Showing posts with label Carlos Santana. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carlos Santana. Show all posts

8/16/2017

Superstar Drummer & Songwriter CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA to Release New Summer Single "FUN, PARTY, SPLASH" Feat. CARLOS SANTANA & Produced by NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN


Marin County, CA – The past few months have been a blur for CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA, who is currently touring and performing with her husband Carlos Santana, is featured as a vocalist, drummer, and songwriter on “Power of Peace,” the new Santana/Isley Brothers collaboration, and has been busy touring with her own band and recording tracks in the studio with the legendary producer NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN. Together through Walden's Tarpan Records label they will release the new single “FUN, PARTY, SPLASH” featuring Carlos Santana on all digital platforms on August 25, 2017.

CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA is a virtuoso drummer whose artistry spans the realms of jazz and rock. As a bandleader and as a musician, Cindy is a sound innovator with a passion for pushing creative boundaries and exploring movement and change. She is as known for the nuances and colors she brings to her beats and fills as she is for the sheer power of her soulful playing. “Some drummers act, some react. Some keep time, others create it. CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA is among the few who can,” writes Mike Zwerin of the International Herald Tribune.
 
Among a handful of the most innovative, original and influential artists of our time, NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN'S stature as an authentic musical renaissance man is a matter of record. Producing hits for Artists as diverse as Aretha Franklin (including the platinum “Freeway of Love”), Steve WinwoodRay CharlesStingElton JohnWhitney HoustonGeorge MichaelMariah CareyBarbara StreisandLionel RitchieLisa FischerStevie WonderTom JonesGladys Knight, and The Temptations, the EMMY and multi-GRAMMY winner (Producer, Album and Song of The Year) has been at the helm of hit music that spans decades.

CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA has been creating magnificent musical time and space since the beginning of her career as a busking street performer in New York City in the '80s through the present day, touring the globe and making albums at the top of her game—including the critically acclaimed Another Lifetime (2010). In addition to collaborating onstage and in-studio with her own group—also known as Another Lifetime—she has toured and recorded with artists including Pharoah Sanders, Cassandra Wilson, Bill Laswell, Joss Stone, Joe Henderson, Al B. Sure, Buckethead, Don Pullen, Hugh Masakela, Buster Williams, and Angela Bofill. Cindy was part of the Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute Band called Spectrum Road with Jack Bruce, Vernon Reid, and John Medeski. From 1992 to 2007 and again in 2014 & 2015 she was the drummer in Lenny Kravitz's band, performing through multiple world tours and hit albums. In 2010, she was part of the all-star line-up performing “Bitches Brew,” a tribute to Miles Davis' seminal album staged at the San Francisco Jazz Festival and NYC Winter JazzFest.

More recently, Cindy has become the regular touring drummer for Santana. Having met several years earlier at a festival in Europe while she was touring with Kravitz, Cindy first played with Santana in spring 2010, when drummer Dennis Chambers had a previous commitment. “They have a great band vibe. It's nice to play with people who have grown together, built a sound together, and stayed together,” she says. “When that happens, you can create so many different levels of communication. That's what they've done, and I love reacting with it and being a part of it.”

Electricity onstage generated chemistry offstage—Carlos proposed to Cindy during a July 2010 concert, and they married in December. Looking ahead, they will collaborate artistically as well, on projects that will no doubt reflect their shared passion for improvisation, and belief in the transcendent nature of music. Cindy was an integral part of the new Santana/Isley Brothers release Power of Peace, featuring the song “I Remember,” which she wrote and sings. “To me,” she says, “music is completely spiritual, it's the way you connect with your higher self, with the universe. It's also a way to share light with millions of people. They don’t need to speak your language, have your beliefs, or be in the same place you are. The music speaks, it channels good energy, and makes a difference in people's lives. Carlos and I are both conscious of doing that.”

NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN started his storied career as a drummer with John McLaughlin and the Mahavishnu Orchestra. Narada's music flows freely from pop, rock and soul, to the rarified realms of jazz, fusion, and world music. With Jeff Beck, Narada wrote and played drums on the seminal album Wired that earned them both their first Gold Album. Walden was an integral part of introducing Whitney Houston and Mariah Carey to millions of fans worldwide, producing and writing their breakthrough hits. Billboard Magazine honored him as one of the Top Ten Producers of all time.

In 2016, Cindy connected with her fellow drummer and world-class producer NARADA MICHAEL WALDEN, and together the two have been working on new material ever since. CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA continues to build a body of work and artistic legacy that make her one of the finest drummers and recording artists of this or any generation.

