Virtuoso jazz-rock drummer Cindy Blackman Santana gravitated to the electric energy of the drums at a young age, hypnotized by their rhythmic role and dynamic emotion — and it led to decades of touring and recording with countless musicians.
Santana, currently based in Las Vegas, takes the stage at Charleston Music Hall downtown April 22 to perform in the annual Charleston Jazz Festival.
“I like the tones of the drums, and I like that the drums are very physical — you sit at the kit and use your entire body,” Santana, 63, told the Charleston City Paper.
Gretsch drums are her weapon of choice.
“I love melodicism, so I want the drums to be warm and to project but also to have a great tone — and Gretsch drums have that,” she said. “I started asking for drums when I was 3, and I didn’t know exactly what that meant. I didn’t know what a tour was; I just knew that I wanted to play. When I was about 13, I understood a lot more about what the drums meant to me, but also what it was to be in a band.”
She named a lineage of Gretsch drummers she called “the pinnacle” of 20th century jazz and rock, including Chick Webb, Kenny Clarke, Louie Bellson, Art Blakey, Max Roach, Elvin Jones and, her greatest influence, Tony Williams.
“Tony Williams is the person who created jazz-rock,” Santana said. “He influenced even Miles [Davis] to go electric. He fused together jazz, rock, Indian music, Brazilian music — that was in 1969. And the stuff that came after that in the ’70s, people were trying to emulate that. I love the fact that he melted together all these different influences to come up with such a different and incredible sound. He influenced not only that generation, but every generation after that.”
Santana joined her first professional group at age 13, playing in a funk rock trio in Bristol, Connecticut, and while she did consider becoming a lawyer and a brain surgeon, being a musician stole her heart.
“I knew that drumming is what I wanted to pursue in life and I never veered from that,” Santana said. “I thought about a couple of other career choices … because I’m very curious about life and about things. I realized I would have obliterated any hopes of playing drums that I had … so those things fell by the wayside. And drumming was the champion.”
Santana started busking in the streets of New York City in the ’80s, and learned about her craft by watching legendary musicians in clubs and listening to records. In addition to recording her own music, including the critically acclaimed 2010 album Another Lifetime, Santana toured with well-known acts such as Lenny Kravitz — and most recently, Carlos Santana, her husband of 13 years.
“Being around Carlos is incredible, because he’s such a magnetic person,” Santana said. “And his spiritual prowess is channeled through what he plays, so everything sounds magical. He’s inspirational, because he’s got a real desire to create and to be creative and to switch things up and change things around, but also touch people’s hearts. He wants to do that with every note that he plays. He’s so proficient with his instrument — he’s one of the icons, he’s a guitar hero.”
Although female drummers are definitely a minority, she said her career has been filled with beautiful experiences despite the “old boys club” mentality that was prominent when she was coming up.
“I never focused on that for very long, if at all, because I learned early on that it only would disrupt my purpose and disrupt my progress,” she said. “The first professional gig that I had, I was 13, and some drunk guy was kind of taunting me saying that I shouldn’t be playing drums. ‘It’s not for girls, why are you doing that?’ So, my feelings were hurt, and I went home. I got on the drums, and I started playing and forgot all about what that guy said. I realized if I kept thinking about that idiot, then I would just be sitting there being depressed.
“I love who I am,” she added. “I love being a woman. So, since I love my life, I have a great time.”
For the Jazz Fest show, Santana will unveil new, unrecorded songs backed by saxophonist Emilio Modeste, keyboardist Marc Carey, guitarist Aurelien Budynek and bassist Felix Pastorius.
She said the audience can expect a lot of energy and a beautiful journey.
“They’re all amazing soloists, and they all play with a lot of heart. So, you’re not only going to get some really great musicianship, but you’re also going to get a lot of heart and soul — which is key.”
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