All
the world knows the special magic of Carlos Santana as expressed through
his music and his guitar playing, which is among the most distinctive and
recognizable in all music. His is a tone of
vibrant
energy that bathes the human soul and awakens the unconscious spirit. The
spirit of truth, the spirit of Brotherhood. In every performance, Carlos
shares with his audience a personal communication that crosses all boundaries
and differences, and makes all people, one people, one family.
Carlos’
music embodies a living heritage of music and family. The “Brothers” album
(on Island Records), described as “a banquet of musical treats and surprises”,
has Carlos sharing the spotlight with two special guitarists - brother,
Jorge Santana, and nephew Carlos Hernandez in his recording debut. In “SACRED
FIRE”, a 97 minute video and 13-song CD released by Polydor in 1993, Carlos
captured the excitement and spirit of his live concerts in Mexico and South
America with a mix of his biggest hits as well as some previously unrecorded
material. In “LIVE FOREVER”, the debut release on his Guts & Grace
label,
Carlos paid his respects to some contemporaries whose spirits continue
to provide musical inspiration for us all. The CD includes songs by Jimi
Hendrix,
Marvin
Gaye, Bob Marley, Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Coltrane. Each of these three
projects offers a glimpse, an added dimension, of a soul that has touched
millions
around the world.
Carlos
was introduced to “traditional music” by his father, Jose. An accomplished
mariachi violinist and experienced musician, he taught Carlos the basics
of music theory and gave him an understanding of the value of a note. Although
Carlos’excitement for music would be sparked by his first experience, he
quickly discovered the limits of its traditional form and wanted more.
Carlos wanted to play the kind of music that was filling the radio waves
and making people dance. Tijuana, 1955. The music was rock ‘n roll. The
drastic change of moving from the small, quiet town of Autlan to the humming,
thriving boom town of Tijuana brought a renewed hope and opportunity for
a new life. Both for Carlos and his family. The eight-year old Carlos quickly
left the violin for the guitar, studying and emulating the sounds of B.B.
King, T-Bone Walker and John Lee Hooker. Soon he was being asked to join
local bands like the “T.J.’s”, where he added a unique touch and feel to
his own renditions of all the great songs of the 1950’s. As he continued
to play with different bands along the busy “Tijuana Strip”, he not only
started to perfect his style and sound, but actually started bringing home
enough money to really help his family. His future looked promising.
In
1960, Carlos’ family moved to San Francisco while Carlos stayed in Tijuana
for another year to make extra money until his family was settled. However,
he soon found himself amid the multicultural atmosphere of San Francisco,
with all of its diverse influences and musical styles. It was here that
Carlos would find what he had been searching for, as if destiny had brought
him to the right place at the right time. For the next five years, Carlos
continued to evolve his own unique style of music that would later identify
him as one of the most distinctive, innovative musicians of our time.
In
1966, the music of Carlos Santana exploded on the streets of San Francisco
with the debut performance of the Santana Blues Band. For the next two
years, the Santana Blues Band was catapulted by a wave of popularity that
would take them from the stage of San Francisco’s Fillmore West, to that
historical performance in 1969 before 500,000 at the Woodstock Festival
in New York. Carlos Santana had arrived, and with him, an uncompromising
spirit and dedication to his music that would affect and mark people’s
lives for the next quarter century. Always changing, always searching,
always growing—yet always consistently and clearly Carlos. Every new album—including
14 gold and 9 platinum albums—becoming a reflection of Carlos’ own personal
growth and evolution.
From
his platinum debut album, “SANTANA”, to his successful jazz-influenced
solo projects, to his Polydor debut album, “MILAGRO” (which was an expression
of Carlos’ belief in the healing power of miracles as well as a tribute
honoring the memory of Bill Graham and Miles Davis), to the 1993 launch
of his own record label, to the release of "BROTHERS”, Carlos has displayed
an uncompromising faith in his personal musical vision. This faith has
allowed him to venture into new musical and geographic territory, including
scoring the feature film, “La Bamba”, embarking on a 1988 tour with jazz
saxophonist Wayne Shorter, and participating in the 1987 “Rock ‘n Roll
Summit”, the first ever joint U.S.-Soviet rock concert in history. It has
been brought to bear to the benefit of numerous worthy causes, such as
“Blues for Salvador”, San Francisco Earthquake relief, and the rights of
Indigenous Peoples. It has earned him the love and respect of millions
of fans around the world—a fact manifest in his many awards, including
a Grammy for Best Rock Instrumental Performance in 1988, six Bammies (including
three Musician of the Year Awards, with the latest coming in 1993), being
voted the best pop-rock guitarist for four years in a row in the Playboy
Magazine’s reader’s poll and being the band to earn the first CBS Records
Crystal Globe Award for selling 10 million albums or more.
Today,
with over 30 million albums sold and performances before an estimated 13
million people, the music of Carlos Santana continues to be an everlasting
celebration of the human spirit and brotherhood. 1997 brought Carlos
back go his musical recording roots when he signed a recording contract
with ARISTA, whose CEO Clive Davis signed the first Santana Band lineup
to Columbia in 1968. This exciting and creative venture will culminate
in the release of music of a phenomenal quality and promises that fans
and listeners will be able to experience and enjoy the melodic guitar playing
of Carlos Santana for years to come.
