Carlos Santana – All Is One tour

Undeterred by mid-summer temperatures reaching into triple digits, Carlos Santana and his 10-member band treated a capacity crowd of 17,000+ to a scorching performance at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia, MD on Friday night, August 2nd, 2002.

Moments after the guitar technician finished a routine sound check – first on Carlo’s ever-present PRS guitar, then on a stand-mounted, electric-classical – the house lights dimmed and the first strains of Day of Celebration (a bonus track from the 1999 Grammy-winning release Supernatural) started the show. Playing on the electric-classical for the intro, Carlos improvised in a Spanish motif with understated elegance. As the main theme kicked in, he switched to the PRS, and lit up the stage with his signature melodic style and warm, singing tone. After a faithful reading of the studio arrangement and an extended soaring jam (complete with sound effects produced by a glass slide directly over the pickups), the rhythm section took over with multi-percussionist Karl Perazzo, conga player Raul Rekow, and drummer Dennis Chambers trading licks to a thunderous finale.

Next came the beautiful instrumental ballad, Victory Is Won, reminiscent of Santana’s classic compositions Europa and ‘Samba Pa Ti. After the guitarist’s soulful main melody and solo, he and bassist Benny Rietveld traded call-and-response phrases, and keyboardist Chester Thompson added a perfect organ solo. Carlos showed a playful side as he enjoyed “CT’s” solo by playing ‘air piano’ and smiling broadly.

The stage lights inexplicably went dark and the guitar technician reappeared apparently making an adjustment on the electric classical guitar. Instead of proceeding with the show, a spotlight came on and the guitar tech revealed himself to be a stunningly talented flamenco guitarist. Playing solo, he alternated fiery and passionate chordal strumming passages with very fast but articulate multi-octave arpeggio runs. Shifting gears, he added a section of delicate chord changes connected by sensitive melodic phrases. Racing towards the finish of his unexpected star turn, he repeated a furious rhythmic phrase that got the crowd clapping in accompaniment. He was treated to a thunderous ovation as the lights came back up and Carlos sent him to center stage for his bows. Guitar playing hobbyists in the audience were left to reconsider their future on the instrument if being that good only gets you a job as a roadie.

As Santana took over the electric-classical, the band was joined by a trombone player (Jeff Cressman) and trumpet player (Bill Ortiz) and launched into Maria Maria, also from Supernatural, sung by vocalist Andy Vargas. Carlos switched back to the PRS mid-way through the song (after the lyric “to the sounds of the guitar … played by Carlos Santana”) and punctuated the vocal phrases with stinging counterpoint. This led to another Afro-Cuban styled extended instrumental jam, Foo Foo, with solo breaks for everyone and an audience participation, “call- and-response” segment lead by vocalist Tony Lindsay.

Carlos then approached the microphone and introduced a special guest, the creator of the guitars that bear his name, Paul Reed Smith. A Maryland native, Smith frequently joins the band on stage when they come to the Baltimore-D.C. area on tour. Playing the song, The Calling from Supernatural, Paul played in the spot recorded by Eric Clapton on the original recording. After trading licks back and forth for a while, Santana – always the gracious host – stood off-stage and let Smith lead the band with his own tasteful solo. Paul was obviously enjoying the moment as he leaned back into his best ‘guitar god’ stance and smiled from ear to ear. Carlos rejoined him after having switched to a blue PRS Santana SE model guitar. While certainly not as distinctive (in looks or in tone) as his amber-hued, tiger-striped, flamed maple PRS, this entry-level guitar acquitted it self reasonably well as Santana and Smith traded licks again on Sonny Sharrock.

The 55-year-old bandleader then shared some heartfelt wisdom that he has gathered on his life journey. He offered the crowd a blessing and, by calling attention to the presence of so much violence and hatred in the world, implored us to always be compassionate and to open our hearts to “the light.” The band kept a subtle backdrop during the soliloquy entitled Spiritual.

The band then launched into a four-song run that replicated the first four songs from the Supernatural release. First was (Da La) Yaleo. The horn section stabs punctuated the chorus and Santana’s phrases wove in and around the vocal line in note-perfect recreation of the studio version. Extending the “outro” solo section, he used the studio version as a launching-off point from which to expand the groove. Climaxing with a rapidly ascending hammer-on / pull-off riff, he bent the highest notes possible from the upper register of the neck with soulful passion. It is interesting to note that Carlos Santana does not seem to be concerned exclusively with technical perfection in his playing. He generates his unique voice and expressiveness from note selection and phrasing at least as much as fingerboard precision. There is a lesson here for all guitarists suggesting that technical prowess must be paired with a lot of soul to be truly transcendent. Precisely produced notes will have a lifeless ‘flatness’ unless they are born of an inner yearning for individual expression.

