CD Review: Viva Carlos! - Various Artists

by Tom Watson.

Viva Carlos! (2006, Tone Center) is 10 tracks of tunes associated with Carlos Santana featuring 10 notable guitarists (in order of appearance): Vinnie Moore ("Se A Cabo"); Jeff Richman ("Europa"); Eric Gales ("Jingo"); Mike Stern ("Oye Como Va"); Pat Martino ("Flor D'Luna"); Eric Johnson ("Aqua Marine"); Frank Gambale ("Samba de Sausalito"); Robben Ford ("Blues for Salvador"); Albert Lee ("Samba Pa Ti"); and, Coco Montoya ("Jungle Strut"). The album's subtitle is "A Supernatural Marathon Celebration". Nowhere on the CD or its packaging is the name Carlos Santana mentioned except in songwriting credits, most likely a licensing issue, which is simply an interesting factoid. More relevant is the use of the word celebration in the subtitle.

Viva Carlos! is a project from guitarist Jeff Richman and Shrapnel/Tone Center label's Mike Varney, the fifth album of a series from them that follows a unifying format: assemble a group of excellent guitarists known for a variety of styles under the umbrella of a famous musician or group and create a CD featuring one excellent guitarist per song. The series to-date, and the artist who served as each album's inspiration, consists of: A Guitar Supreme (John Coltrane); Vision of an Inner Mounting Apocalypse (John McLaughlin); Fusion for Miles (Miles Davis); The Royal Dan (Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, aka, Steely Dan); and, Viva Carlos! (Carlos Santana). The first three were released in 2005, the last two in 2006. In each case, we have to assume that the tracks to be included and the pairing of track with featured guitarist is the work of Richman and Varney. The arrangements are provided by Jeff Richman and the featured guitarist plays his song with a "house band".

So, before listening to Viva Carlos!, I'm faced with some interesting issues: song selection; guitarist selection; and arrangement. I can't help but wonder what 10 songs I'd pick if producing a Santana celebration CD, and how much various factors would weigh into the decision: Would I simply pick 10 of my favorite Santana songs and hope to find players that would be a good match or would I see what guitarists are available and pick songs accordingly - what comes first, the player or the song? Then there's a question of arrangements. Would I arrange the song in a way that I'm celebrating the music of Carlos Santana, or would I arrange each song in a way that I think will help the featured guitarist celebrate - and how in the world would I know that?

I don't have a chance to speak to either Richman or Varney, so I have to guess based on what I'd do in their shoes.

Realities of the music business being what they are, I'd start with the availability and willingness of potential featured guitarists. It would be great to get B.B. King and Eric Clapton, but that's not going to happen. I'd start by calling my friends and build song selection, pairing, and arrangement around who's willing and able to participate. I'd call "John Doe", for example, lay out the general concept, and tell him I'd love to do a "Song of the Wind" duet with him. Doe would probably answer, "No way, man, I've got to do 'Black Magic Woman'! (not on the CD)" Fair enough. We'd talk about how he sees the arrangement and I'd take it from there.

It so happens that Richman and Varney have a lot of friends. Follow the five-album series and you'll find recurring names: Frank Gambale, Mike Stern, Eric Johnson, and Pat Martino, to name a few, and, recurring or not, some interesting matchups, such as Warren Haynes on Fusion for Miles ("It's About That Time") and Al Di Meola on The Royal Dan ("Aja").

While I'd like to hear from Richman and Varney about the process of song, featured artist, and arrangement selection, it remains a sweet mystery that allows me to play "what if" and leaves room for surprise.

Before discussing the particulars of Viva Carlos!, I have a confession to make: I'd buy an album of Santana tuning a guitar. As I wait for the album to arrive I wonder if that bias will make me hyper-critical. I know and enjoy the work of the 10 guitarists that participate in the supernatural celebration, but these are Santana songs. Will I be able to listen to this CD without holding the performances up to the Santana originals that in my mind and heart are definitive? Will I let them stand, or fall, on their own two feet? I have to give this some thought. I can see myself listening to the tracks thinking, "You've got to be kidding." I need to develop an appropriate, or at least sympathetic, state of mind and point of view.

The word "celebration" in the CD subtitle comes to my rescue. Celebration sets me free.

