Carlos Santana
Carlos Santana (b. 20 July 1947) is a Mexican-American guitar virtuoso, best known as the founder of the band Santana. His bluesy music is influenced by Latin and African rhythms. Their breakthrough album was Abraxas (1970), best-known for the hits Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen (a cover of Fleetwood Mac) and Oye Como Va (a cover of Tito Puente). Another huge hit was She's Not There (1977), a cover of The Zombies' song of the same name.
Santana has recorded with Gabor Szabo.
Frank Zappa
In 1980 and 1981, when Frank Zappa performed in Cologne, Germany, Santana was the opening act. A day later, Zappa was the opening act and Santana the closing act. In The Frank Zappa Interview Picture Disk, pt.2, Zappa remembered: "We worked with Carlos Santana on Cologne in 1980 or 81 and it was a similar situation. We did two shows at the sport palace in Cologne. They opened the first show, we closed it. Then we opened the second show and they closed it so I never heard him play."
In Frank Zappa, Musician, February 1994, Warren Cuccurullo remembered: "I did most of the difficult passages and some of Frank's solos off the records: "Dirty Love" and "Andy." Also, he used to call on me to imitate different guitar players. He'd say, "Okay, now Carlos Santana..." That turned up on Tinsel Town Rebellion."
Frank Zappa parodied Santana's distinctive way of playing, particularly his hit song Oye Como Va on Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression, available on his album Frank Zappa: Guitar (1988). In a case of strange irony, Guitar was nominated for the Grammy Awards, but lost to Santana's album Blues for Salvador.
Carlos Santana about Frank Zappa
Interviewed by Douglas J. Noble for T'mershi Duween (The Magazine) issue #42, January 1995, Santana confirmed in Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Interview that he had heard Variations On The Carlos Santana Secret Chord Progression: "Oh yes. I've heard it and I laughed my butt off, you know. I thought it was really funny. I met him a couple of times and I was always in awe of his mind. I think his mind, much like Prince, is pretty amazing. I thought it was in good fun. I believe on the same record he made fun of Bob Dylan (presumably a reference to 'Flakes'), so I was just really grateful to be in the company of Bob Dylan and Frank Zappa." However, Santana did admit that: "I'm not a complex person as he put it in the 'Variations of Santana Chords' [sic]. I'm not a complicated person and to me, it's like I try to feel my heart and I try to touch yours. That's it! When I first heard the piece, it did disturb me. I felt like it was a put-down, you know. But after a while, I said 'you know, if he feels like that about it, then I'm still complimented I'm on the same record with Bob Dylan ... (even though he isn't -Ed)". Santana also said he was saddened by Zappa's death, "because I think we need forces like him to show us and share with us Mozart-like operas and Mozart-like involved muscle intellect (laughs)."
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