Santana to release a new EP 'In Search Of Mona Lisa' on January 25

The guitar legend and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Carlos Santana has inked a deal with Concord Records and detailed his new EP, In Search Of Mona Lisa set for release on 25 January.

The EP is available for pre-order now, with a vinyl edition out on 22 February. This EP marks the follow-up to the guitar virtuoso’s last record Power Of Peace, a collaboration with the Isley Brothers from 2017. Santana is also working with legendary producer Rick Rubin on a full album that’s due for a Summer 2019 release.

In Search Of Mona Lisa boasts three new recordings along with edited versions of two of the songs. According to an artist statement, the new EP was inspired by transformative trip to Paris:

“Three spellbinding and transportive new songs takes listeners inside a magical and deeply personal experience Carlos had when he visited the Louvre Museum and set his eyes on Leonardo da Vinci’s beguiling masterpiece.”

After finally viewing the iconic painting, the singer-songwriter dreamed up the lyrics in his head. “It was the first time that I ever woke up and lyrics were there in a tangible way,” Santana said. “I could just grab them and write the songs.”

Joining the trailblazing guitarist is legendary jazz bassist Ron Carter, Santana’s wife and drummer Cindy Blackman, and producer Narada Michael Walden, who also performs keyboards, bass and drums.

“Carlos Santana is an artist of singular voice. Immediately recognized for his signature sound and celebrated as one of the greatest guitarists of all time, his gift for melody and ability to seamlessly fuse and transcend musical genres has inspired us all,” John Burk, president of Concord Records, said in statement announcing Santana’s signing. “We are thrilled to welcome Carlos to the Concord family and look forward to where his seemingly endless creativity, curiosity and passion take us.”

In Search Of Mona Lisa
1. ‘Do You Remember Me’
2. ‘In Search of Mona Lisa’
3. ‘Lovers From Another Time’
4. ‘Do You Remember Me’ (Edit Version)
5. ‘In Search of Mona Lisa’ (Edit Version)

Santana Announces New EP ... uDiscover

[Edited 2/3/19 0:52am]

The New EP from Santana, entitled " In Search of Mona Lisa" will drop on January 25. You can Pre-Order it Today at https://found.ee/Santana_InSearchOfMonaLisa
The EP contains three spellbinding and transportive new songs that takes listeners inside a magical and deeply personal experience Carlos had when he visited the Louvre Museum and set his eyes on Leonardo da Vinci’s beguiling masterpiece. Track 1, "Do You Remember Me" has become a fan favorite at recent Santana shows and is captured in all 9 minutes of its glory. Once the band kicks in with a graceful Afro-Cuban groove (courtesy of his wife Cindy Blackman Santanaon drums, with Karl Perazzo on congas, timbales and percussion), the song opens up on a full five minutes of some of Carlos' most gorgeous soloing yet – his lead lines are stinging, teasing, crying and sensuous – before singers Andy Vargas and Ray Greene take over. The EP's title track, "In Search of Mona Lisa" sets a different mood. Produced by Narada Michael Walden, the song features a hypnotic Bo Diddley-esque rhythm. Carlos lets loose with biting, wah-drenched call-and-response phrases with singer Cornell “CC” Carter before he takes flight on an impassioned extended guitar solo. The final track, “Lovers From Another Time,” unfolds much like the painting that inspired the music itself, with the dual drumming of Cindy and Walden mixing with the legendary Ron Carter’s elegant bass lines, to create a living and breathing canvas on which Santana splashes vibrant six-string colors and textures.
Pre-order the EP today!
https://found.ee/Santana_InSearchOfMonaLisa

Nice! Thanks Soulalive.

Sounds like an interesting band. Cool to see Santana making more artistic music.

Gotta love the publicity blurb's description of the tunes. It's true what they say that writing about music is like dancing about architecture!

He also has a full-length album,produced by Rick Ruben,due later this year.

MarshallStacks said:

I like how he stays so active....always releasing new music and touring constantly.After all these years,he’s still truly inspired to create music and fulfill all of his musical dreams.

btw...I have heard the new single “In Search Of Mona Lisa”...it is a cool,uptempo track.It was played on a European radio station....but on Youtube,there are recent concert clips of Santana performing it,and it is a slow ballad

MarshallStacks said:

Carlos Santana Announces 2019 'Supernatural' North American Tour: See the Dates

Carlos Santana 2019 Tour ... Billboard

The tour will commemorate the guitarist’s momentous anniversaries of ‘Supernatural’ album and 1969 Woodstock performance.

Carlos Santana announced today (Jan. 16) that he will be going on a North American tour this year. The 29-date tour will commemorate two of the legendary guitarist’s most momentous occasions: the 20th anniversary of his Grammy-award winning album, Supernatural, and the 50th anniversary of his historic performance at Woodstock.

Santana and his band -- which features his wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, on the drums -- will be joined by fellow Californian rock band The Doobie Brothers.

Produced by Live Nation, the Supernatural Now Tour begins on June 22, and will make stops in Phoenix, Ariz., Dallas, T.X., Chicago, Toronto and many more. Tickets will go on sale to the general public beginning Jan. 25 at LiveNation.com.

Although the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer will undoubtedly revisit his classics, such as hit singles “Smooth” and “Maria Maria,” he is also adding new songs to the set list. Those new songs will come from his latest EP In Search of Mona Lisa, scheduled to drop on Jan. 25.

“We’re always moving forward, and we have incredible new songs and melodies that will inspire you,” Santana said in a statement. “I feel like a 20 year old on stage playing with this band, and they deliver on every song. When we hit the stage, we know we will touch your heart and make you dance, sing, cry, laugh and leave your baggage behind.”