To pre-order the “FUN, PARTY, SPLASH” single on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/fun-party-splash-single/id1269743526?app=itunes or http://smarturl.it/funpartysplash

For more information about Cindy Blackman Santana, please visit her social media pages or Website: http://www.cindyblackmansantana.com/

For Interview Requests please contact Michael Jensen & Erin Cook / Jensen Communications: MJ@jensencom.com Erin@jensencom.com Phone 626-585-9575

For Press and Interview inquiries, please contact Billy James at Glass Onyon PR:
(828) 350-8158 or glassonyonpr@gmail.com

For Digital Marketing, please contact Jerome Forney at Independent Distribution Collective: jerome@independentdistro.com

5/10/2017

Rock-Blues-World Review: Santana-Lotus (Hybrid SACD)

Release Date: January 6, 2017
Label: Audio Fidelity

I want to start by saying that I am big fan of Santana and most of his musical output. I have a lot of his catalog at my immediate disposal. I have also been one of those people that believe his earlier lineups were the most original and progressive. I personally enjoy the first three albums the most, which enabled me to appreciate everything that came after that in different ways. With a new set of ears and looking inward spiritually, I would consider what he was presenting. When he started getting more commercial is when many people may have lost interest. I think I have heard one album that I thought was mediocre in over 30 years, so not a bad track for my listening tastes. This is my preference and opinion of course. To each his own as they say.

Anyone familiar with Santana knows about Lotus. As notated on the Audio Fidelity site: Lotus is a 1974 live album by Santana, recorded at the Osaka Koseinenkin Hall, Osaka, Japan in 1973. It was originally released in 1974 as a triple vinyl LP in Japan only. 

A little history regarding the release as follows:

The first U.S. release was in 1991 as a 2-CD set. Lotus has been re-issued on vinyl in the Netherlands and on CD in Japan in 2006 as a 3-CD set. It was also re-issued as a 3-LP set in the U.S. in 2013, and as a 3-CD hybrid SACD with seven previously unreleased bonus tracks in 2017 (a very high priced set). So, it is safe to say this recording has gone through several iterations since its inception a and has stood the test of time as one of the greatest live albums ever recorded. 

Now we have the superb version issued by Audio Fidelity, a two-disc Hybrid SACD that brings the concert to life with a crisp robust remastered take on the legendary performance. Santana Mark II was a continuation of the Mark I sound that was a melting pot of Latin-World-Rock-Blues-Jazz Music.  It was extremely innovative and one of the progenitors to the World Music that would arrive in the future. Some of the players switched seats however their sound remained intact and this release proves out that fact repeatedly.

Santana has influenced many musicians over the years however it is the early distinctly original rock fusion he presented that paved the way too many inroads into music then and today. I got into the early Santana music after I had already absorbed Return to Forever, Al DiMeola, Jean Luc-Ponty etc. So, for my journey it was a logical transition and very enjoyable I might add. 

Santana was like Hendrix, melding several genres and effects and taking his six-string to new heights. You could only experience that in a live setting and Lotus captures some incredible moments that were never reproduced again. His sound is very distinct and you know it when you hear it.

Audio Fidelity has been one of the anchor labels for special edition CDs and LP’s for many years now. This is the second run of the Lotus Hybrid SACD, which comes as no surprise. They release great titles with unmatched packaging and sound. As always I suggest getting your copy before they disappear.

Whether you’re a musician, producer, collector or audiophile, there is something here to appreciate for everyone. Lotus is a truly iconic release honored in the most prolific way possible by Audio Fidelity.

The Lotus Santana Line Up Included:
    Carlos Santana – lead guitar, Latin percussion
    Leon Thomas – maracas, vocals, Latin percussion
    Tom Coster – Hammond organ, electric piano, Yamaha organ, Latin percussion
    Richard Kermode – Hammond organ, electric piano, Latin percussion
    Doug Rauch – bass
    Armando Peraza – congas, bongos, Latin percussion
    José "Chepito" Areas – timbales, congas, Latin percussion
    Michael Shrieve – drums

5/5 Stars

Keith “MuzikMan” Hannaleck
May 10, 2017
Founder of:

Review Provided By Write A Music Review

Tracks:

Disc One:
 

01. Going Home
02. A-1 Funk
03. Every Step of the Way
04. Black Magic Woman
05. Gypsy Queen
06. Oye Como Va
07. Yours Is the Light
08. Batuka
09. Xibaba (She-Ba-Ba)
10. Stone Flower (Introduction)
11. Waiting
12. Castillos de Arena Part 1 (Sand Castle)
13. Free Angela
14. Samba de Sausalito


Disc Two:
 

01. Mantra
02. Kyoto (Drum Solo)
03. Castillos de Arena Part 2 (Sand Castle)
04. Incident at Neshabur
05. Se a Cabo