Santana Santana/CA,USA 1968 Complete & more

In 1966, Carlos Santana was selected to replace the drunk Paul Butterfield at Bill Graham’s Fillmore Auditorium as a temporary band member. Santana’s guitar playing caught the attention of both the audience and Graham. He formed the Santana Blues Band in October 1966 with fellow street musicians David Brown (bass), Marcus Malone (percussion), and Gregg Rolie (lead vocals, Hammond B3 organ). By 1968, the band was incorporating influences from various genres into electric blues. Santana later said, “I’d go to a hangout and some guy was listening to Sly and Jimi Hendrix, some guy was listening to the Stones and the Beatles, some guy was listening to Tito Puente and Mongo Santamaria, some guy was listening to Miles and Coltrane… it was like being in college for me.” Bill also said that Santana was the only band to close the Fillmore without releasing a record. In 1969, they signed with Columbia and shortened their name to Santana, but this album includes a complete recording of a live performance at the Avalon Ballroom on May 13, 1968, from an FM radio broadcast (5 minutes longer than the version edited to fit on a single CD), and you can enjoy the early Santana sound with a great soundboard. The drummer is Bob Livingston, who left the band during the recording of their first album. It’s interesting to hear them playing songs from their first album, which was released in August 1969. Santana and Gregg lead the band with their characteristic percussion, and “Waiting” is 7 minutes long, and “Treat” is 10 minutes long, with Santana’s guitar slithering from a slow jam, but it doesn’t feel redundant at all. The first and second singles are covers of Nigerian percussionist Olatunji’s “Jingo” and jazz percussionist Willie Bobo’s “Evil Ways,” but the performances here are longer and more varied than they could be called extended versions. Carlos says that he wrote “Soul Sacrifice” when bassist David joined the band, making it one of the band’s earliest songs (credited to Greg, David, and Marcus). Carlos describes it as “a perfect example of the fusion of good old world guaguanco (a rhythm influenced by African and Spanish music such as flamenco, which was born in Havana, Cuba when slavery was abolished in 1886) and American licks (phrases that performers improvise).” In fact, “Soul Sacrifice” here has a long percussion solo by Marcus, which makes it feel very guaguanco. And there is also an improvisational jam. The performers are unknown, but it is very rare that harmonica, flute, and saxophone are featured. Whether it is ok to call it “Soul Sacrifice”, in any case, the live performance closed with a spectacular 36-minute performance that is very different from the album version. Furthermore, it is also very valuable as a live recording that allows you to hear the percussionist Marcus Malone’s playing, who can be said to have shown Santana and the others the direction of the band. In fact, there are still recordings from before their debut. First of all, the highly acclaimed Woodstock. The first album was released in October 1969, so it was held two months earlier on August 16th. And this time, the Texas International Pop Festival, which was held at the same time, was also a live performance before the debut, and we recorded it on a soundboard. Santana and the others went into the studio to record their first album in January 1969, and finally completed the tracks that would become their first album in May. However, the members were not satisfied with this release, so they fired drummer Bob Livingston and added Mike Shreve, who has a strong background in both jazz and rock. However, Marcus Malone, the band’s mainstay, left the band after being charged with manslaughter and found guilty. Michael Carabello and experienced Nicaraguan percussionist Jose Chepito Elias joined the band. Like Woodstock, Marcus is not present at the Texas International Pop Festival. Greg is the MC who gets the crowd excited, but perhaps because of the success of Woodstock, he says, “We want everyone to stand up, we want to see a lot of people riot.” At Woodstock, they played “Fried Neck Bones and Some Home Fries” at the end, but not in Texas, and the finale was “Soul Sacrifice.” It’s a live performance that gives you a sense of ease. Avalon Ballroom, San Francisco, CA May 13, 1968 Carlos Santana (g/vo) Marcus Malone (p) David Brown (b) Gregg Rolie (kbd/vo) Bob “Doc” Livingston (ds) Disc 1 01 Waiting 02 Treat 03 Evil Ways 04 Shades of Time / Savor 05 Jingo 06 Persuasion Disc 2 01 Soul Sacrifice Texas International Pop Festival, Lewisville, TX August 31, 1969 02. Evil Ways 03. You Just Don’t Care 04. Savor 05. Jingo 06. Persuasion 07. Soul Sacrifice Carlos Santana (g/vo) Gregg Rolie (kbd/vo) David Brown (b) Michael Carabello (perc) “Chepito” Areas (perc) Michael Jose Shrieve (ds)