Santana on [i]A Love Supreme[/i]

[Guy Berger]

In Ashley Kahn's book A Love Supreme, Carlos Santana says:

"If I did do it [record another version of A Love Supreme], I would do it differently than the way John McLaughlin and myself did it when we just went for it. Now I dream big, man, I don't dream small. I would do it with a symphony, with real African drummers, Brazilian musicians, with Alice Coltrane, [indian sarod master] Ali Akbar Khan, Wayne Shorter, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie [Hancock], McCoy and everyone in tuxedos." (p. 204)

Does that scare the crap out of anybody else?

Guy

[Chuck Nessa]

Does that scare the crap out of anybody else?

Guy

Cleaning my chair at this moment.

[GregK]

In Ashley Kahn's book A Love Supreme, Carlos Santana says:

"If I did do it [record another version of A Love Supreme], I would do it differently than the way John McLaughlin and myself did it when we just went for it. Now I dream big, man, I don't dream small. I would do it with a symphony, with real African drummers, Brazilian musicians, with Alice Coltrane, [indian sarod master] Ali Akbar Khan, Wayne Shorter, Pharoah Sanders, Herbie [Hancock], McCoy and everyone in tuxedos." (p. 204)

Does that scare the crap out of anybody else?

Guy

YIKES!!!

[Harold_Z]

No small time thinking there....this guy's a ROCK STAR !

It's about SPECTACLE...not music.

[AfricaBrass]

I don't know how much worse it can be than his last two albums.

I rather hear the freakin' Mormon Tabernacle Choir doing "A Love Supreme" than sit through any of the tracks from his Supernatural album. (Where's that puking avatar when you really need it? )

[7/4]

I don't know how much worse it can be than his last two albums.

I rather hear the freakin' Mormon Tabernacle Choir doing "A Love Supreme" than sit through any of the tracks from his Supernatural album. (Where's that puking avatar when you really need it? )

You're a riot!

I would like to hear Santana do that. I'd like to hear him pull it off.

My own personal vision doesn't take a village.

[robviti]

I'm not sure if I'm missing something here, see something others don't, or if I just want to be oppositional (probably a combination of all three!). I read Santana's remark as a reflection of someone who believes A Love Supreme is a monumental work that deserves to be revisited, reinterpreted, etc., rather than just a piece of history to be kept safe and secure in its original form in the back of people's minds. I'm a fan the the Mingus Big Band, a collective dedicated to keeping Mingus's compositions alive through performance. I've also attended some of the Coltrane Memorial concerts here in Boston that have offered different interpretations of Coltrane's works ("latinized," with peotry, etc.). I'm not sure Santana's ASL Revisited would be as successful as these ventures, since a great deal of ASL's success is due to the incredible performance of the Quartet. All in all, I think Santana is a class act, so I choose to believe his comment represents admiration for the beauty and integrity of the composition.

[mikeweil]

... and everyone in tuxedos.

... with all my assembled forces of imagination I cannot see Carlos Santana in a tuxedo! With his his woolen cap on the head, that is.

[AfricaBrass]

... and everyone in tuxedos.

... with all my assembled forces of imagination I cannot see Carlos Santana in a tuxedo! With his his woolen cap on the head, that is.

He really needs to lose the cap too!

It's not like we don't know he is BALD.

There's nothing wrong with being bald.

[jazzbo]

I'm with jazzshrink on this one.

[AfricaBrass]

I'm cool with it as long as they don't have Rob Thomas from Matchbox 20.

I'd rather see them all do Coltrane's OM instead. That would be fun.

[Chuck Nessa]

I read Santana's remark as a reflection of someone who believes A Love Supreme is a monumental work that deserves to be revisited, reinterpreted, etc., rather than just a piece of history to be kept safe and secure in its original form in the back of people's minds.

Guess you are correct. Those reinterpretations of Leonardo, Beethoven, Piccaso, etc are wonderful.

I have 3 different artist's versions of a Rembrandt in my collection now.

Duh!

If someone like Santana thinks something like Trane's work needs investigation and "reinterpretation", I'd be more impressed if he'd select some neglected work.

[mikeweil]

I'd rather see them all do Coltrane's OM instead. That would be fun.

Call that matching trips!