I'm thankful that the producers avoided the word tribute on the CD packaging. "Tribute" has long been a troublemaker when it comes to the guitar and guitar players. The usual trouble making context occurs when a manufacturer issues another model that pays tribute to something vintage and the message boards are flooded with debate as to how the new tribute fails to measure up to the old original. To pay tribute does not mean to replicate, whether you're paying tribute to a guitar or a performer, but it seems whenever the word is used a good deal of attention is paid to comparing one with the other to see if the tribute measures up. It rarely does.

I need a shift in perspective. A focus on "celebration" provides it.

It won't be necessary to compare the 10 tracks on Viva Carlos! to the Santana originals because their intent is not to mimic or improve upon the original. Their intent is to allow the featured artist to celebrate or musically rejoice over whatever the original song inspires in him. I no longer fear an hour or so of 10 guitarists trying to imitate the Santana touch, tone or phrasing. Each artist's contribution to Viva Carlos! will be his own voice celebrating what he finds vital in the music.

But, will the music on Viva Carlos! contain a unifying element other than the fact the 10 songs are associated with Carlos Santana? What is it about Santana's playing that runs through his work? What's makes a song Santana?

This, to me, is a great question: Is there a common denominator that underlies the guitar work of Carlos Santana?

Yes.

I can describe the playing of Carlos Santana in a single word: sensual. In his hands the guitar becomes a weapon of mass seduction. What does the combination of Santana's distinctive touch, tone and phrasing produce if not a sensual listening experience?

That's not to say Santana is always "let's take a walk on the wild side". The sensual or seductive nature of his playing has taken many different forms with many different intents, from the ordinary to the sublime.

Here's what Santana told me during a 2006 interview:

For me, music is a balance of feminine and masculine. Feminine is the melody, masculine is the rhythm. The bed don’t matter. Sooner or later they got to get in bed, do something natural and normal ... My sound is feminine. I’m surrounded with rhythm. Rhythm is like up and down and I’m left to right – lyrical and melody are left-to-right. If everybody’s going up and down it’s boring. Someone has to go left-to-right. Legato…long…visiting the note completely. Like a very thorough lover, you go left-to-right. So when you’re finished with that melody, women are like, “Ooohhh, thanks for visiting me.” [Laughs] That’s why they like Eric Clapton and call him Slowhand. Very few women like [imitates a flurry of notes], they go, “Ok, whatever. [Yawns] That guy’s great.” And they go to sleep ... You can do that at the very end but your solo has to charm, be a caress, a nice hug like a mother gives a baby after she gives him a bath or something. Babies after awhile, they just want a nice hug, you know? To me, it’s all part and parcel of the music. Out of all the arts music’s the most immediate to the heart. To make you... [Me: ...feel something.] To make your hair stand up, and cry, and laugh, and to get spiritually horny, or whatever. [Me: Spiritual orgasm you've called it.] Yeah, exactly. All of that, you know? [read interview]

A final note before discussing the CD tracks: While I tried my best to avoid comparisons between the music on Viva Carlos! and the Santana originals, with "Europa" I failed.

Track one: "Se a Cabo"; featured guitarist: Vinnie Moore. That's right, the UFO-neo-classical-shredding Vinnie Moore. How's that for an unexpected left turn? Turns out to be a pleasant surprise. Richman's arrangement is story-like with the song transitions serving as chapters to Moore's instrumental tale telling. The mood is heroic: Conan the Barbarian running through the jungle, sword in hand, defeating foes to stand atop a rocky crag with arms outstretched in victory, the rescued damsel at his feet a la Frank Frazetta.

Track two: "Europa (Earth's Cry, Heaven's Smile)"; featured guitarist: Jeff Richman. This is going to be a tough one because I believe that Santana's delivery of the eight notes that form the tune's central motif is one of the most seductive phrases in modern music and fertile ground for a Santana celebration. Richman's approach to arrangement and performance is interesting: He goes up-tempo with a more aggressive, argumentative, even forceful feel. Europa, in Greek mythology, was the woman abducted by Zeus (in the form of a white bull) and whisked away to Crete where she bore Zeus three children (the result of seduction or rape, accounts vary) and became the island's first queen. We can imagine that she represents "Earth's Cry" with Zeus as "Heaven's Smile". With that in mind, I get behind Richman's presentation. However, at 1:43 Richman launches an improvisational excursion that hits me more like Club Med than Aegean passion. It's a fine jazz fusion improv, but light for "Europa" and breaks the spell woven by the first minute or so. I also get the feeling that he's shy about the central motif, almost as if he's avoiding it, making it incidental instead of central. But then, I have such a strong bias in favor of Santana's "Europa" I probably should have recused myself on this track.

