Carlos Santana
Total Guitar|December 2021
AS ONE OF THE MOST CELEBRATED GUITARISTS ON THE PLANET FOR MORE THAN 50 YEARS, HIS EPIC CAREER IS ALSO A SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.“SOME PEOPLE PRACTISE CHORDS OR THEORY,” SANTANA SAYS. “I PRACTISE MAKING MELODY BECOME ETERNAL...”
Jonathan Horsley
Carlos Santana

People often speak about left and right-hand technique, but for Carlos Santana, playing the guitar is an act of mind, body and soul. He made his bones in the San Francisco music scene of the late 60s, his cresting genius consecrated with a legendary afternoon performance at Woodstock, whereupon he leaned into the psychedelic dimensions of an ill-timed acid trip to deliver a jaw-dropping set, bejeweled by a helter-skelter jam during Soul Sacrifice that opened up rock’s third eye to musical possibilities beyond blues-inspired sounds.

You can spot his guitar playing within seconds, that warm, quasi-horn tones of saturated overdrive, the conversational phrasing and instinctive modulation between major and minor. And yet it somehow accommodates all who collaborate with him, as proven on his new album Blessings And Miracles, a Zoom-facilitated all-star jam featuring Chick Corea, Steve Winwood, Kirk Hammett and more – a trick he pulled off to brilliant effect back in 1999 with the multi-million selling Supernatural.

African rhythms, Spanish guitar, Miles Davis and John McLaughlin, Hendrix and Beethoven – for Carlos, it is all one continuum. A true artist, he says, takes inspiration from it all. “As a musician, you have the nutrients and ingredients of many things in one note. In one note, you hear infinity’s breath.”

He might speak in spiritual allegories but the inference is clear. If you can put your heart and soul into one note you can do it with all of them.

Collaboration is a spiritual thing; the best can play with anyone

Esta historia es de la edición December 2021 de Total Guitar.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición December 2021 de Total Guitar.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE TOTAL GUITARVer todo
POSITIVE GRID SPARK 2
Total Guitar

POSITIVE GRID SPARK 2

The sequel to the world's most popular smart guitar amp is here

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
JACKSON PRO PLUS XT SOLOIST SLAT HT6 BARITONE
Total Guitar

JACKSON PRO PLUS XT SOLOIST SLAT HT6 BARITONE

We get low with this fast-playing, all-black modern metal machine

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
GUILD POLARA DELUXE
Total Guitar

GUILD POLARA DELUXE

A’70s staple gets a bit of are-jig, o4 years after it was introduced

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
NEURAL DSP NANO CORTEX
Total Guitar

NEURAL DSP NANO CORTEX

Neural DSP's second pedal might be the ultimate compact all-in-one rig

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
EPIPHONE JIMI HENDRIX LOVE DROPS FLYING V
Total Guitar

EPIPHONE JIMI HENDRIX LOVE DROPS FLYING V

Prepare to kiss the sky with Epiphone's latest 'Inspired By...' model

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2024
JIMMY PAGE
Total Guitar

JIMMY PAGE

\"I was using what was really meaty!\"

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
EDDIE VAN HALEN
Total Guitar

EDDIE VAN HALEN

“You either capture the vibe or you don't!”

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
MYTH BUSTERS: THE CABLE DESTRUCTION TEST
Total Guitar

MYTH BUSTERS: THE CABLE DESTRUCTION TEST

Need to know whether gear is worth your cash? Who you gonna call...

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2024
JOHN FRUSCIANTE'S LETTER FROM AMERICA
Total Guitar

JOHN FRUSCIANTE'S LETTER FROM AMERICA

Our July 2006 issue featured none other than John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the cover, with a line of text promising discussion of meditation, drugs, Hendrix and some chat about the band’s then-latest album, Stadium Arcadium.

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2024
CHALLENGE CHARLIE
Total Guitar

CHALLENGE CHARLIE

Ata time when TC's staff were getting, frankly, rather silly, one man stood up to take on the daftest of all our challenges...

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024