Check out the list of Santana’s tour dates below.

TOUR DATES:
June 22 -- Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion
June 23 -- San Diego, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
June 24 -- Los Angeles, CA @ Hollywood Bowl
June 26 -- Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre
June 27 -- Wheatland, CA @ Toyota Amphitheatre
June 29 -- Seattle, WA @ White River Amphitheatre
June 30 -- Portland, OR @ Sunlight Supply Amphitheater
July 2 -- Salt Lake City, UT @ USANA Amphitheatre
July 3 -- Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center
July 6 -- Dallas, TX @ Dos Equis Pavilion
July 9 -- Austin, TX @ Austin360 Amphitheater
July 11 -- Kansas City, MO @ Sprint Center
July 12 -- St. Louis, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 3 -- St. Paul, MN @ Xcel Energy Center
Aug. 4 -- Chicago, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Aug. 6 -- Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage
Aug. 7 -- Cleveland, OH @ Blossom Music Center
Aug. 9 -- Indianapolis, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center
Aug. 10 -- Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center
Aug. 11 -- Detroit, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
Aug. 13 -- Charlotte, NC @ PNC Music Pavilion
Aug. 14 -- Washington, DC @ Jiffy Lube Live
Aug. 16 -- Darien Center, NY @ Darien Lake Amphitheater
Aug. 18 -- Holmdel, NJ @ PNC Bank Arts Center
Aug. 20 -- Boston, MA @ Xfinity Center
Aug. 21 -- Hartford, CT @ XFINITY Theatre
Aug. 23 -- Saratoga, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center
Aug. 24 -- Camden, NJ @ BB&T Pavilion
Aug. 25 -- Wantagh, NY @ Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater

Carlos Santana on the Power of ‘The Mona Lisa,’ Today’s New Hippies

With a new EP, ‘In Search of Mona Lisa,’ out soon and a tour celebrating 50 years of Woodstock booked for the summer, the guitarist has big plans for 2019

https://www.rollingstone....NiTeUGMizh

Carlos wrote “Do You Remember Me?” in a musical style called a guajira. That song, a slow, senusous, nearly 10-minute number with a five-minute guitar solo intro, became the lead track on Santana’s new EP, In Search of Mona Lisa, which comes out January 25th.

In Search of Mona Lisa contains a triptych of tunes about Santana’s connection to Leonardo da Vinci’s masterpiece. It was his friend, sometime Mahavishnu Orchestra drummer Narada Michael Walden, who suggested Carlos write a guajira. “Guajira is the most effective way to, excuse the expression, penetrate a woman’s heart and then they remember the whole glory of being a female and start dancing a certain way,” he says. “It’s the most tried, true and tested frequency that makes women open up like a flower.” They played it for producer Rick Rubin, with whom Santana has recorded a new full-length, “and he was so moved.” Rubin suggested they do a full album of ballads.

The EP’s second track, “In Search of Mona Lisa,” features an update of Bo Diddley’s famous rhythm (“Bo Diddley scared more white people in the Midwest than anybody else because his music sounded like African jungle music,” Santana says) but it has a hip-hop twist, soulful vocals and plenty of Carlos’ guitar playing. The third track, the orchestral and slowly unfolding “Lovers From Another Time,” evolved after Cindy suggested he work on it with jazz bassist Ron Carter. “I said, ‘I’m going to take some of those intervals and things that Coltrane and Yusef Lateef did,’ and she goes, ‘Maybe make it more symphonic and call up Ron Carter,'” he says. “I was like, ‘Oh, my God. OK.’ And God of the universe complied and he said yes.”

The three songs serve as a preamble to the upcoming album he made with Rubin, which he previously told Rolling Stone would be named Global Revelation. “I went to Rick to see if he would, as Miles Davis would say, ‘Would you have eyes to do something with me?'” Santana says. “‘I know you’ve worked with everybody like Johnny Cash and the Chili Peppers and Metallica,’ And he goes, ‘Well, what are you interested in doing?’ I said, ‘Nothing but African music.’ So can you believe it? We record 49 songs in 10 days. He was very gracious, because it was like a hurricane to record six, seven songs in a day. Rick said, ‘With Clive Davis, you had a bunch of guest stars and singers. Who do you want in here?’ I said, ‘I only want two women: Laura Mvula and Buika.’ And he said, ‘OK.’ So we called them and they said yes.”

Santana Premiere "Do You ...uitarworld

Today, we've teamed up with Santana to premiere the music video for their new song, "Do You Remember Me." You can check it out above.

"Do You Remember Me" is the opening track on Santana's new EP, In Search of Mona Lisa. Set for release tomorrow, it's the band's first release for their new label, Concord Records. Santana will also release a full-length album, produced by Rick Rubin, later this year.

New song sounds great! I hear a similarity with some older work , but nonetheless another timeless classics

alphastreet said:

Yeah this EP is a nice little treat to tide us over until his full album is released later this year.As always,Carlos’ guitar playing is heavenly.

SoulAlive said:

Yes it’s really well written and looking forward to the album as well

new interview

Santana - In Search of Mo... - YouTube

"Lovers From Another Time"

"In Search Of Mona Lisa"

"Do You Remember Me"

gonna see Santana in concert in June! there’s nothing like a Santana concert at an outdoor venue in the summertime....hearing a song like “Europa” underneath the stars

SoulAlive said:

I got mine too! Hubby and I are going in August and will be loving it under the stars. No rain please

Empress said:

cool!