Note: We also recommend watching Tony Williams Lifetime Tribute w/ Cindy Blackman Santana, Carlos Santana, John Medeski & more!

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SFJAZZ presents a special concert (originally filmed on June 14, 2023) with Cindy Blackman Santana. A versatile and accomplished drummer who has played in various genres of music, such as jazz, rock, and Latin, she is known for her technical skills, creative improvisation, and expressive style, which is showcased in this dazzling array of show-stopping singles.

Personnel

Cindy Blackman Santana drums
Emilio Modeste saxophone
Aurelien Budynek guitar
David Gilmore guitar
Zaccai Curtis keyboards
Felix Pastorius bass

SPECIAL GUEST
Carlos Santana guitar

Setlist:
“Blue Whale” by Aurelien Budynek
“Curiosity” by Cindy Blackman Santana
“Music” by Cindy Blackman Santana
“Spirit March” by Cindy Blackman Santana
“Walking Ballad” by Cindy Blackman Santana
“The One / Turn Around Song” by Cindy Blackman Santana / Miles Davis

ABOUT CINDY BLACKMAN SANTANA
If there is one artist on today’s music scene with the passion, fire, and percussive mastery to do justice to the legacy of the late Tony Williams, it is undoubtedly Cindy Blackman Santana. She returns with organ great John Medeski and Living Colour guitar genius Vernon Reid to honor Williams and his groundbreaking late 60s/early 70s electric jazz group Lifetime, with special guest Carlos Santana.
Made famous by her 10+ years providing the bone-deep grooves behind singer and guitarist Lenny Kravitz, Blackman has distinguished herself as a highly versatile player and composer who is as comfortable leading post-bop sessions with Joe Henderson and Wallace Roney as she is touring with pop stars like Kravitz and husband Carlos Santana, whose band she currently anchors.
Their eponymous 2012 Palmetto Records release was named for the Williams/John McLaughlin composition “Via the Spectrum Road” from Lifetime’s explosive 1969 debut, and expanded upon the original material, using it as a springboard for fresh directions, which was in full evidence on this unforgettable night.