Next came Love of My Life with Carlos recreating the melody lines that he and Dave Matthews swapped on the studio version. The band kicked mightily into the end jam and Santana again delivered a smoldering presentation of the solo from the recording before extending and building upon the original rhythmic and melodic touch-points for his solo. For Put Your Lights On, the rhythm guitarist and piccolo bassist, Myron Dove, strummed the first chorus-tinged chords (played through a Roland JC-120 amp). Carlos again interjected note-for-note recreations of his phrases between the lyrics, creating a conversation with both vocalists. The band completed the Supernatural foursome by launching into the salsa-influenced groove of Africa Bamba, complete with a salsa-style trombone solo. Spreading the wealth of horn section solos, a trumpet feature opened the next song, Adouma.

Introduced by the bandleader in a manner consistent with his status as regional favorite son, drummer Dennis Chambers treated the crowd to a drum solo that can be described as a mini clinic of percussion excellence. Dennis is recognized around the world as among the most talented drummers of his generation, and has lent his talents to the recordings and concerts of numerous world-class artists such as Mike Stern, Andy Summers, Carl Filipiak, and John McLaughlin. Starting his feature segment on this evening with a driving polyrhythmic groove that demonstrated the very essence of four-limbed independence, he followed with a delicate snare drum workout that covered the full range of dynamics and tempo. To complete this showcase, Chambers displayed what can only be described as “bionic perfection” with his extended double-beater bass drum playing. Not stopping his rapid-fire footwork, he a) toweled off his face, b) slam guzzled a 32 oz. Bottle of Gatorade, c) mugged for the Jumbotron cameraman, and d) blew bubbles with his chewing gum. This solo was a truly awesome display of artistry and endurance that Santana himself chose to watch and admire.

For Make Somebody Happy, Carlos came out with a very rare PRS single cutaway with an elaborate dragonhead inlayed into the body. The song opened with a beautifully melodic muted trumpet solo by Bill Ortiz that revealed just how carefully the soloist has listened to the bandleader and has been influenced by him. This is a valuable lesson for guitarists to learn as we sometimes focus too much on elite guitarists as influences. By expanding our listening experiences to include sax players, trumpet players, piano players, etc., we can broaden the palette from which we draw inspiration when creating our own voice.

Taking to the microphone again, Santana gave prayerful affirmation to the beauty in all of us – teaching that we all possess beauty, dignity, excellence, elegance, and freedom. He encouraged all victims of personal violence and violation to rise up and feel a healing love from within and asked that we all work to spread love and compassion in our lives so that peace may spread throughout the world to eradicate hunger and war and suffering. The band launched into Right On Be Free / Get It In Your Soul with driving emotion to underscore their leader’s heartfelt sentiments.

Bassist Benny Rietveld had his moment in the spotlight as he opened his solo with a slapping and popping tour de force. He then moved through a handful of choruses of a blues-ey I-IV-V complete with upper register chording before culminating with melodic, single-note phrasing that implied a trumpet player using a plunger to create a “wah” effect. He took his applause with a laughing smile and a kiss for his bass that had served him so well.

The band returned with an instrumental interlude, Apache, that featured both Carlos and Chester Thompson unleashing ferocious solos over the changes.

The last song of the set was the hit single from Supernatural, Smooth. As he had all night, Santana faithfully recreated the melodic component of the guitar solo, while sometimes changing the rhythmic aspects to create a pulsing, ‘push / pull’ effect. His internal sense of rhythm is readily evident as his notes create ever-building emotional tension and climactic release.

After an extended standing ovation, the band returned for an encore of Jingo. Playing a very similar arrangement to the performance on the Sacred Fire live recording, the band brought the crowd, long simmering as a result of the breath-taking performances, to a full boil. Santana pulled out all the stops for an ‘over the top’ solo with the band’s underlying, “turn-on-a-dime” percussion syncopations furiously propelling the song to full intensity.

After nearly two and a half hours, with the local noise ordinance deadline approaching, Carlos introduced the band members (each one taking one last solo break after his name was called), bowed humbly in thanks to the audience, then waved goodbye, leaving the grateful crowd smiling and satisfied.