Multi Dimensional Warrior
an interview with
CARLOS SANTANA
by Robert Silverstein
The music of Carlos Santana introduced America to the Latin rock beat.
The first Santana album from 1969 remains a turning point in American
music history—ushering in the world beat groove of the Woodstock
nation. No matter what music Carlos plays there’s always been
a spiritual side and—combined with the best in Latin music and
rock—there’s always been something about the signature Santana
guitar sound that seems to move the universe. The late 2005 CD release
of All That I Am
pairs the legendary Santana guitar sound with some memorable vocal
cameos from Steven Tyler, Michelle Branch and Los Lonely Boys. All
That I Am reconfirms that Carlos Santana is truly a century spanning
phenomenon. Those who long for the instrumental jazz essence of the
Santana sound will also want to check out a 2007 Image Entertainment
DVD and CD release called Carlos Santana & Wayne Shorter “Live
At The 1988 Montreux Jazz Festival”. Recorded and filmed
at the Montreux festival on July 14, 1988, the DVD features Carlos
and Wayne Shorter summoning up sounds like musical telepathy and is
essential viewing for fans of two of the best bands on Columbia during
the ‘60s and ‘70s—Santana and Weather Report. With
the vintage Montreux ‘88 on Image and the new Hymns
DVD from Eagle hitting the store shelves in March 2007, Santana fans
can also now enjoy the Summer 2008 release of a double CD set from
Carlos Santana entitled Multidimensional Warrior. Carlos spoke
with Robert Silverstein of MWE3.com and 20th Century Guitar magazine
on February 27, 2007.
{The following interview with Carlos Santana first appeared as the
May 2007 cover story of 20th Century Guitar magazine. Thanks to Jensen
communications and Spencer Savage at Image Entertainment for both
arranging this and several other major interviews. Just slightly edited
from the magazine version, MWE3.COM presents Robert Silverstein's
complete interview with Carlos Santana - editor March 23, 2009}
CS: Hi, how are you Robert?
MWE3: Thanks a lot for this interview...
CS: My pleasure.
MWE3: You’re in San Francisco now?
CS: Right. San Rafael.
MWE3: I’m in Queens New York City.
CS: Oh, okay. I remember that. I used to live there from ‘72
to ‘80.
MWE3: You lived in Queens?
CS: Yeah, Parsons.
MWE3: I’ve always loved your music. Back when I was 15, I was
one of the millions that bought the ‘69 Santana album.
CS: Oh, thank you so much man.
MWE3: Can you let the readers in on what your current activities are
for the first half of 2007? I heard you were compiling songs for a
new album.
CS: Yes, first of all, I’m not going to tour till 2008, in the
spring. So, in the meantime I’m completing a lot of pies that
are in the oven. One is a double CD, a body of work that I’d
done that I felt people didn’t listen to. Somehow I get the feeling
that a lot of people only listen to Abraxas and Supernatural
and maybe a few others. But this CD is going to be called Multi-Dimensional
Warrior. And the message in each one of the songs is about how
to invite people...for people to be conscious and aware of their own
light, that essence that creates miracles. And to me it’s important...like
Bob Marley or John Coltrane or John Lennon...it’s important for
me, beyond the music, to invite people to awaken to that inner power
that we all have. Somehow we think that only Jesus can do it or Allah
can do it or Krishna can do it but we don’t seem to validate
the fact that God created us in his image so therefore we have divinity
and supernatural powers if you will in our DNA as well.
MWE3: So it’s a double CD?
CS: One is just pure instrumental, compilation of instrumental songs
and another one is a compilation of songs that I did from a CD called
Milagro and Spirits Dancing In The Flesh. A compilation
of seven CDs, I just took certain songs. It’s like creating a
letter, from a bunch of other CDs that I’d done, to the listener.
MWE3: Is the instrumental CD new material?
CS: It’s almost eighty percent. That one will come out later.
