SFJAZZ Unveils Lineup of Musicians Joining Cindy Blackman Santana
Performances will take place from September 13-14.
SFJAZZ has revealed the all-star roster of musicians set to join Cindy Blackman Santana on stage for her upcoming engagement, taking place Saturday, September 13 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, September 14 at 7 p.m. in Miner Auditorium at the SFJAZZ Center.
A singular artist possessed of unmatched passion, fire, and percussive mastery, Cindy Blackman Santana graces the Miner Auditorium stage for this long-awaited return appearance with her newest project. For these concerts, Blackman Santana will share the stage with Ravi Coltrane on saxophone, three-time GRAMMY Award nominee Patrice Rushen on keyboards, Aurélien Budynek on guitar, and Benny Rietveld on electric bass. Legendary 10-time GRAMMY Award winner Carlos Santana to appear as special guest guitarist.
Made famous by her 17 years providing the bone-deep grooves behind singer and guitarist Lenny Kravitz, Blackman Santana 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 legendary band she currently anchors.
Making a life-defining connection with the drums at age 7, Blackman Santana discovered jazz at 13, taking inspiration from the hyper-speed polyrhythms of bop master Max Roach. A visceral experience with the power and grace of Tony Williams at a music store clinic exploded Blackman Santana’s notions of the role of drums in jazz, and inspired exploration of the limitless possibilities of the instrument when played by a force of nature like Williams.
Making her debut in 1987 with the all-star session Arcane for Muse Records, the drummer has led eleven albums and performed in the collective Spectrum Road — a project dedicated to Tony Williams’ epochal Lifetime band of the 1970s that featured Living Colour guitarist Vernon Reid, keyboard master John Medeski, and the late, iconic Cream bassist Jack Bruce.
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