March 2, 2012

Link

A new instrumental solo album from Carlos Santana titled Shape Shifter will hit stores on May 15.

The guitar legend tells Billboard that the collection is one of several recording projects he's planning to put out in the not-too-distant future.

Describing Shape Shifter as "the personal album," Santana adds, "It's for people who love 'Caravanseri,' 'Europa,' 'Samba Pa Ti' -- the instrumentals. A lot of people miss hearing the Mexican just playing his guitar. That's a language that's better than Swahili or English or Spanish. I haven't done one in a long time."

The guitarist reveals that some of the song titles on the album are "Shape Shifter," "Nomad," "Dom" and "Never the Same Again."

As for the other projects, the guitarist reports, "One album will be a Santana band album. The other one is for my family, my new wife, [Cindy Blackman], and my brother Jorge." I'll bring together my whole family, my new family, to do music in honor of the sacredness of the family."

Press release:

Shape Shifter is Carlos Santana's 36th album and is a 13-song instrumental tour de force featuring tracks spanning from the late 1990’s to the present and comprises mostly original compositions that have been stashed away for such an instrumental project.

With each track selected and sequenced by Carlos, Shape Shifter is a journey through soaring Santana leads and driving beats to the beautifully crafted melodies that have made Santana a household name.

Consistent throughout the project is the world-class musicianship of the Santana Band members, who bring vitality and heart to every note. Band members include Benny Rietveld, Dennis Chambers, Raul Rekow, Karl Perazzo, Tony Lindsay, Andy Vargas along with Chester Thompson and special guest Salvador Santana.

Carlos dedicated the album to Native American Indians. He says, “I encourage any and all countries (that have not as yet done so) to acknowledge the first people of their land, and make this a collective global effort.”



Track Listing:

''Shape Shifter''
''Dom''
''Nomad''
''Metatron''
''Angelica Faith''
''Never The Same Again''
''In The Light of a New Day''
''Spark of the Divine''
''Macumba in Budapest''
''Mr. Szabo''
''Eres La Luz''
''Canela''
''Ah, Sweet Dancer''

Santana Offering Free Download of New Album to Fans Attending Las Vegas Residency

May 9, 2012

Link

Carlos Santana kicked off his new Las Vegas residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino on May 2, and to celebrate the start of the concert series, the guitar legend is offering a special promotion to fans who attend the gigs.

Everyone who has a ticket for one of the initial Vegas dates, which run through June 3, will receive a special card that will allow them to download a free copy of Santana's forthcoming album, Shape Shifter. The collection of mostly instrumental tunes is scheduled to be released next Tuesday.

In related news, Santana has added a handful of performances to his Vegas itinerary, including four November shows in conjunction with Latin Grammy Week.

Here are all of scheduled dates for Santana's Las Vegas show, dubbed "An Intimate Evening with Santana: Greatest Hits Live -- Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow 2012":

May 11, 12, 13, 23, 25, 26, 27, 30

June 1, 2, 3

September 12, 13, 15, 16*, 19, 21, 22, 23

October 31

November 7, 9, 10, 11, 13*, 15*, 16*, 17*

*denotes newly-added date.

SHAPE SHIFTER is an apt title for the brand new Santana studio album, as the musical shape is different from what we normally expect.

The title track starts with something which appears to be influenced by the American Indians (and is reflected on the cover design), before shifting into a piece that wouldn’t seem out of place on a rock album – and in parts is reminiscent of Santana’s moonflower album of 1977.

As this is a mainly instrumental album, the musicians have more than enough opportunity to show off their prowess, not least Carlos Santana himself, whose guitar playing has never been better.

Almost every track has a section where he demonstrates his skill.

Early on, he sets his stall out – on Dom and Nomad, he is well to the fore. OK, this is how it’s meant to be, but he dominates the whole album completely.

Generally, such dominance by one instrument would tend to be a bit wearing, in this case it isn’t.

He plays electric and acoustic guitar with equal expertise and of course the use of different guitars leads to other shifts of shape in the music.

That is not to say that the guitar sound swamps everything completely; in many places, the keyboards seem to challenge him and in these exchanges the two instruments complement each other very well.

There are changes in tempo too. Angelica Faith is quite a bit slower than most of the other tracks and borders on smooth jazz; just the thing for late at night as it is quite beautiful.

This ‘smooth jazz’ feel permeates much of the album giving it a pretty laid-back vibe, and there is a run of this type of track before the tempo picks up again with Macumba in Budapest which is the first track on the album to sound even remotely Latin American.

Mr Szabo is an interesting track, again with a slightly Latin touch, but with the guitar sounding something like a cross between a bouzouki and a balalaika – but at just over six minutes is a tad overlong.