There’s a lot of music that will be coming out. We just completed
something that’s going to come out, we did it in ‘88 with
Mr. Wayne Shorter. That’s a DVD. And there’s another DVD
that’s going to come out called Hymns. We recorded a live
concert with John McLaughlin, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Wayne Shorter,
Ravi Coltrane, many African musicians and also my son Salvador and
of course my band. So there’s a lot of music that’s going
to come out this year. But the instrumental one, with just totally
new music, it won’t come out till maybe next summer, not this
summer, but next summer.
MWE3: I know you love pop music and instrumental jazzy rock stuff.
I want to tell you that the track off All That I Am, “Trinity”
with Robert Randolph and...
CS: Kirk Hammett from Metallica...
MWE3: It’s brilliant. You co-wrote that with some interesting
people including Michael Brook and...
CS: And Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan. You know, what it is, is that we recorded
three tracks in like two hours and we settled for that one. There’s
other things that will come out. The main thing that I can say about
all of this man, is that I’m very grateful to God and to people,
to life, that I can create music—from Metallica to Placido Domingo.
A lot of musicians, for some reason—and its okay, I’m not
putting them down—but a lot of musicians say, ‘I don’t
do windows, I only play jazz,’ or ‘I don’t do this,
I only do that.’ I don’t think like that. I learned from
Miles Davis and John Lee Hooker that as long as its from the heart,
you can play “My Favorite Things,” which is like from a
movie, The Sound Of Music or you can do like “Time After
Time” or “Someday My Prince Will Come” which comes
from Sleeping Beauty or Snow White. So I learned a lot
from Miles not to be narrow minded or closed minded or close your
heart. I love everything from African musicians to Metallica to the
blues, all the blues players. So for me, its a different path to just
be able to, kind of like be a waiter, and you serve everyone. If you’re
gay, you don’t just serve gay people. You serve everyone. To
me its kind of like that with music. I’m very grateful to be
a Multi Dimensional musician.
MWE3: You’ve always been the master of that and being a Jewish
kid born in Brooklyn, Santana’s music was my first exposure to
Latin music or World music and I always felt your music was always
so liberating.
CS: Well thank you man. I did learn a lot from Bill Graham and Michael
Bloomfield about the Yiddish sentiment, which is still the blues.
I love the melodies that I learned from Michael Bloomfield when he
started venturing away from the blues, like East West and with
Paul Butterfield Blues Band. So I understand very clearly that there’s
Hebrew-ness in my DNA. I was born in Mexico but that’s just where
I landed. I actually have components of every person in my DNA. Like
you, I am a fragment that comes from the stars, literally from the
universe. I just don’t come from my mom and dad. You know what
I mean? We are all Multi Dimensional creatures and once you start
perceiving yourself like that, then you’re able to express more
totality, then just saying, ‘I’m only Hebrew. I only play
Hebrew music or I’m only Mexican, I only play Mariachi music
or I’m only Puerto Rican, I only play Salsa.’ You are what
you is, you are what you perceive. If that’s what you wanna be,
go ahead. There’s no judgment, there’s no negative or positive,
that’s just the way it is. I don’t see myself like that.
I don’t have a ceiling, nor do I want to have a ceiling over
my existence. I love Coltrane, I love Bob Marley, I love Marvin Gaye.
I like Stevie Ray or Jimi Hendrix. So its easier for me to coexist
in this planet more in a harmonious way.
MWE3: Your music always empowered me to open my mind and I think that’s
still true with your new stuff. It’s great that you can work
with the younger players and also go back to the more symphonic fusion
stuff and then do a track with Michelle Branch or Steven Tyler. It’s
a miraculous thing in music these days.
