Now Spinning 3/23/2020: Santana - "Santana", 1969

My first exposure to Carlos Santana and his group was as a kid playing his cover of Fleetwood Mac's song "Black Magic Woman" on Guitar Hero. At that time I didn't possess the ability to appreciate him as much as I do now, especially after taking a jazz history class at the University of Iowa that focused on the Cuban/Latin influences on jazz that came through New Orleans. Is Santana straight up jazz? Not quite (although he has projects dipping into jazz fusion with Mahavishnu John McLaughlin), but a lot of his music is influenced by those same Cuban/Latin characteristics that has shaped jazz as we know it. He applies them in a much more funk/soul and psych rock way, but they are still prevalent.

Though highly decorated (once won 6 Grammys in one night), Santana is grossly overlooked when it comes to pioneers in music history. When you think of Woodstock, images of Janis Joplin or Jimi Hendrix may flood your head. Santana, however, performed on the afternoon of the second day, and delivered a jaw dropping performance of his tune "Soul Sacrifice", which launched them into stardom and is one of the reasons I picked this record up.

This pressing is an early 1969 copy that I bought a while back at Record Collector in Iowa City, and it sounds beautiful. I remember setting it upon my deck for the first time, I played it 3 times back-to-back. It is that good. The skillful and mind-melting playing of Carlos is powerful, and his backing band of Cuban style percussionists serves as icing on the cake (Conga & Timbales). With each song offering a fresh and imaginative experience, there is not a dull point on this record. This should be embraced by all music fans and appreciated for its rich cultural history.

Cheers

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Side 1: Waiting/Evil Ways/Shades of Time/Savior/Jingo

Side 2: Persuasion/Treat/You Just Don't Care/Soul Sacrifice

Carlos Santana: Guitar and Vocals

Mike Carrabello: Conga and Percussion

Dave Brown: Bass

Jose Chepito Areas: Timbales, Conga and Percussion

Mike Shrieve: Drums

Gregg Rolie: Piano, Organ, and Vocals