Of the 13 tracks, only the 11th – Erez La Luz – has vocals, and is probably the song that sounds more Mexican than any other; and is quite a jaunty track.

And then back to the late-night sounds for the last couple of tracks.

Overall, as you would expect, we are listening to a master-class in guitar playing as given by Carlos Santana, but such is his skill and the feeling he puts into it – we don’t mind one little bit.

Sony Music.

Release date: 14th May 2012.

Interview: Santana Gets "Spiritually Horny" Making "Shape Shifter"

Joe Charupakorn

The guitarist's legendary chops return to the forefront with his upcoming instrumental album. In our interview, he muses on forgetting that he's Carlos Santana, why he doesn't tour with his wife (drummer Cindy Blackman Santana), and how a PRS just isn't a Strat.

Guitar legend Carlos Santana has enjoyed a tremendous resurgence in popularity and cultivated a new generation of fans over the past couple of decades via his collaborations with the biggest names in pop music. He made a huge impact in 1999 with Supernatural, which featured the multiple Grammy-winning hit “Smooth” with vocalist Rob Thomas, and other guest appearances by the likes of Eric Clapton and Dave Matthews. Santana’s three subsequent releases have followed that winning formula and focused on vocal-driven numbers with a star-studded cast including Michelle Branch, Steven Tyler, Chris Cornell, India.Arie, and Nas, among many others. But while these outings have cast him as a pop culture icon, his die-hard guitar fans longed for some new incarnations of what they consider “classic” Santana—the guy that kicks ass on the 6-string.

Shape Shifter, Santana’s first album on Starfaith Records, finally brings his guitar prowess back to the forefront. The outing comprises primarily instrumentals that Santana wrote from 1997 to 2007. “I felt like it was needed,” Santana says of his re-focus. “I had been appeasing and complying with a lot of major artists and singers from Supernatural on. But I kept hearing from different people, and, from my heart that it was time to do something where we just hear the Mexican playing the guitar,” he explains. It’s the first Santana release in recent memory that doesn’t feature a mega-star vocalist, but the album does feature perhaps the biggest star in Santana’s eyes: His son, Salvador plays piano on the album’s two closing tracks, “Canela” and “Ah, Sweet Dancer.” He heard the latter tune in a taxi in Hamburg, Germany, and was so taken aback that he had two friends contact the radio station and track it down. “It’s a beautiful song, and so I wanted to record it with my son,” says Santana.

You would think that Santana might start taking it easy after selling more than 100 million records and nabbing 10 Grammy awards over 40-plus years—especially considering he turns 65 this July. But there’s no retirement in Santana’s plans. In fact, he’s going stronger than ever. In addition to his new album, he just kicked off a two-year residency at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. We recently got a taste of what it’s like to be Carlos Santana, as well as an inside scoop on the recent additions to Shape Shifter, his gear arsenal, and how his instrument choices affect his sound.

How did Shape Shifter come about?
Everything comes from the need within. Like John Lee Hooker used to say, “It’s in you, and it’s got to come out.”

Your solo on “Canela” sounds really inspired, particularly with those aggressive overbends and tremolo-picked unison bends, during the last minute of the track, as you play the melody out. What ignited such passion there?
Sometimes you get really … how do you say it without getting weird? Sometimes you get spiritually horny and you have this molecule screaming that you need to be aggressive—but not hurtful. Even though the song is gentle in a certain way, I felt like I had to honor the dynamism and energy. Because at this point, I’m almost 65, man, and what I’m really into more than ever is the thing that I love about Jimi Hendrix and Sonny Sharrock, which is energy. I don’t apologize for it—I’m actually grateful that I have it and it’s just about learning to direct it without harming anyone.

Now, this spiritual horniness, how does it manifest itself? Do you just get the urge in the middle of a song or is it present even before getting to the studio?
You know some days you just wake up with an abundance of energy and you just need to ride a bike, or play tennis, or take a walk up the hill or something. All of us as humans have an abundance of energy and sometimes, if you’re not exercising or doing something with it, it spills over on you. It needs to come out. Some people get cranky, some people talk too much, and some people do this or that. For me, when I’m in the studio, sometimes I need to be aware of this. “Is it okay for me to really spill over with energy?” And I said, “Yeah.” I validated myself and so I went for it.

“Shape Shifter” has several parts that remind me of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It.” Was that at all an inspiration here?
[Laughs.] We both get bass lines from James Brown [hums a bass figure]. It’s the sequence of repetition. For me, repetition is not redundant or boring. Done the right way, it helps create a vortex that helps your feet get off the ground.

