he was enamored by the music of John Lee Hooker, B.B. King, and T-Bone Walker. The improvisational nature of blues, combined with its intense, howling pathos, were what interested Santana. He began playing with local blues bands a few years after his family moved to Tijuana in 1955.
In 1960, Santana's family moved north to San Francisco, and after lingering behind in Tijuana for a few years to continue playing with his band, Carlos followed them. In the Bay Area his musical career took off -- in 1966 he formed the explosive Santana Blues Band, which would make its mark on history three years later at Woodstock. Santana showed technical precision and a seemingly infinite capacity to move his entire band into states of near ecstasy. His music was soaring and smoky, moving and swaying with rhythmic hips.
Santana continued to develop his Latin-inflected style throughout the 1970s: he incorporated jazz harmonies and rhythms from Afro-Cuban music, experimented with different bands, arranged large percussion sections, and at times included saxophones and horns. His music evolved far beyond its blues roots, becoming a veritable "world music" before the idea of world music had even been born.
He's played with John Lee Hooker and Italian composer Paolo Rustichelli, and toured with jazz saxophonist Wayne Shorter. 1999 saw the biggest testament to Santana's inclusive vision with the release of the mega-collaboration, "Supernatural": here, he works with everyone from hip-hoptress Lauryn Hill to folk-rocker Dave Matthews. Throughout his career, Santana has opened himself to a wide range of influences, but always with meticulous attention to his own stylistic integrity.
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