CS: Well, you are a miracle. Steven Tyler and Michelle Branch...everybody
has their own supreme beauty. It’s kind of like learning to see
something beyond what you see in the mirror. Your mom sees you a certain
way and your teachers see a certain way and your friends see you a
certain way and your lover sees you a certain way. But those are just
fragments. But who are you really when you look in the mirror? Who
are you to yourself? And for me, the music, that’s what I learned
from The Beatles and Marvin Gaye and Bob Dylan is that music is more
than just a song and dance man. I know that Bob Dylan used to talk
about, ‘I’m just a song and dance man.’ But he’s
kidding. His music, whether he likes it or not, it has a profound
message to all people. I think it would be very ignorant for Palestine
not to like Bob Dylan only because he’s Hebrew. You’ve got
to look at the big picture. I think, when the Berlin wall came down,
I think a day will come when Cuba will be different and Jerusalem
will be different. I do see the end of brutality in this planet. I
see three things: compassion, mercy and forgiveness. Those are the
three things that I think that all people, everyone should learn like
you learn the language of English or accounting or astrology or law.
They’re all languages but the language that we should invest
more in I believe, as an invitation, is compassion, mercy and forgiveness
because I think that those are the ones who will take us as humans
into a place where we can create heaven here. We don’t have to
die to go get it. That’s it.
MWE3: I want to ask you about the Montreux DVD on Image and
Eagle but wanted to make sure to ask a few questions about your famous
PRS signature guitars. What a great combination between you and Paul
Reed Smith... I know you’ve spoken about this before but what
got you interested in PRS guitars and are there any new developments
with PRS?
CS: Yes, what got me in to Paul Reed was Paul, I love this very shiny
bright stuff in his eyes. He’s got a lot of enthusiasm and a
lot go get ‘em guy brilliance in him and he will not be deterred.
His guitars, when the arrive in my house—we have a contract so
he sends me three or four guitars a year to try out then I keep the
ones that I keep—they always arrive in tune. But I’ve been
playing also with Strats, the Stratocaster, because of my love for
a certain thing. And so we’re working together to have the Paul
Reed look but maybe a little bit more of a Strat sound. And that’s
something that we’re still pursuing. I play exclusively Boogie
amplifiers since the beginning. Paul Reed Smith...and I also play
Alexander Dumble since about six, seven years now. A combination of
Paul Reed, Alexander Dumble amplifiers and definitely the Boogie.
I cannot deal without the Boogie. For some reason, that’s the
voice that I gravitate to right now. It’s easier for to just
close my eyes and don’t have to think about messing with knobs
and messing with this, messing with that. Just close your eyes and
let it flow.
MWE3: Can you say something about your classical guitar? The Alvarez
A-Yairi.
CS: Right, there’s a beauty in nylon strings which is it gives
you that romantic... Manitas de Plata and Paco de Lucia and that Bola
Sete kind of setting. So I’m very grateful man...you don’t
have to be Segovia to get a sound. Everything’s an extension,
electric guitar or acoustic nylon strings. They’re just like
brushes and pencils. It’s like what are you trying to say that’s
important through it. What’s your story morning glory? (laughter)
MWE3: I heard the original Santana reformed in San Francisco last
month for a show. That must have been an amazing experience.
CS: Yes, it was. It’s always very gratifying and exhilarating
to play with Gregg Rolie and the original musicians. It was a lot
of fun. I think we did two or three songs. The chemistry is still
there. When you get The Beatles together or you get Cream together
or The Police together, there’s something about the chemistry
of certain musicians, it’s intact. It’s always there.
MWE3: 37 years after Abraxas, can you remember the inspiration
behind combining “Black Magic Woman” with “Gypsy Queen”,
a powerhouse song that still amazes.
CS: It’s an extension of people that I love. I love Peter Green
and Gabor Szabo. I love Tito Puente...excuse me...I’ve been really
blessed that I get to learn from people that I love—from John
Lee Hooker to Miles—yet when I play Otis Rush or John McLaughlin
it doesn’t sound like them. It still sounds like me, even though
we know that the song “Gypsy Queen” comes from Gabor Szabo
and “Black Magic Woman” is from Peter Green. They collect
the royalties, as they say. However people identify immediately with
my sound, or our sound. The Santana band sound. And to me it’s
something that I would just say to all people who are reading this
magazine, take the time to go inside a room, turn off everything,
go inside and get your own fingerprints. Get your own uniqueness and
individuality together. It’s good to check out Stevie Ray and
Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck but don’t forget the best part, you!