Track three: "Jingo"; featured guitarist: Eric Gales. On first listen, I'm put off by two things. Gales' use of distortion tends to muddy many of his energetic lines and the aural space his guitar occupies on the recording often seems distant and thin compared to the band, which does an excellent job of creating the hypnotic pulse of "Jingo" (with some fine keyboard work by Peter Wolf). Gales wants to conjure a maelstrom, and succeeds, but a bit more articulation in tone would have allowed a greater appreciation of his outpouring.

Track four: "Oye Como Va"; featured guitarist: Mike Stern. While credited to salsa king Tito Puente, some say it's a re-write of a 1930s tune called "Chanchillo" by mambo proponents Orestes and Israel "Cachao" Lopez. Either way, the song is about flirtation. "Oye como va, mi ritmo, bueno pa' gozar, mulata," or (rough translation) "Hey, sweet thing, my rhythm's good for partying." Stern's interpretation is great. It teases, cajoles, remonstrates and demands without losing the lighthearted party atmosphere. Stern can show off like a dancer displaying his technique for the sake of convincing the girl he's got the moves.

Track five: "Flor D'Luna (Moonflower)"; featured guitarist: Pat Martino. The flirtation theme continues with Pat Martino's red wine and moonlight invitation-to-dance rendition of this Tom Coster classic. I'd ask my wife what kind of dance you'd do to this music but she's not talking to me after reading the Frank Frazetta comment. I'm guessing it's merengue, but that's from a guy whose idea of dancing is the Hokey Pokey. Martino's "Flor D'Luna" is an act of more sophisticated romance and seduction. It might come in handy tonight.

Track six: "Aqua Marine"; featured guitarist: Eric Johnson. Hats off to Richman and Varney for including this tune and for matching it with Eric Johnson. It's a perfect fit. Santana co-wrote this jazz fusion beauty that Johnson performs with an amazing degree of sensitivity. Johnson develops the tune instead of simply using it as a door to unrelated territory. An excellent example of retaining significance in variation as opposed to variety for the sake thereof.

Track seven: "Samba de Sausalito"; featured artist Frank Gambale. A good jazz fusion follow-up to the previous track, which, along with "Aqua Marine" gives listeners an insight into what Santana meant by spiritually horny or spiritual orgasm. The goal of Santana's forays into jazz or jazz fusion is often spiritual seduction. "Samba de Sausalito" appeared on the 1973 release Welcome, the same year John McLaughlin introduced Santana to Sri Chimnoy and Carlos became "Devadip" to McLaughlin's "Mahavishnu". The seduction in play here aims toward something larger than the carnal, something along the lines of universal love and spiritual ascendancy, but the song's approach to spiritual seduction isn't heavy handed (I can't imagine a heavy handed Sausalito samba). The composition pursues its goal through light and joy. Richman's arrangement is excellent and gives Gambale ample room to celebrate. Gambale's improvisation nails a take on "ascendancy".

Track eight: "Blues for Salvador"; featured guitarist: Robben Ford. "Blues for Salvador", the title track from the 1987 album (which won a Grammy in 1988 for best rock instrumental performance), was written by Santana for his son, Salvador (another track, "Bella", from this album was written for his daughter, Stella). Let's give sensuality and seduction a rest on this track and applaud Robben Ford's ability to show how the blues can serve as a vehicle for love, joy and devotion.

Track nine: "Samba Pa Ti"; featured guitarist: Albert Lee. Another delightful Viva Carlos! surprise. This is summer love with a bittersweet tinge and Lee is spot on. His playing is sensitive, appropriate and sincere. It captures the moment.