Can you elaborate on what you mean by “the right way?”
It’s intentionality. For example, it’s not so much what chord you play or what amplifier you’re playing through. It’s more about, “What were you thinking or feeling when you hit that chord or that note?” That’s what makes you into B.B. King, Albert King, Freddie King, Otis Rush, Buddy Guy, Jeff Beck, or Jimmy Page. What were they thinking and feeling at the time they played those notes? And then it’s not repetition, it becomes like a spell.

You’re turning 65 soon, but instead of retiring, you’re going stronger than ever. What is the secret to your longevity?
I’ve found, in the last four years, that I can shift my perception. When you get out to do things for other people rather than yourself, you get a hundred times more energy. When you wake up just for you, you don’t even want to get out of bed.

It seems most of your energy and focus is on performing and being Carlos Santana. Would you have a hard time adjusting to life without that?
Well, thank God I have a celestial amnesia. If it wasn’t for the fact that people ask me to sign autographs or take pictures with them, I can forget really, really quick that I’m Carlos Santana.

Can you really?
Yeah, and that’s a real gift from God. I’m not into Carlos Santana—I’m into what he does and why he does it. God gave me a whole other incentive, and a crystal clear perception of reality where I don’t get carried away. I know when to get the heck off the stage. A lot of these guys never get off the stage, you know what I mean? When you get into the persona then the same thing that happened to Michael Jackson or Whitney Houston happens to you. Because you start carrying baggage that’s very heavy with illusion and false expectations, and you start feeling like, “Nobody understands my pain.” Then you start hiring psychiatrists, analysts, therapists, and doctors to give you medicine that you really don’t need because your body can actually heal itself if you just give it time.

With your upcoming residency at the House of Blues, I’m sure the audience is expecting to hear the hits. How do you keep it interesting for yourself when you play something like “Oye Como Va” for the millionth time?
I keep it interesting by accessing something that I have inside me. There are switches that I have in my brain and my heart that I click on … here’s the secret for a lot of people. I call it the “First French Kiss.” You can will things to feel and be, and become. For example, I will this “first-time ever” for everything. If I want to play “Black Magic Woman” how I felt with the innocence, purity, and first-time sensuality, then I remember how it was when I played it for the first time at a rehearsal in Fresno, before a concert. That’s the first time we played it. Gregg Rolie said, “Man, I got this song from Peter Green called ‘Black Magic Woman,’ and I think we should do it.” We did it at the soundcheck, and I go back to that soundcheck, or back to the first time I played “Oye Como Va” on the radio in San Francisco. I just go back to that place and make it as real as I can, and I do, and therefore I don’t get tired of playing that song. I don’t count how many, I just feel how deep.

Your touring band features drummer extraordinaire, Dennis Chambers. Why didn’t you use your wife Cindy Blackman, who is also a phenomenal drummer?
Because her music dictates her soul to do something different. She comes more from the Tony Williams, John McLaughlin, or Miles Davis direction. For me, I’m into that but not only that.

You tend to work with a lot of jazz drummers. What do they bring to your music that say, a rock guy, couldn’t?
They have more freedom than we do. They get to hit everything at the same time and they also create melodies on the cymbals and everything.

But with that said, your favorite musicians are not only just jazz musicians. Are they?
I create a big circle and put the number ones in there: Tony Williams, Elvin Jones, Buddy Rich, Art Blakey, John Bonham, Ginger Baker. You know, they’re all number ones to me. Or take the drummer in Bob Marley’s band. Even when you just hear the music without Bob Marley, and the band is just jamming, you know it just doesn’t get any better than that, for what that is. When you hear Metallica, it doesn’t get any better, for what that is. You have to give credit to Lars and everybody.

How has your conception of tone changed over the years? Are you still chasing the same singing tone?
No, I don’t chase sound anymore. I stopped chasing it. It’s in my limbs, it’s in my vitals, it’s in my heart, and it’s in my fingers. I just plug in and turn knobs until it doesn’t sound offensive, until it doesn’t hurt my teeth.

Some of the tones on Shape Shifter, like the ones on “Ah, Sweet Dancer,” sound a bit bassier than your signature tones. Is there a reason why?
I think it was the placement of the microphones, plus I had to be very careful because my son was playing acoustic piano on that one. I had to play softer and roll more bass so I could crank it up. Usually if you don't crank it up, things sound thin.

After immortalizing the Mesa/Boogie Mark I throughout your career, you added a Dumble, and most recently, a Bludotone to your arsenal. What do they offer that the Boogie doesn’t?
Bludotone did something that is really incredible that, with all due respect to Boogie and Dumble, they have yet to do. With Boogies and Dumbles, you have to turn them up loud to get real fullness. The Bludotone you can play full like, excuse the expression, a full erection, but at a different volume without sounding shrill or weird. Bludotone found something that makes the amplifier very robust and warm without having to crank it up past 7.

