The Guitar Maestro: Santana

By Author: Savor LaBanda
Total Articles: 6
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Anybody having a passion for music would groove to the music at any point of day and at any place. It is the single most important thing which helps in connecting people. Have you ever been totally depressed or sad and have found your mood getting alleviated because of music? Yes, it has those really powerful therapeutic properties. In fact, when you travel by local transport, you would find people listening to music rather than just sitting like that.

The master of guitar

And, when we talk about music, how can we not mention the master of guitar, Santana. He is like god of music. He was born in 1947 in Mexico and is a Mexican American who became famous with his band. His band had a specialty of creating fusion with music of both rock and the Latin American. The band’s main feature was the use of melodic guitars which played the Latin and the African rhythms with percussion instruments.

His early life

Can you imagine that the guitarist Santana started to play violin when he was only five years old and learnt the guitar when he was eight years old. He studied from the James Lick School and the ...
... Middle high school. Even though he had got offers to study further from the California State University and the Humboldt State University, he did not take up the offers and pursued his interests in music instead.

How did he start his career?

He used to work as dishwasher in a restaurant for earning money and to take care of his expenses. When he saw live performances of his favorite idols like BB King, he got influenced a lot. There was also an influence of jazz and the folk music on him. So, he turned into a musician. And, a chance performance in Fillmore West of Bill Graham made him quite popular. When he gave a solo performance of the guitar during jam sessions, he enthralled the audience to no end. And, he also got noticed by Bill Graham. With all the adoration coming his way, he formed his own band with other musicians such as David Brown, Marcus Malone, Gregg Rolie and Hammond Organ.

What made him so popular?

His music had such an original blend of the jazz, salsa, rock, all influenced and infused by Latin and also the African rhythms which made him hugely popular among the audience. He got a huge fan following and his band became a runaway success. And, all this success made him sign the contracts for recording with the Columbia records.

His popular albums and soundtracks

His popular albums include “Spirits dancing in flesh”, “Milagro”, “Sacred Fire”, “Brothers”, “Supernatural”. His single album, “Smooth” was so dynamic and had his guitar fills in between. In fact, this album was played on radio and became a hit. His all time favourite song is the “Black Magic woman” which is so nice and hummable even now.

The great Santana has received about ten Grammy awards and 3 Latin Grammy awards.

About the author:

Savor LaBanda is an author of this article who writes about the Carlos Santana who has the ability of powerful music; Santana launched his band of products under the name Santana.

For more details visit us at http://www.ultimatesantana.com