(laughter) ‘Cause they’re all cheering for you. You’ve
got Stevie and Jaco. Go get you. Work on you. Like a snake sheds skin,
get rid of Stevie, as much as you love him. Get rid of George Benson
or Pat Martino as much as you love ‘em. Go get you. ‘Cause
Pat Martino, George Benson and Stevie, they’re cheering for you
to go get yourself. Go get your own vision, your own sound, that’s
it man.
MWE3: I always loved Fleetwood Mac’s version of “Black Magic
Woman” too but when you did it, the song took off to the stratosphere.
CS: They’re complete on their own. Fleetwood Mac are complete
in their own thing. There will always be room for Peter Green, which
is like an accumulation of the best of the best of B.B. King and Elmore
James. But still, B.B. King is B.B. King and Peter Green is Peter
Green and I’m me. And that’s the beauty of it. And you are
you!
MWE3: The new DVD on Image featuring you with Wayne Shorter, Montreux
‘88 is great. Compared to the pop sound of All That I
Am, this stuff is incredible. I call it Santana meets Weather
Report.
CS: (laughter) Yeah, well it’s kind of like that. We toured together
in ‘72. Thank you for saying that. That’s one of my favorite
bands. That and Miles and Coltrane. I feel very grateful to God. That
was one of the highlights of my life. To do a tour with Mr. Wayne
Shorter. He’s the genius of geniuses and the most sweetest person
you ever want to be around. And so, I learned a lot from him and I
continue to learn a lot from him. He’s truly an angel and a saint
on earth. Like Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama. Wayne Shorter is a
whole other kind of light from another galaxy. And he’s the kind
of person, like if Jimi was here, Hendrix, and Marvin Gaye and Coltrane,
when anybody listens to Wayne your eyes change. It’s like beholding
something divine in front of you. And I’m sure he sees the same
thing in you and in me. Because we all have it. But boy, he’s
something else. Another CD is going to come out as I said very soon,
called Hymns, with Wayne Shorter, Chick Corea, John McLaughlin,
Herbie Hancock, Ravi Coltrane and my son and many African musicians.
There’s music that will come out later on with, of course Buddy
Guy. I just feel really, really grateful. Eagle Eye Cherry. I want
to continue just to...like a Maitre D'...just to serve people and
if anybody invites me from Metallica to Placido Domingo...that what
I want to do. I just want to be able to play music and compliment
life.
MWE3: Can you say something about the 2004 Montreux DVD?
CS: I just feel like its all part of the same continuation of the
joy of coexisting and sharing. At this point I feel very, very secure
and confident that I am welcome onstage with Buddy Guy, B.B. King
or Otis Rush...the blues musicians and also the African musicians,
the Brazilian musicians, the jazz musicians. That to me is one of
the greatest things that any musician, any person can have. When the
door is open to every room in the house! Including the basement! (laughter)
So it’s all in the continuation, man. I get a tremendous joy
and a tremendous satisfaction...I’m the opposite of I don’t
get no satisfaction. I get a lot of satisfaction from being in the
presence of everyone from, the gentleman from Living Color, everyone.
Vernon Reid, Derek Trucks, Ben Harper, Anastasio. We’re all one.
And it feels really, really good man. There’s no competition.
This is not soccer where someone has to lose or someone has to win.
We are musicians and hopefully someday you and I can also play together.
You stay precious alright?
MWE3: One last question. Would you ever consider doing a Santana video
influences Vol. 2? ‘Cause I really enjoyed the influences video
you did on Wes, Bola Sete and Gabor. Who would be on your wish list
for a Vol. 2?
CS: Sure. Ali Akbar Khan, Manitas de Plata, a supremely Flamenco musician.
Ali Akbar Khan, Manitas de Plata and some African musicians, Tinariwen.
Just like that! Okay man, you take care. I gotta go. Take care Robert.
MWE3: Thank you very much.
CS: My pleasure.
Thanks to Carlos Santana @ www.Santana.com
- Image Entertainment @ www.image-entertainment.com
and Legacy Recordings @ www.legacyrecordings.com