I understand that PRS recently made you a guitar with three single-coil pickups, and that you also have a ’63 Strat and a Strat-style guitar in your arsenal. Are you able to get that liquid, vocal tone without humbuckers?
Not yet. A Strat is a Strat. If I want to do a song that sounds like Stevie Ray or Jimi or Jeff or Eric, well… you have to play a Strat through a Dumble to get that sound. I mean, I respect Paul [Reed Smith], he’s my brother. But, a lot of musicians use a keyboard to try and impersonate a trumpet or a trombone, and they think they sound like it. Then I tell them, “No [laughs]. A trombone sounds like a trombone and you sound like a synthesizer trying to sound like a trombone. Why can’t you get that straight?” I give them credit for trying, and I think the only thing that computers have gotten close to replicating are cellos and flutes. The rest is…no, not yet. And so it’s the same thing with Strats. We’re still trying on it but I’m getting the feeling that with a Strat, you just have to leave it alone because it’s a Strat.

Santana: Shape Shifter (CD review)

Starfaith

Carlos Santana’s guitar tone and sustain-powered solos are instantly recognizable and, with a few exceptions, the musical composition remains pretty regular if not formulaic. That said, Santana always finds ways to make his songs stand out. On Shape Shifter, two things in particular require notice: the Native American drumming and chanting intro on the opening track, and the fact that all but the album’s final cut are instrumental. Presenting an album of instrumentals harkens back to Santana’s ‘60s roots when long soaring jams, powerful Latin-style grooves and bottomless solos were the norm. It’s nice to hear Santana shredding again while challenging himself to new heights. Some of the tracks date back more than 12 years—tunes he’s stashed away for just such an outing, and a pair feature son Salvador Santana on piano. Again, Santana’s being Santana, and as always, it’s a beautiful thing.

"Nomad" (new track from the new Santana album)

Carlos Santana streams track "Nomad" and talks about new album "Shape Shifter"

(hear the new track "Nomad",on the post above this one)

Carlos Santana is set to release his 36th album next month ahead of the start of his two-year Las Vegas Residency at the House of Blues.

Speaking recently to MusicRadar.com, Santana explains that making a mostly instrumental album is more satisfying as "I don't need to accommodate lyrics, and I don't need to accommodate artists. I say this in a funny way, but it's more about letting a Mexican play the guitar!"

He goes on to add that he'll be not wait so long before doing another instrumental album next time, "I'm going to make sure that I do one album like this and then another kind."

Speaking about his signature sound the legendary guitarist said, "I couldn't sound like BB or Otis Rush, so I gave up and said, 'Maybe there's a reason. Don't fight it anymore." The legendary guitarist will release the new album "Shape Shifter" on his own record label, Starfaith, and will be his 36th album release since he began his long career in 1969.

***We're excited for Shape Shifter release day tomorrow May 15th! To celebrate the release, Carlos will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow and will play Nomad off of Shape Shifter.

***Carlos will be the featured guest on the nationally syndicated radio show ROCKLINE with host Bob Coburn, Wednesday May 16, 2012 at 8:30pm PT / 11:30pm ET. Fans are encouraged to call to speak with Carlos toll free at 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). For a station near you and for information regarding how to log onto the Internet for the broadcast go to www.RocklineRadio.com

"Angelica Faith"---from the new Santana album 'Shapeshifter'

"In The Light Of A New Day" from the new Santana album 'Shapeshifter'

SoulAlive said:

***We're excited for Shape Shifter release day tomorrow May 15th! To celebrate the release, Carlos will be on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno tomorrow and will play Nomad off of Shape Shifter.

***Carlos will be the featured guest on the nationally syndicated radio show ROCKLINE with host Bob Coburn, Wednesday May 16, 2012 at 8:30pm PT / 11:30pm ET. Fans are encouraged to call to speak with Carlos toll free at 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). For a station near you and for information regarding how to log onto the Internet for the broadcast go to www.RocklineRadio.com

The show will be streamed on the Rockline website for two weeks beginning the afternoon after the live broadcast.Tune in to NBC at 11:35/10:35c!

Thanks for the tips. Will check it out - it's sounding good.

Critic's pick: Santana, 'Shape Shifter'

By Walter Tunis — Contributing Music Writer

Posted: 10:07am on May 15, 2012; Modified: 12:07pm on May 15, 2012

Critic's pick

Santana

Shape Shifter

Ever since Supernatural gave Santana a new commercial presence more than a decade ago, the landmark Latin-rock ensemble has existed — at least on record — as a high-profile karaoke band playing second fiddle to a rotating lineup of guest singers.

