When Carlos Santana is onstage, he’s surrounded by an amazing ensemble of musicians. Not just his band, which includes spouse and sonic soulmate Cindy Blackman Santana on drums, but also the presences of influences and peers who are no longer with us. Santana is the star of his residency at the House of Blues inside Mandalay Bay, but he shares the stage with the spirits of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, John Coltrane (1973 album Love Devotion Surrender was a tribute to the artist), Mike Bloomfield and many other supremely talented players.
Santana was a progenitor of world music before that term entered the cultural lexicon. His father was a professional working violinist, inaugurating young Carlos to the sweet sustain generated by stringed instruments at a formative age. Santana, the band, began gigging in San Francisco’s fertile music scene in 1967, playing extended engagements in ballrooms and theaters before a triumphant appearance at Woodstock.
By that time, the bandleader, singer/keyboardist Gregg Rolie and drummer Michael Shrieve, had already reimagined African music in a rock setting with Babatunde Olatunji’s “Jingo.” Their breakthrough “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen” channeled the British blues of Fleetwood Mac and gypsy jazz of Gábor Szabó through the salsa style of Tito Puente and lead guitar phrasing of B.B. King.
Carlos Santana was never one to rest on his laurels, though. In October, he and Shrieve observed the 50th anniversary of the band’s fourth album, Caravanserai, a shift into jazzy improvisation that led Rolie to leave with fellow band member Neal Schon to form Journey. Record executive Clive Davis told Santana the album was career suicide.
It’s now considered a major milestone in Santana’s career, one that built upon Coltrane’s legacy and expanded on the fusion explorations Miles Davis embarked on in the late ’60s. Caravanserai also marked the point when Santana’s crystalline guitar tone coalesced into the recognizable signature it remains today.
That tone was established with Gibson guitars that readily accommodated rapidly evolving, arena-worthy amplifier and live sound technology as the ’60s gave way to the ’70s. Santana made a few detours with his primary instruments, but after striking up a friendship with luthier Paul Reed Smith, he became the most prominent endorser of PRS Guitars. The beautiful gold guitar he plays onstage is the result of decades of collaboration between player and designer.
The clear-as-a-bell perfection that PRS provides was the sound that introduced Santana to a new generation with 1999 album Supernatural and mega-hit single “Smooth.” Setlist staples such as “Evil Ways,” “Oye Como Va” and “Soul Sacrifice” breathe with new life at Mandalay Bay, and songs such as hard-rocking “Open Invitation” from 1978’s Inner Secrets surge with the power enabled by modern guitar and sound system tech.
An evening with Santana at House of Blues is more than a concert. It’s a revisiting and celebration of a legend’s life’s work, with surprises and curveballs that consistently keep the show fresh. He considers his albums and songs his children, making his House of Blues concerts family gatherings where everyone is welcome.
House of Blues at Mandalay Bay, ticketmaster.com
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