Carlos Santana
Biography and CD Supernatural - Sheet music by Carlos Santana

Added on July 14, 2010
Carlos Santana proposed to Ciny Blackman
At the Midwest Bank Amphitheatre in Tinley park (IL) on July 9, 2010 Carlos Santana proposed to his drummer Cindy Blackman live onstage after her virtuoso drum solo on the Santana hit "Corazon Espinado". She accepted, the just-engaged couple kissed and the audience broke out into cheers.

Cindy Blackman is a jazz and rock drummer who has recorded and toured extensively with Lenny Kravitz and played with a wide range of artists including Pharaoh Sanders, Cassandra Wilson and Bill Laswell.

Santana's engagement to Blackman comes some two months into the first leg of his Universal Tone Tour 2010.

Article added in January 1999
Biography of Carlos Santana

Born in Autlán de Navarro, Mexico, Carlos Santana, grew up in the border town of Tijuana, where his family became established in 1955. His father, a mariachi violinist, had introduced him to traditional Mexican music. But soon, he was more interested in B.B. King, John Lee Hooker and T-Bone Walker. Aged 14, he started performing with his guitar in local bands and local bars. In 1961, he moved to San Francisco, rejoining his family which had moved there a year earlier. After finishing High School in October 1966, he founded the Santana Blues Band together with Gregg Rolie (*1947, key), David Brown (*1947, b), Tom Franzer (g) and Rod Harper (dr). They mainly played covers by B.B. King and Ray Charles. In May 1968, the first stable band emerged with Santana, Brown, Rolie, José Cheptio Areas (*1946, perc), Mike Carabello (*1947) and Michael Shrieve (*1949, dr). It took them only a few months with concerts in Avalon, Fillmore West and an appearance at the three days of the Sky River Rock Festival in Sultan, Washington, to become one of the first American rockbands - a place he and his band still occupy today, playing 'world music' long before the name was coined. Also important was their historic appearance at the Woodstock Festival in 1969. The Santana Band's debut album, Santana sold double-platinum, their follow-up album Abraxas quadruple-platinum. Santana's selling record includes eight gold and seven platinum albums. But only at the end of 1999, aged 52, did Santana acheive his first US number one hit with Smooth, featuring Rob Thomas. In his career, he has sold over 40 million albums and performed in front of over 20 million people.
 
Carlos Santana has enlarged pop music with his mix of blues, rock 'n' roll, Afro-Cuban and Latin sounds. Percussion fireworks and of course his guitar-playing are his trademark. So on his new CD, Supernatural, the first sounds you hear are naturally Santana's typical guitar riffs. The first four titles are not breathtaking, but track five, Smooth, is truly a party-time smash hit that deserves its success. The next song, Do You Like The Way, starts with Lauryn Hill's and Cee-Lo's uninspired rap that is in sharp contrast to the soulful background. As soon as the soul becomes dominant, you have a sound that can compete with the best of Marvin Gaye. Also the Latin sound on Carazon Espinando is great. The following three tracks are all right. Santana's last title, The Calling, is another highlight. More than 7 1/2 minutes of an instrumental journey together with Eric Clapton - occasionally backed by a choir singing 'People hear me calling'. That's as good as it gets. - Sheet music by Carlos Santana.


Carlos Santana. Photo © Sony BMG 2005.

Carlos Santana. Photo © Sony BMG 2005.

Carlos Santana: Supernatural. Bmg/Arista. June 15th, 1999. Audio CD: Order the CD from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.fr.
 
Santana: The Best of Santana. Sony/Columbia. March 31st, 1998. Audio CD. Order the CD from Amazon.com. - Sheet music by Carlos Santana.




Carlos Santana. Photo © Sony BMG 2005.