That was fine for Supernatural, but the formula soon became as tired as the material, leaving the Rock and Roll Hall of Famers — not to mention its namesake guitarist — in creative limbo. Sure, Carlos Santana loved to preach the spiritual musical gospel of John Coltrane and Miles Davis in interviews. But on record, his band's music had turned to cosmic schlock.

Shape Shifter, Santana's best album in nearly 25 years (and its 36th album overall), is a modest triumph because it gives a gag order to the guest list. Aside from Eres La Luz — led by the Latin verses of vocalists Tony Lindsay and Andy Vargas, a robust mambo-flavored groove and the yang of acoustic and electric guitar breaks to Mr. Carlos' yin — the entire album is instrumental.

First things first. Those hoping for a return to the potent Latin-jazz fusion sound of early Santana classics Abraxas and Caravanserai should probably bypass Shape Shifter. There are subtle echoes of those formidable works in Mr. Szabo, an ode to Hungarian jazz guitarist whose Gypsy Queen instrumental has remained a performance staple in the Santana repertoire since Abraxas was released in 1970. It sails discreetly on a cushion of congas with a decidedly Spanish guitar melody (and a subsequent acoustic solo) leading the breezy charge. There also is a touch of Santana's vintage Jingo beat behind the electric groove of Nomad. Mostly, though, Shape Shifter operates from a slicker base.

Undercutting much of the album are numerous keyboard backdrops that give the music a purposely — if not slightly overwrought — celestial feel.

Ultimately, your acceptance of Shape Shifter will depend on your tolerance of these New Age accents. Most of the time, Santana uses these ideas strictly as orchestration. After all, when your guitar sound is this commanding, why yield to anything else?

Indicative of this sleek approach is Macumba in Budapest, which surrounds another summery acoustic lead before the tune transforms into an absorbing rhumba that gives longtime percussionists Raul Rekow and Karl Perazzo room to move. Also engaging is a cover of Touré Kunda's Dom, in which electric guitar moves from muted lyricism to a more uninhibited war cry over a march-like processional of synths and the meaty support of drummer Dennis Chambers.

So Shape Shifter is not a nostalgia ride. But it is a welcome reminder of what power and ingenuity one of the world's most celebrated guitarists can exhibit once he tells his troupe of star singers to button their lips.

Walter Tunis, Contributing Music Critic

SoulAlive said:

OK, I'm getting this on your recommendation. IF... I don't like it, you have to give me my money back.

--------------

[Edited 5/16/12 5:11am]

It's a deal

Preview the album on AOL New Music here: <http://music.aol.com/new-...ull-cds#/6>

SoulAlive said:

Preview the album on AOL New Music here: <http://music.aol.com/new-...ull-cds#/6>

I should've known, you had a trick up your sleeve.

Thanks Soul, I'm listening to it now befo' I buy.

Listening now...

This is a beautiful cd. Carlos should be very proud. I've listened to it twice in the past few days and I love every song. It definitely has a spiritual, vibe and the guitar work is amazing.

Empress said:

This is a beautiful cd. Carlos should be very proud. I've listened to it twice in the past few days and I love every song. It definitely has a spiritual, vibe and the guitar work is amazing.

it's a very laid-back,mesmerizing album with a spiritual vibe.It's gonna make up my summer 2012 soundtrack.I've been waiting years for Carlos to make an album like this,with no guest stars,no pop tunes,no "trendy" production.It's refreshing to hear.

SoulAlive said:

Empress said:

This is a beautiful cd. Carlos should be very proud. I've listened to it twice in the past few days and I love every song. It definitely has a spiritual, vibe and the guitar work is amazing.

it's a very laid-back,mesmerizing album with a spiritual vibe.It's gonna make up my summer 2012 soundtrack.I've been waiting years for Carlos to make an album like this,with no guest stars,no pop tunes,no "trendy" production.It's refreshing to hear.

Agree 100%.

artist76 said:

SoulAlive said:

it's a very laid-back,mesmerizing album with a spiritual vibe.It's gonna make up my summer 2012 soundtrack.I've been waiting years for Carlos to make an album like this,with no guest stars,no pop tunes,no "trendy" production.It's refreshing to hear.

Agree 100%.

Yes, I agree too. I'm really loving this new cd. Can't wait to hear him perform a few songs when I see him live in July.

I haven't enjoyed a Santana project this much in ages. Absolutely deserving of the hype.

Soundsss goooodddd... checkin for this