Shades of Time

Santana: Gregg Rolie (lead vocals, piano, Hammond organ), Carlos Santana (electric guitar, backing vocals), David Brown (electric bass), Michael Shrieve (drums), José “Chepito” Areas (timbales, congas, percussion) and Michael Carabello (congas, percussion). From the album Santana (1969).

In 1971 Neal Schon joined Santana on guitar, José “Chepito” Areas was succeeded on percussion by Coke Escovedo and then the group published Santana III, which is a continuation of the former work and returned to the first place of the Billboard 200. However, this album marked the end of the classic formation of the band, that after a tour Carlos dissolved, keeping the rights of its name. In 1972 he refounded Santana with Schon (guitar), Rolie (keyboards), Schrieve (drums) and Areas (percussion), and they recorded Caravanserai with the CBS label, which was a big change from previous works.

Except for three songs, the rest of the album is instrumental, showing the musical complexity of an experimental and contemplative jazz full of intimate and moving guitar solos, and achieved the eighth position on the Billboard 200 and sixth on the Billboard Rhytm and Blues chart. In 1973 John McLaughlin introduced Carlos to his guru Sri Chinmoy, and he and his wife Deborah also became their disciples, influencing his music spiritually. That same year the group published Welcome getting deeper in the same jazz-rock path, but with new changes of members. The first four albums were certified platinum and this one gold.

After Miles Davis won a Grammy Award with Bitches Brew (1970) and Weather Report and Return to Forever started to gain followers among rock fans, Santana attracted the attention of jazz critics and followers. In 1974 went to sale the triple album Lotus, which includes a performance at Osaka Kosei Nenkin Hall in Japan the previous year, and Borboletta, where we find plenty of space in which saxes, keyboards and percussion create different environments, extensive solos by Carlos Santana and the voice of León Patillo and Brazilian singer Flora Purim.