Track ten: "Jungle Strut"; featured guitarist: Coco Montoya. A strong album closer of one of the Latin rock classics that contributed so much to Santana's rise to fame in the early '70s. Montoya's guitar work is energetic and fiery, but the success of the track comes from the coupling of Montoya with the excellent group effort of Peter Wolf (keyboard), Dave Weekl (drums), Abraham Laboriel (bass), Jeff Richman (rhythm guitar), and Luis Conte (percussion). If it wasn't so well recorded you'd think it's a 1971 Fillmore bootleg.

Albums such as Viva Carlos! are tricky business. As I said above when discussing the word "tribute", they often invite unnecessary value judgments between the original and the tribute, pitting one against the other.

Here's an excerpt from John Kelman's review of Viva Carlos! for the All About Jazz website:

Guitarist Jeff Richman continues his series of tribute albums with Viva Carlos!, an homage to guitarist Carlos Santana that manages to accomplish what most tributes can’t: actually improve on its source. Santana’s tone and style are immediately recognizable, but when compared to the players enlisted here, the Mexican-born guitarist simply doesn’t have the vocabulary. He’s dabbled in the jazz world through associations with artists like John McLaughlin and Wayne Shorter. There’s no question that some of his tunes are tailor-made for more expansive interpretation. But his ability to navigate his own sometimes complex changes has always been limited. His solo approach is more about finding single notes or simple lines that can thread through the changes, and letting his singing tone do the rest. And that ultimately reduces Santana as a guitarist to something of a one-trick pony.

But there’s more substance to Santana's music than meets superficial examination, and his writing can be fine grist for more sophisticated exploration—just listen to Viva Carlos!. Vinnie Moore’s take on the blistering “Se a Cabo” applies a singing tone similar to Santana’s. But his far more developed chops and extended techniques take the energy level to places Santana never could. Similarly, Frank Gambale’s equally distorted but sharper-edged tone takes “Samba de Sausalito” (from the fusion-centric Welcome, Columbia 1973) and, while occasionally referencing Santana’s use of repetition, gives it a facelift through sheer boldness and wide-reaching ideas. Richman’s take on the bossa ballad “Europa” is reverential in tone, but more advanced in execution.

I disagree. Not about who or what is better, but about the value of passing judgment either way.

If a musician sets out to explore complex musical possibilities, it's only fitting that the resulting music is complex. But when the original intent is to transmit a feeling, the presence or absence of "complexity" has nothing to do with how effectively the feeling is conveyed. If Santana (Jimi Hendrix, Miles Davis, etc.) can effectively communicate by playing only a single note, the job's done. Complexity, variation, exploration, and similar terms are only relevant when they serve a purpose.

It's only natural that a listener develop preferences. Obviously, I prefer Santana's "Europa" to Richman's, but I wouldn't declare it superior. The difference between the two performances is primarily intent. Both achieve the player's goal with excellent musicality, but Santana's version has a stronger impact on my heart.

"Developed chops and extended techniques", per se, are unimportant to a listener except to the extent that they serve the delivery of meaningful expression. Is the artist playing a flurry of notes because he can or because the flurry's essential to his statement? It's the difference between artistry and finger exercise.

I want Vinnie Moore to play "Se a Cabo" like Vinnie Moore. I want Carlos Santana to play "Se a Cabo" like Carlos Santana. I may form a preference, but I appreciate both voices. We can, and as reviewers should, articulate reasons why we prefer one voice to another, but that has nothing to do with superiority.

The guitarists on Viva Carlos! don't out-play Carlos Santana. The important question isn't can Santana develop a motif in a complex or technically advanced way, the question is should he? Would more notes and further exploration serve his purpose? It was the very act of choosing what to play and what not to play that gave rise to his particular musical statement.

Music isn't competitive sport. It's a world of unique expression.

And that's what you'll find on Viva Carlos!: 10 tracks of world class guitarists each raising his unique voice in celebration.

Postscript (January 8, 2006): I recently spoke to Mike Varney and Coco Montoya, both of whom told me that Carlos Santana sent a beautiful bouquet of flowers with a warm note of thanks for the creation of Viva Carlos! to each of the players (and to Varney who served as the executive producer).

Related Links
Jeff Richman
The Shrapnel Label Group
Viva Carlos! on Amazon.com

More articles by Tom Watson

---