The fiftieth New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival has come and gone.  The Rolling Stones were to be the feature performers but backed out because of Mick Jagger’s emergency heart surgery.  Fleetwood Mac was to sub for the Stones, but they too dropped out due to illness. However, the show went on and the two-weekend famous festival, which features incredible music, food, and crafts, went off without a hitch.  

One of music’s icons, Carlos Santana returned to JazzFest having previously performed more than a dozen times. This seventy-one-year-old musical genius entertained the packed crowds with a blend of Rock, Latin sounds, and Jazz which has come to represent the coolness of Carlos Santana.

In a Rolling Stone article in 2004, Dave Matthews, another 2019 JazzFest performer, was quoted, “Whenever I do anything with Carlos Santana, I feel somewhere in between enormously inadequate and as fucking cool as possible.” Matthews described his gig with Carlos Santana as “very laid-back and very festive.” He went further on to say, “There is only one man who can produce a sound like that.” This person is obviously Carlos Santana.  

A review of a Santana concert from 2004 described him as being “so timelessly cool” as he took the stage in a black fedora hat, stylish shades and a dapper sangria-colored suit, and he rarely lost that laid-back smile. The timeless coolness of Carlos Santana may best be summarized by his inclusion in an American Cool Exhibit in the National Portrait Gallery in 2014.

The list of figures who were admitted to this exhibit possessed at least three elements of the singular American self-concept. One, they possessed an original artistic vision with their own signature style. Two, they were a part of a cultural rebellion or transgressions for a given generation.  Three, the figure had to be an iconic power, or have instant visual recognition. The fourth possession was to be a recognized cultural legacy.

Carlos Santana possessed every single one of these attributes.

The possession of an original signature style distinguished Carlos Santana from other musicians.  In his article in The Beat in 2000, Steve Heilig opens his piece with the following:

“Soaring, slashing, crying, wailing-within moments you know exactly what it is. It’s one of the most immediately recognizable voices in music: the guitar of Carlos Santana, distinctive and unique in any setting.”

Santana described himself as “it’s all African music.” Heilig suggests that Santana has explored more than just African music based upon the following statement from Santana:

“My values are consistent with the American Indians, aborigines, and African people. I try to honor their music, take certain elements, give it back in a new kinda way and credit them immediately, financially, emotionally, spiritually. That’s the way of the future.”

This included a time when Santana played a new musical piece for Miles Davis who is also included in the American Cool Exhibit.  Davis thought that the piece sounded “Spanish,” but it was actually a Moorish piece of African music. This demonstration of musical originality from Carlos Santana further emphasizes his unique sound. The uniqueness of his sound, as well as the origins from Africa, is part of what makes Carlos Santana cool.

Artists want to perform with Carlos Santana and this was clearly demonstrated during his set as New Orleans own trombone shorty took to the stage with Santana.   How appropriate that they joined forces to play the Jimi Hendrick piece Voodoo Chile.  These musicians had the JazzFest crowd enthralled in a trance as if Santana had cast a spell on them.  

Creating a signature style often takes improvisation which is also a component of being cool. In an article written by Matt Blackett in Guitar Player in 2012, Carlos Santana provided five elements of “Enlightened Improvising.”  In his first tip for improvisation, Santana states the following.

“Music has the same significance as beams of light coming out of the clouds and giving information to plants. Every note should be like a beam of light. You’re giving information to the listener, and you’re reminding them they also have light and significance. That is improvising to me. The other stuff is just like going da-da-da-da-da. It’s nothing.”

Santana’s description of improvisation is a means of connecting to his audience and it is his guitar that serves as the vehicle to make this connection. His music as expressed through improvisation is designed to stimulate and make its listeners feel important.

Another tip for improvisation that Carlos Santana speaks of is to “Be Open.” Santana has quoted Bob Dylan, another artist who appeared in the National Portrait Gallery Cool Exhibit. Dylan stated, “Don’t criticize what you don’t understand.” Along with this, Santana inferred that musicians often criticize because they feel others are doing something good. Santana emphasized, “When you hate something, I hope that you play the shit out of it, because if you can’t play it, you shouldn’t play it.”  Santana’s attitude demonstrates the confidence that he has in himself as a musician and the coolness he exhibits through his ability to play a wide range of music.

Improvisation utilized by Carlos Santana allowed him to “Paint Pictures,” which is another tip suggested by Santana. Musical improvisation stimulates the imagination of its listeners. Contrary to the show business techniques of lasers and dancers during a performance, great musicians create images with their compositions according to Santana. An example of “painting pictures” through improvisation is exhibited in the Santana’s Samba Pa Ti.

In a 2015 article written by Corbin Reiff, Santana said that he got the inspiration for the song by observing a drunk man in the street in New York City. This inebriated man had a saxophone and a bottle of booze in his back pocket. He kept looking at him because the man was struggling with himself. “He couldn’t make up his mind which one to put in his mouth first, the saxophone or the bottle and I immediately heard a song.” This song was Samba Pa Ti.  The guitar rifts in this piece represent a man swaying back and forth as if he were drunk.

“Celebrate Purity and the Profane” is another tip for improvising given by Santana. The significance of this mantra is that purity of music is spiritual to the musician as well as to the listener, while the profane brings out the sensuality of the music. Santana quotes music producer Bill Graham:

“Stop getting embarrassed that people get really horny when they hear your music.  Own it. Of course, you don’t do it consciously so that it’s vulgar or crass. It just happens, and you welcome it, and say thank you.”

An example of the above tip was demonstrated in the Santana’s Smooth. This song was originally written about horny ghosts living in a hotel room, but came out as really describing a hot day in the city. In an interview with GQ magazine, Carlos Santana said, “The song was so horny that we were nominated for almost every Grammy.”  Santana further added, “When they called our names at the Grammys, I realized that trends come and go, but people will always be horny on a hot day. Smooth proves this and will continue to prove this, until the heat death of the universe.”

Santana’s tip on celebrating purity and profane was clearly brought out in Smooth as his guitar riffs were able to visually create the sensuality and sexuality demonstrated in the sounds and lyrics of this musical piece.

Man, it’s a hot one
Like seven inches from the midday sun
I hear you whisper and the words melt everyone
But you stay so cool
My muñequita, my Spanish Harlem Mona Lisa
You’re my reason for reason, the step in my groove (Smooth)

The above lyrics to Smooth demonstrate the sensuality and sexuality of a hot day. It also describes the beauty of a woman who is able to make words melt away just by whispering her coolness. Only Carlos Santana can create this vivid scene of passion through his music. It is this creativity that continue to attract the lovers of music to Carlos Santana.  

In his autobiography,  Universal Tone, Carlos Santana described the importance of his music.  “The music reminds reminds people that they don’t have to wait for heaven to arrive; It’s already here. It has the power to inspire, to transport,  and to change people, even on a physical level.” Santana has played with numerous musicians of many genres and thus has a universal appeal. For me personally,   his music soothes and excites me and takes to another place where i can forget my worries. How cool is that?