Jazz Articles about Santana

About Santana

Groove Orbit

How John Coltrane Changed Rock Music: Santana

by Kyle Simpler
August 18, 2026

When the Santana band first started in the San Francisco area in the late 60s, hardly anyone outside of the Bay Area was familiar with the group. This changed after their performance at the Woodstock festival in 1969. Seemingly overnight, everyone knew about Santana, and the band, under the leadership of its namesake, Carlos Santana has since maintained a strong presence in rock music. Of course, many people familiar with Santana's work know that he has a strong affinity ...

Live Review

Santana at Red Rocks

by Geoff Anderson
June 7, 2026

Santana Red Rocks Amphitheatre Denver, CO May 27, 2026 Santana, the man, the band. The line between the two has always been blurry. Now, it seems, it has been completely erased. Carlos Santana brought his ten-piece band to Red Rocks in late May as part of the “Oneness Tour." Wednesday's show, the first of a two-night stand, displayed a band in fine form, a cohesive, seamless unit. Oneness. And it was delightful. Santana, the band, had ...

Live Review

Santana with The Doobie Brothers at the Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

by Mike Perciaccante
August 31, 2019

Santana with the Doobie Brothers The Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater The Supernatural Tour Wantagh, NY August 25, 2019 Carlos Santana is a 10-time Grammy Award-winning musical legend. The Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter formed his eponymously named band in San Francisco in 1966. Over the years, the band has undergone numerous lineup changes. Carlos Santana is the only constant member. Success came early to Santana. The guitarist and band cemented its place in ...

Reassessing

Amigos

by Jeff Winbush
March 11, 2016

It's a cliche, but for Carlos Santana, the year of 1976 was a critical turning point in his long career. Coming after Borboletta, his third consecutive jazz fusion record, he was catching heat from the execs at Columbia Records to come up with something reminiscent of the classic Latin rock which had made him a star at Woodstock.Santana changed managers and looked change course by bringing in an outside producer (David Rubinson) and recruited a new vocalist in ...

Reassessing

Welcome

by Jeff Winbush
August 4, 2012

Once upon a time there was a guitar god who had grown bored with all his fame, riches and glory. He longed for something more than another multi-platinum selling record. He desired not simply acclaim, but respect. He knew to get it he would have to walk away from the distinctive style that made him popular and wealthy. It was a risk to confuse his band and his fans by making a radical change in his musical direction. But he ...

Album Review

Santana: Shape Shifter

Read "Shape Shifter" reviewed by Jeff Winbush

by Jeff Winbush
July 17, 2012

The sticker plastered to Shape Shifter proclaims this is the Santana album 20 years in the making. Actually, it's the first album in 13 years where the guitarist doesn't just seem like a sideman on his own records. Nobody is more deserving of a career-reviving success story than Mexican-born Santana who was rewarded after years of falling sales and critical disinterest by the nobody-saw-it-coming success of Supernatural (Arista, 1998) which sold a whopping 15 million copies and won 11 Grammys.

511

Reassessing

Santana: Festival

by Jeff Winbush
November 3, 2006

SantanaFestivalColumbia Records1977 The year 1977 was another period of transition for guitarist Carlos Santana. He was going into the studio to craft a follow-up to Amigos, the highly successful 1976 return to Top 10 Billboard status after abandoning a four-year immersion in jazz fusion. During that phase, Santana had turned his career over to rock promoter Bill Graham and producer David Rubinson and was searching for a way to ensure his ...