Santana Speaks – interview with the guitar legend in Jazz á Juan

That album introduced me to a completely new sound – congas, bongos & timbales. This percussive and infectious music was highlighted by the closing track on side one (we are talking LP’s here) ‘Incident at Neshabur’, which opened my eyes and ears to a new world of music. The follow up album, III featuring the classic ‘Toussaint L’Overture’, and the fourth, Caravanserai, cemented this new love affair. ‘Welcome’ (1973) was a watershed album – featuring John McLaughlin, Alice Coltrane and Flora Purim – which was undoubtedly my first exposure to jazz-rock.

Fast forward to 10 July 2015 and I am sitting in Santana’s dressing room before his concert and the opening night of Jazz á Juan 2015. I am with long time Santana friend, Yasuhiro Fujioka (the curator and owner of the John Coltrane museum in Osaka) and Santana’s European tour photographer Adriano Scognamillo. Santana is casually dressed and wearing his trademark Fedora hat – on the table in front of him are an iπad and his phone, which is plugged into the iPad. His guitar is lying on the sofa next to him.

“You’ve got to watch this” he says, pointing at the iPad, “this is just incredible – I would like to do something with this and put it on in Times Square on a huge screen and invite everyone to come along to watch and listen.” I ask him what the music is. It’s Alice Coltrane ‘World Galaxy’ and the video is a shifting vision of beautiful waterfalls and wooded glades with a small shimmering star shaped light dancing across the perfect landscapes. We gather round as Santana talks, but more accurately – wants to tell us – how his vision and purpose are focused on how: it only needs small things change in the world – belief, attitude & trust, it is possible for change to be made to the benefit of everyone – and that the change has to come from all: religious groups, governments and ordinary people.

He is so sincere and so compelling to listen to, that for a brief half an hour in his company the world was put to rights and the future appeared much brighter. He is no stranger to philanthropy in 1998 he founded the Milagro Foundation, which benefits underserved and vulnerable children throughout the world and he is passionate about its work. The foundation recently donated $20,000 to Unicef for children in Nepal. He also talked briefly about his desire to work again with John McLaughlin, he has a project in mind that he is very excited about. The time for the show was upon us and we left his dressing room – five minutes later the show hit the stage with ‘Soul Sacrifice’ – the archetypal Santana tune, his guitar sound is as recognisable as a London bus on Regent street.

The show had sold out virtually as soon as it had been announced and the packed crowd were on their feet cheering wildly. As the show progressed you could see the audience were made up of two groups – the pre-Supernatural and the post Supernatural. ‘Maria Maria’, ‘Smooth’ & ‘Corazon Espinad’ were cheered by the younger members of the audience, whilst the oldies eased themselves up when ‘Jingo’, ‘Europa’, ‘Evil Ways’ seguing into ‘Love Supreme’ were teased from his guitar.

Santana told the audience a story about Michel Delorme, who as head of A&R at Columbia Records in the 1970s when he first came to the south of France had given him a pile of jazz records – in particular John Coltrane & Miles Davis, and this music had a profound affect on his music and career ever since. Michel was leaving Carlos’ dressing room when I arrived – clutching a signed copy of The Universal Tone, Ashley Khan’s biography of Santana.

The show ended much as this piece had started ‘Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen’, ‘Oye Como Va’ and ‘Toussaint LOUverture’ – a story spanning 47 years and these songs still sounding as fresh as they did the first time. Through Santana I discovered John McLaughlin, then the Mahavishnu Orchestra, Herbie Hancock, Chic Corea, Return to Forever and the list goes on.

Carlos Santana may not be the most instantly thought of jazz musician but throughout his career he has innovated and changed with the times – he still has the passion and fire that he showed at Woodstock in 1969 and although the hair may be thinner and the body older his belief and sense of purpose have never been stronger. Alice Coltrane’s 1971 World Galaxy LP is dedicated to ‘That great Cosmic Unseen’ and I think that she would be very happy that Santana has taken that sentiment and run with it ever since.

– Tim Dickeson (story and pictures)