[Chuck Nessa]

Anybody want a copy of Keane's (sp) redo of the Mona Lisa? I have a copy on black velvet. Those big eyes make the broad much more attractive.

[Jazzmoose]

lotsa johnny cash too it'd be even better if carlos found the work of another columbia artist, marty robbins, and gifted us w/a santana version of "gunfighter ballads and trail songs."

Hold it right there, pardner; you're messin' with two o' my favorites now!

(Well, okay...you can take Marty, but hands off the Man in Black!)

Interesting to see the Carlos bashing here; I don't believe I've ever seen any before.

[AfricaBrass]

i can't stand santana and his carlos casteneda trip or whatever the hell it is. and tho' this is subjective as hell, i NEVER dug his guitar tone. make mine jerry, jorma, cippolina... and that's just san francisco, yo.

a DIFFERENT kind of hippie, thanks.

clem

If you're a fan of the Dead, Airplane, and Quicksilver, you're alright in my book!

I can hang with Santana up until around '74, but I wouldn't take his stuff to a desert island or anything, but the Dead, Airplane, and Quicksilver would be there in a second.

[jacman]

well, my flame resistant suit is on....

i love Carlos Santana. IMO, Carlos has never made a bad album.

i'm with Jazzshrink and Jazzbo on this one.

i'd love for Carlos to do an album of covers. he references tons of jazz tunes in his live solos anyway.

[bertrand]

Speaking of San Francisco rockers who (could have) collaborated with Wayne Shorter...

I've always wondered what Wayne would sound like playing with Jack Casady. I just *love* the sound that guy gets out of his bass.

Bertrand.

[Sundog]

No small time thinking there....this guy's a ROCK STAR !

It's about SPECTACLE...not music.

Don't forget the Stonehenge stage set! B)

[Jazzmoose]

Well, I personally love the first two Santana LPs, although I admit I don't listen to them often (hell, I don't think there are any LPs or discs I listen to often; there's just too many of the damn things at this point!). I can't say I'm that much on later stuff...

(And Clem, when I talk about new wave pop crap, I know it's new wave pop crap. But I don't feel any need to apologize to anyone who can glorify Quicksilver Messenger Service with a straight face...I assumed that if any fans of that group migrated to jazz, it would be Boney M. and Kenny G.!

------Jazzmoose, not feeling as hostile as this probably reads, honestly!)

[Kari S]

No small time thinking there....this guy's a ROCK STAR !

It's about SPECTACLE...not music.

Don't forget the Stonehenge stage set! B)

...yeah, and the whole show is performed on ice.

But seriously folks, have I've been listening to the wrong Santana records (probably...), or am I alone in saying that Santana hasn't really been...such a good guitar player? I mean he seems to play the same (limited) solo on every tune and always ends up playing those bended high notes. OK, so does every other rock guitarist... I hear what y'all are saying about reinterpreting "classic" works and all that, but to me, "revisiting" ALS seems pointless. Especially for a man of such limited imagination, musical vocabulary and, well, technique. Branford Marsalis has studied/listened to that album for years, yet I felt his take on it didn't bring anything substantially new to it. Granted, some of the earlier Santana records like Lotus are great, but for example that McLaughligh/Santana collaboration where they played the title track to ALS was quite horrific IMO. Especially Carlos' part...

[Alexander]

I'm not fan or anything...I don't own a single Santana CD...but I've got a lot of respect for the guy. He's got excellent taste, he's got good pop instincts (say what you like about "Smooth" and "The Game of Love," they were catchy and they were hits), and he's been doing it for decades. Like I said, I don't have any of his albums, but I enjoy myself whenever one of his songs shows up on the radio...

[Noj]

Alexander--if you ever buy a Santana album, make it this one!

[7/4]

i actually would be curious to hear what guitar adepts dig about sri carlos.

Back in the early days he had a great tone. Illumination with Alice Coltrane was probablly his last good album.

[Jazzmoose]

Randy California: now there's a heavy, funny dude.

Jesus...it's been a long time since I heard that name!

One point about Santana, when I talk about digging Santana, i'm talking about the first two LPs by the group, which (due to my age and being surrounded by rock fans growing up) was my introduction to latin rhythyms. So you know I've got a soft spot in my heart for it just on the nostalgia. When I say "Santana", I'm really thinking "Jose Areas", so bear with me...